Bookends in Presidential History

President Trump recently deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles. Although it is within his power as President to Federalize the National Guard, such action has not been taken in more than 60 years. The last president to invoke such power in domestic civil unrest was Lyndon Johnson, who did so not to intimidate but in his words. 

 “… to assure the rights of American citizens … to walk … peaceably and safely without injury or loss of life from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.” 

Donald Trump's intent is just the opposite;

He wants to suppress the civil rights of all those involved and those who may sympathize with them.

Let us be clear: the so-called "dangerous criminals" swept up in these recent raids were looking for work in a Home Depot parking lot. Real criminals do not line up for day labor. Real criminals don’t show up hoping to earn a pittance doing backbreaking work in the shadows of society. 

These moments are bookends in Presidential history; They mark the point where one President said, "enough is enough... All men are created equally; and where the other said, fuck that, American Justice is for Just Us.  

If you want to understand what Trump means when he says “Make America Great Again”, look no further. 

To him, America was “great” when minorities knew their place. When civil rights were wrong, and above all, White was right. 

... I'm just saying

 

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