You know what President Donald Trump did when he stood next to Vladimir Putin and, with the world watching, absolved the Russian leader of any meddling in the sanctity of our elections? You know what he did to hundreds of millions of Americans who believe that, at a minimum, the government’s obligated to protect them from all threats, both foreign and domestic?
In the words of noted scholar Cornel West, he “n—erized” them.
West used the term to describe the feeling that permeated white America in the days following the atrocious terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia on Sept. 11, 2001, that left millions of Americans feeling “unsafe,” “unprotected” and subject to violence.
“That’s the history of Black people in America,” Is how West described it.
With Trump standing next to the former KGB agent — who has consolidated power since his first term as president in 2000 — during a press conference in Helsinki on July 16, Trump cowardly avoided broaching the subject of the 12 indictments of Russian hackers announced less than 72 hours ago as part of the Robert Mueller investigation into the 2016 election meddling. In so doing, Trump traded away the confidence of millions of Americans that the commander in chief will reflexively protect democracy in exchange for good standing with Putin, with whom he seems to have an almost fetishist admiration for.
It is a bare and naked feeling – never before experienced — for many who love their country and invest blindly in the faith that the executive branch will always be occupied by someone who will not turn their back on them. And today, that feeling – the safety and the protection – are badly shaken. It is a feeling of abandonment and dishonesty that for some will shake their faith in the country forever.
Ironically, as millions of Americans lick their wounds in the aftermath of Trump placing his self interests above those who put him in office and those who knew he was the worst possible choice to sit in the Oval Office, I couldn’t help but analogize the president’s metaphorical “go screw yourself” to the response of millions who remain unmoved over the numbing procession of unarmed African-American men killed by law enforcement.
Trump’s dismissive stance on what appear to be crimes Putin is fully aware of — his saying the U.S. “has been foolish,” that we’re “all to blame” for the current relationship with Russia — are reminiscent of the indifferent response by millions to police overreach when it is pretty obvious it has occurred.
NFL players respond to the injustice by protesting during the national anthem and they are painted, with the president leading the way, as unpatriotic.
Black Lives Matter brings attention to the issue, and its members are told to concern themselves first with the violence in places such as Chicago and Baltimore. The implication is that a few hundred engaged in criminal activity somehow disqualifies hundreds of thousands of law-abiding African Americans from being treated humanely by police.
When this happens repeatedly, it chips away at one’s belief system. Before you know it, you are having a foolish debate with yourself as to whether or not a random police shooting does in fact disqualify you from receiving equal treatment from the police. Trust becomes eroded.
Monday was about the erosion of trust for millions who never felt the need to question whether the government had their best interest in mind – it was always assumed. They never had to wonder if a police officer in Pittsburgh might shoot their son in the back as he fled, or if a father in Staten Island may have the life choked out of him for selling loose cigarettes.
But they are now aware that their president is putting his ego and what’s best for him ahead of the needs of the country. It is an uneasy and discomforting way to be. And Black people have known what this feels like for a very, very long time.
John N. Mitchell has worked as a journalist for more than a quarter century. He can be reached at jmitchell@phillytrib.com and Tweet at @freejohnmitchel.
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