THE AMERICAN POWDERKEG

America has certainly had troubled times before, but right now it is suffering through a truly unique set of circumstances: the worst pandemic since the Spanish Flu outbreak of nineteen eighteen, combined with the most violent political rallies since nineteen sixty eight, added to the most polarizing president in modern times.  It has become surreal to be an American, as we see masked protesters both protesting police violence and trying to maintain social distancing. 
Although the protests are ostensibly about the terrible choking death of George Floyd by one police officer as several others looked on, it's clear that they are also based on the growing tensions that have been rising in the past few years as the killing or serious injuring of African American suspects by the police have continued in this country even as violent crime rates have decreased.  Add to that the fact that the pandemic is hitting non white communities harder than others, and the country's general  level of frustration at our ongoing partial lockdown and tanked economy, and anger and protest seem like  reasonable responses. Most protestors appear to be peaceful, but violence has started breaking out at many of the gatherings.  And even that violence has become polarizing, as we watch video after video on the news: clearly it appears that the police are openly attacking non violent protestors with clubs and rubber bullets, but it also appears that some attacks are being made on the police also, along with burning and looting.  Both sides of the political fence are now pointing fingers, with far left group Antifa or far right white supremacist groups being blamed for the violence (There are even reports of white supremacists dressing up in Antifa garb, just to really confuse things!).
While sorting through all of this craziness is difficult (and honestly it appears to me that both the police and protestors are responsible for the violence, although I lean towards having more sympathy for the protestors given the understandable anger over Floyd's horrific death).  One thing is for sure: not only is Donald Trump the worst possible president to have during a pandemic (over a million more cases of coronavirus in the US than in the next highest country), he is even perhaps even worse at bringing the country together in some kind of racial reconciliation.   Yes, the man whose first real foray into politics began with him repeatedly questioning the birthplace of Barack Obama is hardly the right person to attempt to bridge the deep racial divide in this country.  And Trump has done exactly what you would expect him to do; after a few words of sympathy about Floyd's death, he has condemned the protestors, calling them "thugs", has considered sending in the military, suggested that there should  be a counter protest by his supporters and tweeted out “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” , a statement that may have been a conscious repeat of a quote made by Walter E. Headley, Miami’s former police chief, in 1967, a militant foe of the civil rights movement. But then what do expect from a president who once openly joked in a speech given to police officers that they shouldn't be "too nice" when making arrests.  As usual, he only cares about firing up his base by whipping up racial fears and hatred.  Why not, it's how he campaigned to be president.
Trump's typically erratic behavior culminated in yet another bizarre moment in a presidency that produced more than a few: last Monday he and his people decided to have a photo op moment at  St. John’s Church in Washington DC.  To clear the way, Attorney General William Barr ordered federal law enforcement officers to move away peaceful protestors, which led to several acts of brutal violence being carried out by the police on camera.  All of this was done just so that Trump could be photographed standing  in front of the church, awkwardly holding a bible like a statue.  No statement was made, no prayers said, nothing.
Although the protests won't last forever, the anger that drives them will return unless something is done about the treatment of minorities by the police.  Which will never happen under the current president.  The only way that this country can at least start to move in the right direction on this issue is for the country to soundly reject the hatred and bigotry that Trump has carried out in both word and deed in  the past four years.