Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle November 7, 2018
®
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Our Parents Lied to Us: Names Do Hurt,
Particularly When Used by the Political Right
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Opinion
n the immediate aftermath
of the discovery of bombs
targeted at Democratic po-
litical leaders, media out-
lets and personalities critical
of Donald Trump, I found my-
self thinking about that old
rhyme, “…sticks and stones
will break your bones, but
names will never hurt you…”
Well, it turns out that was a
lie; names and words do hurt.
Trump’s immediate reply
to the discovery of the bombs
was to call for unity and then,
once again, attack the media,
as if the media is the source of
the growing political tension.
Yet what was missing was any
acknowledgement of the im-
pact of his own words. Take,
for instance, his support of
a Republican Congressman
—Greg Gianforte — who as-
saulted a journalist. To praise
such a person, even if Trump
was joking (and I have no
reason to believe that he was
joking) sends a message that
physical assault is permissi-
ble. Or, consider what took
place last year in Charlottes-
ville with the march of the
neofascists. When Trump
condemned both sides equal-
ly, failing to acknowledge that
it was the neofascists who not
only provoked violence but
Bill
Fletcher Jr.
The Global
African
killed a demonstrator, he was
sending a dangerous signal.
It is not a giant step between
approving physical assault
and members of his base be-
lieving that it is permissible to
up the ante and plant bombs.
I hasten to add that as soon
“
ered. What we do know is that
since 11 September 2001, the
preponderance of terrorist
actions in the USA have orig-
inated among right-wingers
(rather than jihadists), so the
likelihood is that the actions
did arise from the Right.
So, not only do we now know
that the alleged bomber was
a Trump supporter but that
this attempt at mass assassi-
nation has coincided with the
murder of two African Amer-
icans in Kentucky and the
massacre of Jewish worship-
ers in Pittsburgh. Trump’s
It is not a giant step between
approving physical assault and
members of [Trump’s] base believ-
ing that it is permissible to up the
ante and plant bombs
as the bombs were discovered,
many Trump supporters
jumped forward describing
this as a “false flag” operation,
i.e., something made to look
as if it originated from the
political Right but actually
came from the Left. This has
been the response of the po-
litical Right generally when
right-wing terrorist plots
or actions have been discov-
language has encouraged
an obnoxious, offensive and
dangerous behavior among
his supporters, a behavior
which he has either failed to
condemn, explained away or
minimized. His behavior and
language have encouraged
the open use of racist and sex-
ist rhetoric; it has encouraged
the mocking of the disabled; it
has encouraged assaults and
harassment of various racial,
ethnic, and religious minori-
ties, not to mention the ha-
rassment and vilification of
women. And even when he
chooses to condemn any ac-
tion taken by a domestic ter-
rorist, his words ring hollow,
as former President Obama
noted last week.
So, let’s be clear that this is
not a moment to ignore the
words of demagogues. This is
not a moment to question the
thinking of President Trump
or his intent. His intent is ob-
vious insofar as he lays the
groundwork for his follow-
ers to go forth and engage in
a range of actions that have
no place in a society that calls
itself democratic. This is a mo-
ment to challenge the words
of a demagogue and the ac-
tions of his followers directly
and create an environment
in which racism, sexism, ho-
mophobia, xenophobia and
religious bigotry is never
tolerated. There is no middle
ground on this.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the former
president of TransAfrica Fo-
rum. Follow him on Twitter,
Facebook and at www.billf-
letcherjr.com. And look for his
new novel, The Man Who Fell
from the Sky.
Republicans Change the Script and Now Support Obamacare
H
ealthcare in 2018 looms
as a major national is-
sue, which will deter-
mine how Americans
will vote for a candidate. The
Democrats and President
Obama were correct when
they implemented the (ACA)
Affordable Care Act. There
were many problems in exe-
cutions with the ACA, but 15
million additional Americans
were able to get health insur-
ance coverage who were de-
nied earlier.
Once President Obama left
office, the ACA has become
more popular and the pre-ex-
citing conditions provision
has Republican states putting
ballot initiatives as amend-
ments to expand healthcare
programs. The provision for
pre-existing conditions has
become one of the major is-
sues in the 2018 mid-term
election.
“It also has become a focal
point in numerous gover-
nors’ races. The election-day
push in conservative leaning
states for one of the main as-
pects of the Obama’s health-
care law has surprised many
Republican lawmakers after
they spent years attacking it,”
says Paul Waldman, reporter
of the Washington Post.
The Republicans have tried
to repeal the ACA at least 60
or 70 times and, as there are
only 8 days left before the
election, many of the Repub-
Roger
Caldwell
NNPA
Columnist,
On Point
Media Grp
licans (starting with Trump)
are changing their tunes.
Some would call this lying
and fabricating the truth, but
the Republicans consider this
good politics.
“
isting conditions, and if they
don’t, they will after I speak
to them,” he said on Twitter. “I
am in total support.”
It appears that this new ini-
tiative is starting to be pushed
by Trump and the Republican
Party because the Democrats
and President Obama were
right for the last eight years.
The Republicans have tried
to destroy and kill the ACA
every way they could think of,
but Americans are not dumb
or sleep-walking, so now they
The Republicans have tried to
repeal the ACA at least 60 or 70
times and, as there are only 8 days
left before the election, many of
the Republicans (starting with
Trump) are changing their tunes.
Some would call this lying
There is no shame in the Re-
publicans’ game, so making a
180-degree change near the
end of the midterm election
proves they cannot be trust-
ed. Integrity and trust is not
something that is high on the
Republicans’ list of the right
things to do.
President Trump leapt into
the election year fight over
protections for people with
pre-existing conditions last
week saying the GOP will de-
fend them. “All Republicans
support people with pre-ex-
have flipped the script.
Healthcare should not be
a privilege, it should be a
right — and universal. As
Americans demand universal
healthcare, the richest coun-
try in the world should be a
model for healthcare around
the globe.
Even though President
Trump says he is supporting
pre-existing conditions there
appears to be a contradiction
in his new imitative. Twenty
(20) Republican states have a
lawsuit in court challenging
Obamacare constitutionally.
They argue that the rest of
the law does not hold up, after
the individual mandate provi-
sion was rolled back last year.
So, Trump and the Repub-
licans are talking out of all
sides of their mouth, and
healthcare is a complete mess
if Americans follow the party
in power. President Trump
ran in 2016 on scrapping
Obamacare and nearly suc-
ceeded in doing so last year.
Now, he is lying again, and
it is incumbent for the me-
dia and Democrats to expose
President Trump’s lies and
call him out as a fabricator.
The Democrats are on the
side of truth, and they must
continue to present the facts,
because the truth will set
America free from criminals
and corruption.
“Despite the fact that Amer-
ica spends almost twice as
much per person on health-
care as any other country,
our healthcare outcomes lag
behind other nations’. We
get poor value for what we
spend,” says Sen. Bernie Sand-
ers. Healthcare is a major is-
sue in the 2018 election, vote
with the Democrats.
As you vote in this election
this year, know your facts,
and study the candidate’s re-
cord and platform. Many of
the candidates are lying, and
not telling the truth. Don’t be
fooled.
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