The looting – and muting – of America

The scenes of widespread violence, destruction and looting in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death shocked me to the core.

JUNE 18, 2020 11:56

‘THERE IS a frightening air of intimidation that is stifling legitimate debate and impeding Americans’ inherent ability to openly voice their own opinion.’ (photo credit: PXFUEL) — ‘THERE IS a frightening air of intimidation that is stifling legitimate debate and impeding Americans’ inherent ability to openly voice their own opinion.’

(photo credit: PXFUEL)

America, I’m worried about you. More than I worried in 2001, when Islamic murderers bombed the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, killing 3,000 people and igniting a global war on terror. More than I worried in 2007, when the sub-prime mortgage crisis rocked the US economy and created a recession. In both of those crises, you gathered up your good old American stamina, courage and resiliency and weathered the storms. This time, I fear, it’s worse. A lot worse.

Now, I know that it’s not really my business to intrude; after all, I don’t live in America anymore, and it’s not my place to tell you what to do. I know that I myself resent when fellow Jews living in the Diaspora are too critical of what goes on here, especially in relation to our security and defense issues. But, what can I do? My heart still has a warm spot for the “old country,” and I’m too agitated by what’s going on across the ocean to stay silent.

The scenes of widespread violence, destruction and looting in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death shocked me to the core. It brought back bitter memories of the Palestinian Intifada of two decades ago, when terrorists and hoodlums rioted with abandon, bombing and burning and wreaking destruction upon innocents. Extreme as it may sound, when I saw the scenes of hundreds of store windows smashed and wild gangs of hoodlums allowed to rob at will – as law enforcement personnel stood immobile on the sidelines - I could not help but think of the image of Kristallnacht, 1938.

I know that racism is a serious problem in American society; neither the Civil War nor the ongoing Civil Rights Movement has succeeded in eradicating the entrenched discrimination and disenfranchisement that unfairly targets African-Americans, along with other minorities. The massive, peaceful protests decrying this injustice are understandable, justified and appropriate. If they will bring attention – and concerted action – to the inequality permeating the nation, then they are a blessing.

YET TWO outgrowths of this struggle deeply trouble me. The first is the elevation of George Floyd, a career criminal with a long police record, to the status of hero. A victim he was, a symbol, of course, but no hero. As Candace Owens and other prominent African-Americans have so eloquently stated, it is imperative that blacks have inspirational, uplifting, upstanding role models to look up to and emulate if they wish to change the paradigm and elevate their cultural vision. There are countless black personalities in every field – the arts, entertainment, medicine, finance, the military – to choose from. In the political world, too, there are many exemplary African-Americans, including America’s Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and former president Barack Obama. But drug dealers, hateful inciters like Louis Farrakhan and antisemitic rappers like Ice Cube and Jay Electronica – who wrote, “I bet you a Rothschild I get a bang for my dollar, the synagogue of Satan want me to hang by my collar” – only reinforce racist images and perpetuate the cycle of hate and revenge.

We in Israel can relate well to this problem, as the Palestinians suffer from the same destructive syndrome. They elevate to heroic status the most vicious, criminal terrorists in their midst. While they vilify – if not assassinate – the peacemakers who seek a peaceful solution, they name parks and schools and stadiums after heinous killers of innocent civilians. In fact, when asked who they would most like to lead them after current PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas finally steps down, they consistently name Marwan Barghouti, a monstrous mass-murderer who, thankfully, is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison.

THE SECOND deeply disturbing phenomenon is the decline of decent discourse and the suppression of conflicting opinion. Needless to say, this is a major criticism made about the president, but it permeates American society at every level. I’m no shrinking violet, but even I blushed when Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago – where 18 people were killed in just one day of black-on-black violence recently – publicly ranted, “I have one thing to say to President Trump: ‘It starts with F and ends with U.’ ”

There is a frightening air of intimidation that is stifling legitimate debate and impeding Americans’ inherent ability to openly voice their own opinion. America has always prided itself on the freedom to express independent thought, but that freedom is in deep danger. Voltaire’s famous dictum: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” seems to have vanished.

The examples are everywhere: The editorial page editor of The New York Times – supposedly the leading purveyor of “the marketplace of ideas” approach – is forced to resign for permitting a US Senator to write an op-ed supporting the use of soldiers to keep the peace. The Zionist Organization of America is threatened with expulsion from the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations for, among other things, daring to call out Black Lives Matter for a plank in their platform accusing Israel of “genocide.” Movies such as the classic, Gone with the Wind are to be sanitized to remove too-mild treatment of slavery. New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees is lambasted by teammates and sports figures nationwide, and compelled to apologize for saying that kneeling during the national anthem before games disrespects the flag. Even Ellen DeGeneres – who is quite generous in her liberal creds – is bombarded by angry Twitter litter for having the audacity to include “people of color,” rather than blacks alone, in her call for social equality. And of course, any – I mean any - complimentary words about President Trump are met with vociferous, even violent reaction in liberal quarters.

What’s next? Will the mobs demand that the White House be repainted?!

ISRAEL HAS faced this same climate of intimidation. It is particularly widespread on American college campuses, where any speaker, Jewish or not, who attempts to present the Israeli point of view is shouted down, rudely prevented from talking and must often be whisked away to be saved from a lynching. There are none so deaf, alas, as he who will not hear.

There is a lot of hype these days about what is known as, “The Talk” – what black parents feel obliged to tell their children, so as to warn them about the danger they may face because of the color of their skin. I suggest that all parents have “The Talk” with their child, and this is what they should say:

“Dear Son or Daughter: There is good and bad among all peoples in this world. You must strive to be good, and to do good. Use your skills and your strength to better yourself and to make the world a better place. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Seek wisdom and learn from others, but think your own thoughts as well. Be loyal to friends, to family, to God, but most of all be loyal to yourself. If you are threatened, defend yourself. If you are harmed, seek justice, not revenge. Be ambitious, but do not succumb to dishonesty. Be proud of who you are, but not to the detriment of those who differ from you. Dare to dream, but work to achieve.”

Maybe that’s a start to a better tomorrow for all colors.

The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana; jocmtv@netvision.net.il