Way back in 1989, there was an infamous investigation unfolding in New York City when a woman jogger was attacked, beaten and raped. Because crime was at a high point in that moment citizens demanded that the perpetrator or perpetrators be immediately found, arrested and sent to trial. In the hurry to make the streets safe again five young Black men were accused of the crime. They had been seen being rowdy in Central Park where the assault took place and even admitted that they had been there. After hours of being interviewed without their parents or an attorney the boys confessed one by one under pressure. Even though their stories did not match in many of the most important details they were arrested and tried and convicted.
The whole city of New York was in an uproar over the incident and one of its citizens, Donald Trump, took out ads in all four of the city’s newspapers under the headline, Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring Our Police Back. His message to city leaders was clear: ”Many New York families – White, Black, Hispanic and Asian – have had to give up the pleasure of a leisurely stroll in the Park at dusk, the Saturday visit to the playground with their families, the bike ride at dawn, or just sitting on their stoops…. Mayor Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer … Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these murderers and I always will. … How can our great society tolerate the continued brutalization of its citizens by crazed misfits? Criminals must be told that their Civil Liberties End When an Attack On Our Safety Begins!”
The five young men who became known as The Central Park Five spent years in prison and fortunately were not killed by the state for their purported crimes. Later another imprisoned man admitted that he had been the individual who had attacked and raped the woman. DNA proved that his story was true and all five who had been falsely imprisoned were released, but the damage had already been done to their lives.
I keep thinking of this event as Trump promises to take over the city of Washington D.C. His claim that crime is out of control is as bogus as the conviction of the young Black men in 1989. The truth is that crime in D.C. is at an all time low and there is no need from such a dramatic show of force. It appears that one of the young DOGE members was attacked and beaten over the weekend. He reported that some very young black kids who appeared to be around thirteen to sixteen years old were the guilty parties. So without actually consulting with the D.C. mayor or Chief of Police Trump has declared that he is taking over the city to protect the citizens by bringing in the National Guard, a move that is overkill given the circumstances. It is a tactic that he has already used in Los Angeles.
In a press conference Trump suggested that D.C. is riddled with crime.”Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it,” In the same moment he also said that he was going to remove the homeless people from the city as well.
While it might appear to some that Trump is simply attempting to insure law and order and the safety of both citizens and visitors to Washington D.C., his hasty decision reflects a much darker side of his personality. If he had had his way in New York City back in 1989 those five innocent young man would have been put to death. He has a habit of shooting first and considering the implications of what he is doing later. He is playing a dangerous game only to impress his MAGA supporters by making them think that he has no patience with crime. The irony of it all is that he himself is a convicted felon and without safety mechanisms that have allowed him to have a fair trial and even time to appeal, he would not be in the White House now. His 34 felonies would have made him ineligible. The convicted felon is asserting his power mostly to take off the heat that is reflected in his low poll numbers.
Trump seems to be reaching for anything that will take the concern over his tariffs and the revelations of the Epstein files from public discourse. Such maneuvers have worked for him in the past so he is playing a game of deflection that never seems to grow old with his supporters even when it should be totally apparent that he is running scared while attempting to play the tough guy. In truth he does not want us to know what is in the Epstein files. He does not want us to understand that he is not holding a peace talk in Alaska at the end of the week. He is meeting with Putin to look like he is doing the whole world a favor when instead he will likely try to sell out Ukraine. He does not want us to see his actions as cruelty or vindictiveness even as they are. He is small minded man who is undoing two hundred fifty years of our democracy and freedoms. We should all be adamant that we want his dangerous controls to stop now!
There are some who suggest that the takeover in Washington D.C. is only a trial run for the future that Trump envisions in city after city. We may all soon witness armed soldiers patrolling the streets of America. Will Trump evade any culpability that he may have in the Epstein case by throwing crumbs at the American people that he thinks will make us look away? These are things that worry me and they should worry every citizen who loves this nation. We can’t look away!
All It Takes Is A Little Love 