Opinion

Although I participated in the countercultural "revolutions," antiwar protests and racial conflicts of the 1960s, it wasn't until August 2016 that I had my first truly unnerving intimations of a full-blown American civil war: Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump told a rally that if Hillary Clinton "gets to pick her judges, judicial appointments, nothing you can do, folks. Although, the Second Amendment people — maybe there is. I don't know."

By June 1, 2020, Trump's seeming afterthought about "Second Amendment people" had metastasized into something truly scary. He and combat-fatigues-clad Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with Attorney General William Barr, strode from the White House to Lafayette Park, where a peaceful demonstration had been dispersed brutally by National Guard troops.

Right-wing commentators and politicians wasted no time celebrating that it was a Black man -- out on $1,000 cash bail -- who was charged with five counts of murder in the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy Sunday.

Darrell Brooks, 39, of Milwaukee, was immediately adopted as a straw man by the right in one of the more twisted examples of whataboutism in memory. It didn't hurt that with a long criminal history with 10 arrests spanning the past 22 years, Brooks fit the basest false stereotypes of Black men.

After the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on Friday afternoon, right-wing trolls — many of whom are elected members of Congress — were ecstatic at this prime opportunity to trigger the liberals. Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Madison Cawthorne of North Carolina, and Paul Gosar of Arizona — all Republicans more interested in trolling than governance — made showily public offers of an internship to Rittenhouse. Cawthorne even took it to the next level, instructing his supporters to "be armed and dangerous." Never one to be out-trolled, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia let loose with some truly unhinged tweets about "radical Marxists" who are trying to start "a race war," proclaiming that "gun rights are the only thing holding back the Communist Revolution the Democrats are waging." And on the Senate side, Ted Cruz of Texas attacked the "corrupt corporate media," skillfully targeting the very people he needs to amplify his message and get that sweet trolling attention.

Right-wing pundits joined in on all the gleeful trolling, as well.

Two prominent conservative voices have finally decided they've had enough and quit their gigs at Fox News.

Stephen Hayes, author of "The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein has Endangered America," and Jonah Goldberg of "Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change" fame announced that they resigned from the flagship right-wing network over "Patriot Purge," Tucker Carlson's fraudulent "documentary" about January 6th. I guess everyone has their breaking point, although it's kind of hard to believe it was Carlson's scurrilous project that did it rather than the event itself.

If Bill Murray were to star in a sequel to Groundhog Day, he'd wake up to the Sonny and Cher alarm clock, take the cold shower, step in the puddle, parry the insurance agent, trudge to the gazebo…and see Chris Christie doing his same old song and dance.

Official Washington will be quiet this week, but the fallout from the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict will continue to divide America along the Trumpian fault lines of fear, violence, and racism.

Closing arguments are scheduled today in the trial of three men charged with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. Though they chased him, they are claiming self-defense because, they say, Arbery tried to get control of a shotgun one of them was carrying. As with the Rittenhouse case, the trial raises questions of how self-defense laws will hold up as guns proliferate. Regardless of how it come out, the case also illustrates America's deepening split.

"White freedom" could bring the ultimate ruination of America. By that term, I do not simply mean "white privilege" or "racist" behavior that violates social norms and is considered unacceptable or aberrant. White freedom is much more powerful than that: it is a core organizing principle of American society.

In his recent book "White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea," Tyler Stovall explains this concept as "the belief (and practice) that freedom is central to white racial identity, and that only white people can or should be free."

Nov. 12 marked the historic day when after 13 years, Britney Spears finally freed herself from her father's stranglehold, proclaiming, "I ain't a slave 4 u!" The termination process of Britney's conservatorship went into full effect after a court hearing, booting her father, James Spears, as her conservator.

This article first appeared on Salon.

Republicans have an obvious race problem — one they prefer not to admit, even to themselves. The party's voter base is overwhelmingly white, and Republicans are now actively trying to suppress Black voters (and other voters of color) through a range of Jim Crow tactics. They reflexively support police even in the most egregious cases of racist violence (such as the murder of George Floyd last year) and have consistently depicted Black Lives Matter as a subversive, anti-American movement. But they can't win elections without moderate and independent voters who are uncomfortable with overt and blatant manifestations of racism, so they claim that Democrats and liberals are the "real racists."

This article first appeared in Salon.

Both defendants in separate hearings said … that they were "caught up in the moment" Jan. 6. That was part of their argument as they sought leniency. …The judge said that one of the reasons (the defendant) was getting the sentencing of 45 days was that he seemed "exceedingly remorseful."
— Scott MacFarlane, NBC4 Washington Investigative Reporter, 9/29/21

Were you caught up in the moment of attempting to overthrow a democracy? Do you now feel, with cause, that you made a really bad choice? Are family members, friends and bosses still justifiably angry? You are not alone. If you wish people would forget about when you scaled the walls of the United States Capitol, that's a tough ask. But if you could rappel back to Earth for a minute and apologize? They might forgive you. Bring a gift. Or three.

Luckily, there's an app for that. Regretsy provides a marketplace of apology wares for those you've alienated by attempting a coup. From artwork to technology, it's never been easier to say "I'm exceedingly remorseful."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy really thought he was going to own the liberals. Spoiler alert: The liberals were not owned.

This article first appeared in Salon.

Organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville are on trial for conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence in the federal lawsuit Sines v. Kessler brought by Integrity First For America.

The stated goals of the rally were to unite various factions of alt-right and neo-nazi groups to express racism and antisemitism but also to oppose the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. The past few years have seen a strong backlash to President Obama's presidency and a white panic reaction to America's historical record becoming more accurate and inclusive. In a fitting response to their attempts to protect historical whitewashing, the men are charged under a 150-year-old federal law passed to disband the first Ku Klux Klan.