Amy, I wanted to talk about something else
which I think is very important.
We’re seeing a lot of it now, which is these
protests around the country of people demanding
an end to the shutdowns that were aimed to
stop the spread of the pandemic.
And what troubles me most about this is how
right-wing extremists are brandishing automatic
weapons, and they’ve become regular features
of these protests, and with the man in the
White House saying nothing to condemn this
form of intimidation.
And obviously, most of them are Trump supporters.
And I’d like our viewers and listeners to
ask themselves a question: If hundreds of
African Americans or Latinos showed up in
cities around the country brandishing automatic
weapons, what would be the response of the
country to this?
Why is this being almost accepted and normalized
now as a method of protest?
And my fear is that this will become normalized
over the next few months as we head toward
a bitter national election.
And we should make no mistake, that this country
is edging closer and closer to neo-fascist authoritarianism.
And, Juan, you say the issue of it being almost
accepted.
It’s not almost.
The president, from the bully pulpit of the
White House, is encouraging it — right?
— saying these are his people.
Well, he’s encouraging the protests.
And he’s saying “liberate” these states
with these protests.
Right, he’s encouraging the protests.
He hasn’t directly, to my knowledge, encouraged
the armed — the brandishing of weapons.
But he’s accepting it and praising these
folks as wonderful Americans.
And I don’t think we should discount the
possibility that this president will declare
an election that he loses as a fraud and illegitimate,
and attempt to stay in power.
You know, some people may say this is far-fetched.
I hope it is.
But I think that we shouldn’t delude ourselves
that we are living in extraordinary times
in the United States right now.
