I was born in 1956 and grew up as a white male in one of the nation's most "racist" cities - Memphis. I lived there during the infamous "garbage workers" strike (we didn't say sanitation back then), which culminated in the assassination of Martin Luther King. As I've gotten older I realize now that even though I thought of myself as far from being racially biased, I was raised, quite insidiously, to be a racist. I attended an all white high school in which our mascots were the "rebels," confederate flags flew in the hallways, "Dixie," was played at every athletic event (you get the picture) because Memphis was the last city in the south to integrate it's schools (in the 1970's!); "garbage men" often suffered serious injuries from dog bites because they were required to retrieve garbage from people's back yards, etc. A black neighborhood existed behind my favorite donut shop just a mile from my home that I didn't realize was there because there were no street lights, sidewalks, paved roads, etc. I came to the abrupt realization that I was not nearly as enlightened about race while, as a student at Memphis State University, I casually used a clearly racist term in front of another black student (Trent) who I thought of as a friend. We were discussing something that was broken and I said. "Well, we can n****r-rig it." He looked at me with a great deal of hurt (not anger) on his face and asked me to repeat what I said. Instead of apologizing I passed it off as a common turn-of-phrase, but I was deeply ashamed and I have never used that phrase (or any other with that word in it) again. Trent distanced himself from me from then on and I often think of him and hope he has since found better friends than I was. I owe him an apology and a large degree of gratitude because he forced me to see what I was and to question everything I thought about the situation there. Every time I return to Memphis, a city I truly love and still think of as home, I am forced to see that not much has changed. This week the rest of the nation got a dose of the reality that is Memphis - a beautiful city with a rich cultural heritage that is still deeply divided racially. I'm so sorry Trent.
William, thank you for sharing your experience and your journey with readers of this newsletter. To ensure that others see it, I am pinning your comment to the top.
Thank you so much for sharing. I grew up in Long Island where I thought we were all non racist until I got older and realized that whites lived in certain towns or sections. Levittown created after WWII did not let Blacks live or use the swimming pools. We Northerners thought racism was a southern thing. Not!! Red lining was alive but no one called it that.
As is often the case when I read Robert’s newsletter, today, I will carry it with me, in my thoughts, through the day, and perhaps beyond. I will remember lines, or more often, remember how I felt on reading it. And that stays with me long after my first reading of it. (Oftentimes, I go back to portions of the newsletter, or I simply realize its impact on my thinking, my conversations, my actions, and upon my heart.)
Today, William, I’m rather certain I will remember your post. I read it a couple of hours ago, and your words and your awarenesses remain. I suppose too, I feel sadness.
I am reminded of MLK and how one of his final acts of courage and justice was to speak out and accompany those who were treated unfairly, and how he paid the price with his life.
I am saddened by the fact that the conditions of the “black neighborhood” were somehow hidden, at least from your consciousness and experience. That was certainly true for me growing up in Brooklyn, NY. And dare I say, five decades later outside of NYC, there are “communities of color” not far from me referred to as “bad neighborhoods.”
And to your, what sounds to be, life-altering experience with your friend Trent, I’m sorry for the pain of that. Though your description of Trent’s response of hurt rather than anger, seems to me, speaks of Trent’s character and heart; and of your awareness, character and heart as well. That you recognized the power of your words at the time and since, is a tender lesson to us all. How words matter, and are powerful, and can be hurtful.
I’m sorry Trent distanced himself from you, though it is understandable. Seems though that in a real way, he remains with you. And if I could offer a hope, or even a dream, I wish that Trent would somehow find you again, or at least learn, even from afar, that his friend William has remained faithful, and is truly sorry for any harm he may have done with his words. And that even through them, he was profoundly changed. May this be true for us all.
Amazing how one comment can change our lives around for the better! I used to smoke cigarettes and casually tossed a butt on the sidewalk, as people did back then. A woman walking from the other direction and about 4 feet away from me looked me right in the eye and said, "Litterbug." I immediately realized she was right and never littered again in any way. On the racist thing, I grew up as a white person in a very white area of Ann Arbor but was fortunate to hang out on the University of Michigan campus. That campus was very diverse and I credit my liberal views to having hung out there. Still, I have to battle the childhood conditioning of my neighborhood. Like philosophers say, "we aren't responsible for our thoughts but we are responsible for our behavior." I hope Trent and others like him realize they changed us for the better.
Thank you William. I believe in the power of story. Every time you tell your story, you touch hearts and wake up minds about the horror that is racism in this country, and what needs to change, and for that I am grateful. I see our young Black victims of police brutality as martyrs to this change, and I pray that more and more hearts are touched by the tragedies and choose to work for change. Dr. King: Hatred cannot drive out hatred; only love can do that." How does one love the brutal police? Not with mushy sentiment but with declaring that we and they are better than that, while at the same time insisting on justice for their actions. Blessings,
A way to love the perpetrators comes from one of my favorite books, written by an Episcopalian minister "My Self, Your Self and the Self of the Universe." He says we must recognize that the other is "what God is doing in that location" while at the same time fighting against the evil they perpetrate. William and I and others are lucky to have been touched by people who enlighten us.
Thank you Gail; I didn't know that author. I'm now a member of Unity Worldwide Ministries, and our founders, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, have a similar way to look at evil. It's what we are capable of when we are not aware of the divine/goodness nature within us. I mostly try to avoid philosophical debates about how to talk about this, and just hold on to love exists as energy that we can access any time we want, and that evil comes from being out of touch with that energy and driven instead by pain/ignorance/loneliness. Accountability matters and redemption is possible. Blessings,
William, thank you for being willing to look yourself in the mirror, not like what you see, and want to do and be better. We all would do well to do the same. Like all Black people who were born and raised in America, I have lived with anti-Black racism all of my life. From the somewhat more benign forms (like being ignored by White sales people when I enter a store) to much more damaging forms (like being refused an interview for a job after being told brazenly "Based on your resume, I didn't know you were Black" and then having the interviewer walk out. Yes, that really happened to me. I have been called the "n" word to my face only once in my life by of all people a gray haired drunken White guy staggering down the street who appeared to be homeless. My spontaneous reaction was to laugh. I thought to myself, "How absurd." To my mind, you think given his circumstances, he would try to get right with God.
As for forgiveness, my understanding of Scripture tells me that Jesus commands us to forgive those who with genuine remorse and a willingness to change (repent) ask for forgiveness
Luke 17:3-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
"If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.”
There is no one to forgive without confession by the one who has committed the wrong. Yet I think far too often White people have come to expect Black people to do just that, and sometimes as Black Christians, we feel somehow obligated to do so. But even God requires our confession and repentance as a basis for His forgiveness of our sins and our salvation.
So William, I hope somehow Trent will learn of your apology and indeed forgive you. It may well be something that will be healing for him as well.
William: I grew up in a "conservatively liberal" upper-middle class neighborhood in the Boston suburbs. Racism was there for sure, but I sometimes sarcastically refer to it, upon reflection, as "polite racism" - people were embarrassed to show openly their racist views. I'd put my dad in that category, but not my mother. She had been raised in privilege in Princeton, NJ, with a black chauffeur and his wife, the housekeeper. My mother was emotionally more attached to the housekeeper than to her own mother. When the chauffeur talked back to my grandmother once, probably for good reason, she fired them both. My mother was furious with my grandmother, and emotionally distraught. Essentially, "her mother" had been fired. But, back to my childhood. There was one black girl in my elementary school class, the daughter of a local domestic woman who worked in one of the large homes not far from mine. When my mother organized a birthday party for me, possibly my eighth (and that would have been around the year you were born, William) she naturally invited that girl. To her utter amazement, one of the mom's in our immediate neighborhood, considered to be a good friend, called her up and said her child would not be coming to the party if that girl was in the mix. To her everlasting regret, my mother backed down, and dis-invited the girl, whose mom basically said, "Don't you worry. I understand." On the day of the party, my mom called me in from playing with the other kids in the backyard, and walked me to the front door where my black classmate stood with her mom, with a present for me. I did not know any of the backstory yet, and can recall being simply grateful for the gift. Years later, when my mother told me the whole story, I was really distressed but, sadly, not entirely surprised, and have always "played around" in my head wondering which mom had called in to derail the little black girl's invite. But most of all, William, I would dearly like to be able to find that girl, as you might with Trent, and just apologize for myself, my neighborhood, my race. Suspecting how she was raised, she'd probably say, "Don't you worry. I understand." So sad to me now, with all the progress that has been made, to realize how far we yet have to go.
William's post can open the eyes of Americans who have narrow or limited awareness of the racism (sadly) embedded in our society. The description of the invisible neighborhood behind William's favorite donut shop is particularly compelling and applies to all of our cities, not just to Memphis. I join the other readers in thanking William for his honesty and for his eloquence and of course thank Rob for enabling these important conversations.
This past week I finished reading “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. I will never see racism the same again, but as a central aspect of our disturbing times. I particularly encourage you to read Part Seven “Awakening.” Yet, I would tell you that in my reading never have I highlighted so many cogent portions of a book. She begins with a definition of “caste” and reports on its history in India, Germany, and the United States. The book is well researched and integrated with her personal experiences and stories of African-Americans mistreatment throughout history and currently. She offers a section writing about what she describes as “the pillars of caste.” In her last section she discusses current racial/caste behaviors as they impact voting patterns and more. We have many miles to walk to heal ourselves.
William, you and I are contemporaries. I grew up in small town east Arkansas, and your experience of that time mirrors mine. My friends who aren’t from the South can't fathom how insidious and baked in the racism was. It is my hope that I have left it behind, but it was the air we breathed then. I was fortunate to have parents and teachers and church ministers who awakened me and helped me challenge those odious ideas. I hope Trent would forgive you.
William, I feel your pain in what you have written here. I hope you have, or at least can forgive yourself for a sin that I strongly suspect was committed in ignorance rather than malice.
Thank you for your deeply moving words that resonate with such honesty and self reflection. May we all reflect and change the way you have done. Heaven help all of us to be kind to all. Thank you!!
Thank you Robert. And thank you William Carlton too. My friend who just recently moved to CT from living in Memphis for years and years said that there are still classified ads for Klan meetings. What?!! So awful.
I wanted to alert people that PostcardsToVoters.org launched postcards for the three super important February 7th Special Elections for PA State House. They are in fairly safe blue districts but Special Elections are tricky if people think no need to go out or they don't know about them-- if we lose one of the three, we will not have the majority in the PA House…so critical we keep the majority we miraculously won in PA State House in November with the huge help of Giving Circles with The States Project!!! Please help if you can! Even a small number helps! You can get addresses & scripts from Abby the bot 24-7 if you sign up with PostcardsToVoters.org by either emailing join@tonythedemocrat.org or texting "join" to Abby the bot at 484-275-2229.
Also we will be writing for Jennifer McClellan for her Feb. 21st Special Election for US Congress as soon as PA is done, I believe!
Where O’Where, did Robert Hubbell come from? Amidst the scarred and depressing news each day, Robert reminds us of what makes America great and what makes mankind so special. He reminds us of the good we are capable of and the special qualities of love and caring we possess.
I sent his truly empathetic and poetic piece on his kippah to my 6 grandchildren. As Jews surrounded by rising antisemitism , Robert’s admiration of our traditions and embracing their significance in his life was a message I wanted my family to see.
While there are legions of Jews to admire, Jamie Raskin and Adam Schiff are amongst our proudest. Their integrity and love of country are models of what statesmanship, politics, humanity, dignity should be like.
While Trump has become a model for some, Raskin and Schiff, Jews, steeped in the traditions that Robert admires so, makes us proud to be Americans and gives us strength in times of trouble.
Recall it has taken centuries for the Roman Catholic Church to revise its official position regarding the role of the Jews in Christ’s persecution! …….Centuries….! Connect the dots to today’s Federalist society members, mostly avowed devout Catholics, and the exclusion of Adam Schiff from the house intelligence committee, can’t resist a very unintelligent decision! The Federalist society’s dark money controls the policies of McCarthy and the maga cultists in the House. Hatred never rests nor abates!
I agree about Adam Schiff for Senate. that said, whichever of the three wins the primary will make an effective senator. But for me, Schiff is uniquely qualified by experience and knowledge to face down the threat from MAGA, which will not be going away regardless of what happens to Trump.
Rob, your essays are saturated in kindness. Your messages are kind. Your clarity declaring stark truth, as you’ve done in today’s Edition, is doing a kindness. The message on your now-son-in-law‘s shirt is a good one.  Yes, may we be kind to one another. 
Key change (new topic): on occasion, do you find yourself musing about possibilities of President Raskin? President Schiff? I pray I live that long. 
Katherine, you and I are on the same wavelength regarding Schiff or Raskin as future POTUS. Along with Robert's daily briefings, I find that a hope such as this gives me the energy to fight on in the protection of our democracy
To all of those who cling to the hope that they will wake up to the news that Trump has been indicted only to be disappointed, here's a different take to cheer you up. Trump has already been indicted and convicted by a jury of his peers..all of us who vote. He lost the 2016 election by several million votes, lost to Biden by several million as well, and ruined the mid-term results for the GOP doing away with their anticipated rout. He is the epitome of irrelevance by every definition and a loser, something he has been trying to escape since childhood. We are all fine..he isn't. Yes, our democracy faces continuing challenges brought to the surface by his autocratic behavior but Americans have united to deal with those threats and we are already better for it. More work to do. Our right to vote and to use that right will always remain our greatest weapon and it will never be banned.
An important argument for Section 230 repeal is that it would lead to the downsizing of Facebook and Twitter. In their current mode of operation, these companies depend on not being held responsible for defamatory items in third party content. If they were subject to the same sort of liability as their competitors in print and broadcast media, they would have to spend far more money in viewing and moderating posts and ads.
Jan 27, 2023·edited Jan 27, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Robert and others, I want to quickly post a link to a New York Times article where professors of criminology and criminal justice profile 50 years of mass killings and summarize the underlying cause as a rise of deaths of despair. They see mass shootings being related to suicide and recommend that we must take measures to strengthen the mental health and crisis support system in addition to strengthening laws to address the proliferation of guns and prevent their becoming instruments of tragedy. Here is the link. If you have trouble getting past the paywall, respond to this comment and I can send a limited number of gift links to the article. Its title is "We Profiled the ‘Signs of Crisis’ in 50 Years of Mass Shootings. This Is What We Found" by Jillian Peterson and James Densley.
I subscribe, just logged in and have the article. Thank you for the post,b by the way. I clicked on reader view, not always available, but in this case, yes, which gave me the full text without ads; then I forward to myself to read later, lest I forget, and also can send selectively to friends who want to see the article. It’s a workaround that is helpful on occasion. Just thought I’d mention it.
After reading Letters From American this evening and Timothy Snyder earlier, in which there is no longer doubt about the Trump=Russian connection, plus the machinations of their toadies, plus the pervasive gun deaths, plus a congressman bringing defused grenades into congress yesterday, I have to ask myself, is the repeated and terrible life-ending behavior by police officers also part of everything gone wrong in the universe? Who in god's name is organizing all of this? It's just too many times for a coincidence. What is going wrong with law enforcement when cops keep doing murders. Excuse my paranoia, but it's just too much.
Take the rest you need. We can sort out Meta on our own, appreciate Adam Schiff, and appreciate the cumulative responsibility of several presidents holding onto papers they should not have had -- all on our own.
When you have your energy back, there is a nightmare to contemplate. In 60-40 Democratic California, four outstanding Democrats (Add Ro Khanna) with 15% each and two Republicans with 20% each making the run off. Let's find a way to consolidate early on behalf of one of those outstanding Democratic Members of Congress.
Perhaps some of the Democrats can cool their egos. Maybe it will help if they recall that John Quincy Hancock’s best work is generally accounted to have been not his presidency (which was undistinguished at best), but in the House from 1830 to 1848. He became known as Old Man Eloquent, and died at his desk in the House chamber. Tip O’Neil and Nancy Pelosi are more recent reminders that there’s nothing shabby about being in the House of Representatives. (Unless you’re one of today’s Republicans.)
Yes, we Californians are in quite a quagmire right now! I love Adam Schiff but I also adore Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. Newsom promised when the time came for Feinstein to retire, he wanted to see another woman and one of color take her place. I admire each of them and this will be really hard.
As someone who worked his tail off for Barack Obama, took time off to work for Elizabeth Warren and canvassed for Hillary, I find it troubling that Gov. Newsom would condition his support on race or sex. I believe that--particularly in a state like California--we should be able to get beyond such factors to look at individuals and what each of them would bring to the job they seek.
I am an admirer of Adam Schiff and once thought a potential future President -- and still consider that a real possibility. That said, I am equally an admirer if Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. This is going to be a tough one.
On the subject of Adam Schiff, this tweet thread is ominously revealing on numerous issues, including McCarhy’s motive for removing Schiff from the Intelligence Committee.
I should have linked to Snyder's tweet thread last night; I was hoping he would publish it on his substack blog (easier to read and access). To summarize, the FBI and DOJ performed an artificially narrow investigation in 2016 into Trump's connections with Russia, focusing almost exclusively on campaign finance violations--and ignoring broader relationships. The agent in charge of that investigation, Charles McGonigal, is now accused of working (in retirement) for an oligarch at the center of the Trump / Russia connection. It stinks to high heaven, and it still appears that the FBI is "going easy" on McGonigal. Rather than charging him with espionage, it is focused on violations of lobbying violations for foreign actors. Merrick Garland needs to clean house at the FBI, not protect his own.
How is it defending democracy or supporting our laws for Merrick Garland to go easy on McGonigal because McGonigal worked under the DOJ? Perhaps I'm not remembering correctly, but it seems Garland went easy on one or two other situations that began under the last president in the name of preserving the DOJ. Even if it's just the McGonigal case, how can Garland think going easy on a traitor, who worked at the top of one of our most secretive and important law enforcement agencies, will preserve the integrity of the DOJ? That's disturbing.
If McGonigal did what he's alleged to have done, they should throw the book at him.
I'd be very happy to see Christopher Wray replaced as head of the FBI. I wanted him out way before this fiasco. But it seems part of Merrick Garland's "cleaning house" would also be for Garland, as Director Wray's boss, to make sure that the charges against McGonigal now include espionage rather than remaining as "lobbying violations for foreign actors."
Robert, you are such a reliable source of kindness, thoughtful analysis, and consistent pursuit of the truth and a stronger democracy. I know I rely on hearing your calming voice, even when you are discussing distressing news. You deserve all the rest and recuperation from your overwhelming week that it takes to regather your spirit. My sincere thanks and concern for your well-being and sorrow over your recent loss will be with you, and I know so many here are also sending prayers, sympathy, and gratitude your way.
in 'musical support' (and apologies for trying to attach a link) i offer the following huzzahs to robert for today's encouragement to 'love one another' (from the song 'revolution 1x1):
I'm gonna start a revolution; I'm gonna take it to the street,
I'm gonna smile at every solitary person that I meet!
I'm gonna wave at total strangers no matter where they're from.
I'm gonna start a revolution… gonna win it one by one.
The secret of this movement I'm about to share with you:
You just pick somebody that you don't know – that's all you have to do.
You don't need no other weapon than the smile that's on your face,
Just say hello, lettum know we're all part of the human race.
And if we should encounter (as I'm sure we will),
Some disbelievin' cynic who is disbelievin' still...
We're gonna open all his windows, unlock every door.
We're gonna sweep out every corner, we're gonna mop up every floor,
'Til he goes a dancin' in the jaw of the dragon and sleepin' in the lions den,
Dreamin' in the arms of angels...and he falls in Love again.
This revolution's bound to change a million hearts,
Totally disarm the enemy before the fighting starts.
We're gonna laugh in the face of evil (that misdirected fool).
We're gonna start a revolution... yeah, we're gonna win it, me and you...
But we're a raggle-taggle army - 'got no uniform or guns
Still we been called by coincidence so maybe we're the ones
To take this revolution to the street.
Smile at every solitary person that we meet.
We're gonna wave at total strangers no matter where they're from.
Gonna start a revolution... gonna win it one by one.
Thank you for posting these lyrics Noel Paul Stookey. Your lyrics and the singing of PP&M certainly influenced my early teen years (and beyond) and it’s a breath of fresh air to find you and your lyrics here tonite when the news is particularly difficult. ❤️
As always, I appreciate your handling of the key topics of the day. I totally agree with you about Adam Schiff and hope that he will be the next Senator from California. The fact that McCarthy noted in his letter to Hakeem Jeffries that kicking Schiff off the Intelligence Committee was a way to restore integrity is risible. I am sorry for the brouhaha that the House GOP has created with their destructive leadership but expect that they will relatively quickly fall apart. Bombast and incompetence likely will not thrive at the highest levels of Congress, especially in light of a Democratic majority in the Senate and the accomplishments of the Biden administration. And I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. What a wonderful tribute you wrote for her and her religion. It is why Tony Dungy's behavior is so distressing. The year that the Massachusetts Supreme Court recognized gay marriage in May, the Catholic church was one of many groups working to get a gay marriage referundum on the ballot in November. After Mass one Sunday my mother was asked by a lay minister to sign the petition. She took the petition and the lay minister handed her a pen. She responded, "I do not need the pen. I just wanted to read the petition. Do you think Jesus would sign this? Jesus loved everyone." I do not know why so many "Christians" do not understand that simple message.
I left Facebook 3 years ago and have never looked back. I continually urge my friends to do the same with some success. This cynical move to allow T back might seal the deal. I hope people leave in droves. As Adam Schiff said in his closing arguments in T’s impeachment “he’ll do it again. “ Facebook just gave him a leg up.
I ,too , am thrilled that Adam Schiff is moving out of the House. I called his headquarters and donated immediately thru Act Blue on a monthly basis. My greatest wish is that Gavin Newsom convince Dianne Feinstein to retire early and appoint Schiff to her seat post haste. I really don’t want to see a primary with such great Democrat candidates vying for the same seat in the Senate. I called Feinstein’s and Newsom’s office and said the same. Schiff deserves this seat for all that he has done nationally for this country. Maybe Nancy Pelosi will have some sway with Feinstein and Newsom on this. This is a rare opportunity to counter the craven acts of stupidity going on in the House right now. No one knows that better than Schiff and Pelosi!
I hear what you mean about Adam Schiff, but i would also hate to lose Katie Porter!! And, then i read Katherine Terhune's post about yet another police killing of Keenan Anderson in LA, and I can think of nothing else!! I am literally sick to my stomach! God help us!!
I was born in 1956 and grew up as a white male in one of the nation's most "racist" cities - Memphis. I lived there during the infamous "garbage workers" strike (we didn't say sanitation back then), which culminated in the assassination of Martin Luther King. As I've gotten older I realize now that even though I thought of myself as far from being racially biased, I was raised, quite insidiously, to be a racist. I attended an all white high school in which our mascots were the "rebels," confederate flags flew in the hallways, "Dixie," was played at every athletic event (you get the picture) because Memphis was the last city in the south to integrate it's schools (in the 1970's!); "garbage men" often suffered serious injuries from dog bites because they were required to retrieve garbage from people's back yards, etc. A black neighborhood existed behind my favorite donut shop just a mile from my home that I didn't realize was there because there were no street lights, sidewalks, paved roads, etc. I came to the abrupt realization that I was not nearly as enlightened about race while, as a student at Memphis State University, I casually used a clearly racist term in front of another black student (Trent) who I thought of as a friend. We were discussing something that was broken and I said. "Well, we can n****r-rig it." He looked at me with a great deal of hurt (not anger) on his face and asked me to repeat what I said. Instead of apologizing I passed it off as a common turn-of-phrase, but I was deeply ashamed and I have never used that phrase (or any other with that word in it) again. Trent distanced himself from me from then on and I often think of him and hope he has since found better friends than I was. I owe him an apology and a large degree of gratitude because he forced me to see what I was and to question everything I thought about the situation there. Every time I return to Memphis, a city I truly love and still think of as home, I am forced to see that not much has changed. This week the rest of the nation got a dose of the reality that is Memphis - a beautiful city with a rich cultural heritage that is still deeply divided racially. I'm so sorry Trent.
William, thank you for sharing your experience and your journey with readers of this newsletter. To ensure that others see it, I am pinning your comment to the top.
Thank you so much for sharing. I grew up in Long Island where I thought we were all non racist until I got older and realized that whites lived in certain towns or sections. Levittown created after WWII did not let Blacks live or use the swimming pools. We Northerners thought racism was a southern thing. Not!! Red lining was alive but no one called it that.
As is often the case when I read Robert’s newsletter, today, I will carry it with me, in my thoughts, through the day, and perhaps beyond. I will remember lines, or more often, remember how I felt on reading it. And that stays with me long after my first reading of it. (Oftentimes, I go back to portions of the newsletter, or I simply realize its impact on my thinking, my conversations, my actions, and upon my heart.)
Today, William, I’m rather certain I will remember your post. I read it a couple of hours ago, and your words and your awarenesses remain. I suppose too, I feel sadness.
I am reminded of MLK and how one of his final acts of courage and justice was to speak out and accompany those who were treated unfairly, and how he paid the price with his life.
I am saddened by the fact that the conditions of the “black neighborhood” were somehow hidden, at least from your consciousness and experience. That was certainly true for me growing up in Brooklyn, NY. And dare I say, five decades later outside of NYC, there are “communities of color” not far from me referred to as “bad neighborhoods.”
And to your, what sounds to be, life-altering experience with your friend Trent, I’m sorry for the pain of that. Though your description of Trent’s response of hurt rather than anger, seems to me, speaks of Trent’s character and heart; and of your awareness, character and heart as well. That you recognized the power of your words at the time and since, is a tender lesson to us all. How words matter, and are powerful, and can be hurtful.
I’m sorry Trent distanced himself from you, though it is understandable. Seems though that in a real way, he remains with you. And if I could offer a hope, or even a dream, I wish that Trent would somehow find you again, or at least learn, even from afar, that his friend William has remained faithful, and is truly sorry for any harm he may have done with his words. And that even through them, he was profoundly changed. May this be true for us all.
Amazing how one comment can change our lives around for the better! I used to smoke cigarettes and casually tossed a butt on the sidewalk, as people did back then. A woman walking from the other direction and about 4 feet away from me looked me right in the eye and said, "Litterbug." I immediately realized she was right and never littered again in any way. On the racist thing, I grew up as a white person in a very white area of Ann Arbor but was fortunate to hang out on the University of Michigan campus. That campus was very diverse and I credit my liberal views to having hung out there. Still, I have to battle the childhood conditioning of my neighborhood. Like philosophers say, "we aren't responsible for our thoughts but we are responsible for our behavior." I hope Trent and others like him realize they changed us for the better.
Thank you William. I believe in the power of story. Every time you tell your story, you touch hearts and wake up minds about the horror that is racism in this country, and what needs to change, and for that I am grateful. I see our young Black victims of police brutality as martyrs to this change, and I pray that more and more hearts are touched by the tragedies and choose to work for change. Dr. King: Hatred cannot drive out hatred; only love can do that." How does one love the brutal police? Not with mushy sentiment but with declaring that we and they are better than that, while at the same time insisting on justice for their actions. Blessings,
A way to love the perpetrators comes from one of my favorite books, written by an Episcopalian minister "My Self, Your Self and the Self of the Universe." He says we must recognize that the other is "what God is doing in that location" while at the same time fighting against the evil they perpetrate. William and I and others are lucky to have been touched by people who enlighten us.
Thank you Gail; I didn't know that author. I'm now a member of Unity Worldwide Ministries, and our founders, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, have a similar way to look at evil. It's what we are capable of when we are not aware of the divine/goodness nature within us. I mostly try to avoid philosophical debates about how to talk about this, and just hold on to love exists as energy that we can access any time we want, and that evil comes from being out of touch with that energy and driven instead by pain/ignorance/loneliness. Accountability matters and redemption is possible. Blessings,
William, thank you for being willing to look yourself in the mirror, not like what you see, and want to do and be better. We all would do well to do the same. Like all Black people who were born and raised in America, I have lived with anti-Black racism all of my life. From the somewhat more benign forms (like being ignored by White sales people when I enter a store) to much more damaging forms (like being refused an interview for a job after being told brazenly "Based on your resume, I didn't know you were Black" and then having the interviewer walk out. Yes, that really happened to me. I have been called the "n" word to my face only once in my life by of all people a gray haired drunken White guy staggering down the street who appeared to be homeless. My spontaneous reaction was to laugh. I thought to myself, "How absurd." To my mind, you think given his circumstances, he would try to get right with God.
As for forgiveness, my understanding of Scripture tells me that Jesus commands us to forgive those who with genuine remorse and a willingness to change (repent) ask for forgiveness
Luke 17:3-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
"If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.”
There is no one to forgive without confession by the one who has committed the wrong. Yet I think far too often White people have come to expect Black people to do just that, and sometimes as Black Christians, we feel somehow obligated to do so. But even God requires our confession and repentance as a basis for His forgiveness of our sins and our salvation.
So William, I hope somehow Trent will learn of your apology and indeed forgive you. It may well be something that will be healing for him as well.
William: I grew up in a "conservatively liberal" upper-middle class neighborhood in the Boston suburbs. Racism was there for sure, but I sometimes sarcastically refer to it, upon reflection, as "polite racism" - people were embarrassed to show openly their racist views. I'd put my dad in that category, but not my mother. She had been raised in privilege in Princeton, NJ, with a black chauffeur and his wife, the housekeeper. My mother was emotionally more attached to the housekeeper than to her own mother. When the chauffeur talked back to my grandmother once, probably for good reason, she fired them both. My mother was furious with my grandmother, and emotionally distraught. Essentially, "her mother" had been fired. But, back to my childhood. There was one black girl in my elementary school class, the daughter of a local domestic woman who worked in one of the large homes not far from mine. When my mother organized a birthday party for me, possibly my eighth (and that would have been around the year you were born, William) she naturally invited that girl. To her utter amazement, one of the mom's in our immediate neighborhood, considered to be a good friend, called her up and said her child would not be coming to the party if that girl was in the mix. To her everlasting regret, my mother backed down, and dis-invited the girl, whose mom basically said, "Don't you worry. I understand." On the day of the party, my mom called me in from playing with the other kids in the backyard, and walked me to the front door where my black classmate stood with her mom, with a present for me. I did not know any of the backstory yet, and can recall being simply grateful for the gift. Years later, when my mother told me the whole story, I was really distressed but, sadly, not entirely surprised, and have always "played around" in my head wondering which mom had called in to derail the little black girl's invite. But most of all, William, I would dearly like to be able to find that girl, as you might with Trent, and just apologize for myself, my neighborhood, my race. Suspecting how she was raised, she'd probably say, "Don't you worry. I understand." So sad to me now, with all the progress that has been made, to realize how far we yet have to go.
William's post can open the eyes of Americans who have narrow or limited awareness of the racism (sadly) embedded in our society. The description of the invisible neighborhood behind William's favorite donut shop is particularly compelling and applies to all of our cities, not just to Memphis. I join the other readers in thanking William for his honesty and for his eloquence and of course thank Rob for enabling these important conversations.
This past week I finished reading “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. I will never see racism the same again, but as a central aspect of our disturbing times. I particularly encourage you to read Part Seven “Awakening.” Yet, I would tell you that in my reading never have I highlighted so many cogent portions of a book. She begins with a definition of “caste” and reports on its history in India, Germany, and the United States. The book is well researched and integrated with her personal experiences and stories of African-Americans mistreatment throughout history and currently. She offers a section writing about what she describes as “the pillars of caste.” In her last section she discusses current racial/caste behaviors as they impact voting patterns and more. We have many miles to walk to heal ourselves.
After reading Wilkerson’s vivid descriptions of lynchings, turn to James Baldwin’s searing short
story “Going To Meet The Man.” It’s a very hard read and coupled with Wilkerson’s “Caste,” leaves you with a clear picture of how devastating it was.
William, you and I are contemporaries. I grew up in small town east Arkansas, and your experience of that time mirrors mine. My friends who aren’t from the South can't fathom how insidious and baked in the racism was. It is my hope that I have left it behind, but it was the air we breathed then. I was fortunate to have parents and teachers and church ministers who awakened me and helped me challenge those odious ideas. I hope Trent would forgive you.
Thanks William, you might try to find him. Almost everyone is findable. He did you ( and us, by your relating this) a service.
Please find Trent. I would hope that he would read this but I feel that you would want to start the conversation
William, I feel your pain in what you have written here. I hope you have, or at least can forgive yourself for a sin that I strongly suspect was committed in ignorance rather than malice.
Thank you for your deeply moving words that resonate with such honesty and self reflection. May we all reflect and change the way you have done. Heaven help all of us to be kind to all. Thank you!!
me too...in Missouri. Institutionalized racism seems to be what America did to itself. I'm sorry I can't fix it.
Your comment gives me a small amount of hope. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this, William..
Thank you Robert. And thank you William Carlton too. My friend who just recently moved to CT from living in Memphis for years and years said that there are still classified ads for Klan meetings. What?!! So awful.
I wanted to alert people that PostcardsToVoters.org launched postcards for the three super important February 7th Special Elections for PA State House. They are in fairly safe blue districts but Special Elections are tricky if people think no need to go out or they don't know about them-- if we lose one of the three, we will not have the majority in the PA House…so critical we keep the majority we miraculously won in PA State House in November with the huge help of Giving Circles with The States Project!!! Please help if you can! Even a small number helps! You can get addresses & scripts from Abby the bot 24-7 if you sign up with PostcardsToVoters.org by either emailing join@tonythedemocrat.org or texting "join" to Abby the bot at 484-275-2229.
Also we will be writing for Jennifer McClellan for her Feb. 21st Special Election for US Congress as soon as PA is done, I believe!
Pinning to the top, and will promote this evening.
Sarah, thanks for letting me know about the PA postcard need! I just requested addresses and was part of the PA giving circles. Thanks again!
Where O’Where, did Robert Hubbell come from? Amidst the scarred and depressing news each day, Robert reminds us of what makes America great and what makes mankind so special. He reminds us of the good we are capable of and the special qualities of love and caring we possess.
I sent his truly empathetic and poetic piece on his kippah to my 6 grandchildren. As Jews surrounded by rising antisemitism , Robert’s admiration of our traditions and embracing their significance in his life was a message I wanted my family to see.
While there are legions of Jews to admire, Jamie Raskin and Adam Schiff are amongst our proudest. Their integrity and love of country are models of what statesmanship, politics, humanity, dignity should be like.
While Trump has become a model for some, Raskin and Schiff, Jews, steeped in the traditions that Robert admires so, makes us proud to be Americans and gives us strength in times of trouble.
Recall it has taken centuries for the Roman Catholic Church to revise its official position regarding the role of the Jews in Christ’s persecution! …….Centuries….! Connect the dots to today’s Federalist society members, mostly avowed devout Catholics, and the exclusion of Adam Schiff from the house intelligence committee, can’t resist a very unintelligent decision! The Federalist society’s dark money controls the policies of McCarthy and the maga cultists in the House. Hatred never rests nor abates!
I agree about Adam Schiff for Senate. that said, whichever of the three wins the primary will make an effective senator. But for me, Schiff is uniquely qualified by experience and knowledge to face down the threat from MAGA, which will not be going away regardless of what happens to Trump.
Adam for Senator, yes. Does Katie have to give up her seat in Congress to run? We need her too!
I’ve been wondering the same thing. I love Katie but I feel that Adam deserves to run for this Senate seat. He has done so much for this country.
Rob, your essays are saturated in kindness. Your messages are kind. Your clarity declaring stark truth, as you’ve done in today’s Edition, is doing a kindness. The message on your now-son-in-law‘s shirt is a good one.  Yes, may we be kind to one another. 
Key change (new topic): on occasion, do you find yourself musing about possibilities of President Raskin? President Schiff? I pray I live that long. 
Katherine, you and I are on the same wavelength regarding Schiff or Raskin as future POTUS. Along with Robert's daily briefings, I find that a hope such as this gives me the energy to fight on in the protection of our democracy
Tragically, the anti-Semite’s In the opposition party are salivating at the opportunity to try to besmirch their integrity!
First paragraph exceptionally well stated.
To all of those who cling to the hope that they will wake up to the news that Trump has been indicted only to be disappointed, here's a different take to cheer you up. Trump has already been indicted and convicted by a jury of his peers..all of us who vote. He lost the 2016 election by several million votes, lost to Biden by several million as well, and ruined the mid-term results for the GOP doing away with their anticipated rout. He is the epitome of irrelevance by every definition and a loser, something he has been trying to escape since childhood. We are all fine..he isn't. Yes, our democracy faces continuing challenges brought to the surface by his autocratic behavior but Americans have united to deal with those threats and we are already better for it. More work to do. Our right to vote and to use that right will always remain our greatest weapon and it will never be banned.
Biden received more than 7 million more votes than trump. Details here
https://www.cookpolitical.com/2020-national-popular-vote-tracker
An important argument for Section 230 repeal is that it would lead to the downsizing of Facebook and Twitter. In their current mode of operation, these companies depend on not being held responsible for defamatory items in third party content. If they were subject to the same sort of liability as their competitors in print and broadcast media, they would have to spend far more money in viewing and moderating posts and ads.
Exactly!
Robert and others, I want to quickly post a link to a New York Times article where professors of criminology and criminal justice profile 50 years of mass killings and summarize the underlying cause as a rise of deaths of despair. They see mass shootings being related to suicide and recommend that we must take measures to strengthen the mental health and crisis support system in addition to strengthening laws to address the proliferation of guns and prevent their becoming instruments of tragedy. Here is the link. If you have trouble getting past the paywall, respond to this comment and I can send a limited number of gift links to the article. Its title is "We Profiled the ‘Signs of Crisis’ in 50 Years of Mass Shootings. This Is What We Found" by Jillian Peterson and James Densley.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/26/opinion/us-mass-shootings-despair.html
"They see mass shootings being related to suicide...." That makes so much sense to me, a variant of suicide by cop.
I subscribe, just logged in and have the article. Thank you for the post,b by the way. I clicked on reader view, not always available, but in this case, yes, which gave me the full text without ads; then I forward to myself to read later, lest I forget, and also can send selectively to friends who want to see the article. It’s a workaround that is helpful on occasion. Just thought I’d mention it.
After reading Letters From American this evening and Timothy Snyder earlier, in which there is no longer doubt about the Trump=Russian connection, plus the machinations of their toadies, plus the pervasive gun deaths, plus a congressman bringing defused grenades into congress yesterday, I have to ask myself, is the repeated and terrible life-ending behavior by police officers also part of everything gone wrong in the universe? Who in god's name is organizing all of this? It's just too many times for a coincidence. What is going wrong with law enforcement when cops keep doing murders. Excuse my paranoia, but it's just too much.
Hope, I recommend you read "The Scheme" by Senator Shelton Whitehouse to have a look at the dark money and people behind all this!!!
I just started reading it. We all knew about this but Whitehouse maps it out clearly. Super important book, indeed.
TY! Will do. I enjoy your posts, Cathy. Keep Texas Blue or at least Green!
Take the rest you need. We can sort out Meta on our own, appreciate Adam Schiff, and appreciate the cumulative responsibility of several presidents holding onto papers they should not have had -- all on our own.
When you have your energy back, there is a nightmare to contemplate. In 60-40 Democratic California, four outstanding Democrats (Add Ro Khanna) with 15% each and two Republicans with 20% each making the run off. Let's find a way to consolidate early on behalf of one of those outstanding Democratic Members of Congress.
Perhaps some of the Democrats can cool their egos. Maybe it will help if they recall that John Quincy Hancock’s best work is generally accounted to have been not his presidency (which was undistinguished at best), but in the House from 1830 to 1848. He became known as Old Man Eloquent, and died at his desk in the House chamber. Tip O’Neil and Nancy Pelosi are more recent reminders that there’s nothing shabby about being in the House of Representatives. (Unless you’re one of today’s Republicans.)
Yes, we Californians are in quite a quagmire right now! I love Adam Schiff but I also adore Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. Newsom promised when the time came for Feinstein to retire, he wanted to see another woman and one of color take her place. I admire each of them and this will be really hard.
As someone who worked his tail off for Barack Obama, took time off to work for Elizabeth Warren and canvassed for Hillary, I find it troubling that Gov. Newsom would condition his support on race or sex. I believe that--particularly in a state like California--we should be able to get beyond such factors to look at individuals and what each of them would bring to the job they seek.
Yes Leonard, I have that same concern due to our open primary, with the top two moving forward, no matter the party.
If Porter stays in the Senate race, Dems (party & people) will need to throw heavy support to CA-47 to keep it Blue.
Good point. It won't be easy!
I am an admirer of Adam Schiff and once thought a potential future President -- and still consider that a real possibility. That said, I am equally an admirer if Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. This is going to be a tough one.
On the subject of Adam Schiff, this tweet thread is ominously revealing on numerous issues, including McCarhy’s motive for removing Schiff from the Intelligence Committee.
twitter.com/timothydsnyder/status/1618309363084718080?s=12 from Timothy Snyder’s Tweet
Snyder is a Yale history professor.
I should have linked to Snyder's tweet thread last night; I was hoping he would publish it on his substack blog (easier to read and access). To summarize, the FBI and DOJ performed an artificially narrow investigation in 2016 into Trump's connections with Russia, focusing almost exclusively on campaign finance violations--and ignoring broader relationships. The agent in charge of that investigation, Charles McGonigal, is now accused of working (in retirement) for an oligarch at the center of the Trump / Russia connection. It stinks to high heaven, and it still appears that the FBI is "going easy" on McGonigal. Rather than charging him with espionage, it is focused on violations of lobbying violations for foreign actors. Merrick Garland needs to clean house at the FBI, not protect his own.
How is it defending democracy or supporting our laws for Merrick Garland to go easy on McGonigal because McGonigal worked under the DOJ? Perhaps I'm not remembering correctly, but it seems Garland went easy on one or two other situations that began under the last president in the name of preserving the DOJ. Even if it's just the McGonigal case, how can Garland think going easy on a traitor, who worked at the top of one of our most secretive and important law enforcement agencies, will preserve the integrity of the DOJ? That's disturbing.
If McGonigal did what he's alleged to have done, they should throw the book at him.
Your pointing the finger at the wrong person. What s out the FBI and why is Wray still running then organization
I'd be very happy to see Christopher Wray replaced as head of the FBI. I wanted him out way before this fiasco. But it seems part of Merrick Garland's "cleaning house" would also be for Garland, as Director Wray's boss, to make sure that the charges against McGonigal now include espionage rather than remaining as "lobbying violations for foreign actors."
I have read this and once again the media has not been all over this.
Robert, you are such a reliable source of kindness, thoughtful analysis, and consistent pursuit of the truth and a stronger democracy. I know I rely on hearing your calming voice, even when you are discussing distressing news. You deserve all the rest and recuperation from your overwhelming week that it takes to regather your spirit. My sincere thanks and concern for your well-being and sorrow over your recent loss will be with you, and I know so many here are also sending prayers, sympathy, and gratitude your way.
in 'musical support' (and apologies for trying to attach a link) i offer the following huzzahs to robert for today's encouragement to 'love one another' (from the song 'revolution 1x1):
I'm gonna start a revolution; I'm gonna take it to the street,
I'm gonna smile at every solitary person that I meet!
I'm gonna wave at total strangers no matter where they're from.
I'm gonna start a revolution… gonna win it one by one.
The secret of this movement I'm about to share with you:
You just pick somebody that you don't know – that's all you have to do.
You don't need no other weapon than the smile that's on your face,
Just say hello, lettum know we're all part of the human race.
And if we should encounter (as I'm sure we will),
Some disbelievin' cynic who is disbelievin' still...
We're gonna open all his windows, unlock every door.
We're gonna sweep out every corner, we're gonna mop up every floor,
'Til he goes a dancin' in the jaw of the dragon and sleepin' in the lions den,
Dreamin' in the arms of angels...and he falls in Love again.
This revolution's bound to change a million hearts,
Totally disarm the enemy before the fighting starts.
We're gonna laugh in the face of evil (that misdirected fool).
We're gonna start a revolution... yeah, we're gonna win it, me and you...
But we're a raggle-taggle army - 'got no uniform or guns
Still we been called by coincidence so maybe we're the ones
To take this revolution to the street.
Smile at every solitary person that we meet.
We're gonna wave at total strangers no matter where they're from.
Gonna start a revolution... gonna win it one by one.
Thank you for posting these lyrics Noel Paul Stookey. Your lyrics and the singing of PP&M certainly influenced my early teen years (and beyond) and it’s a breath of fresh air to find you and your lyrics here tonite when the news is particularly difficult. ❤️
Thank you for that uplifting message!
As always, I appreciate your handling of the key topics of the day. I totally agree with you about Adam Schiff and hope that he will be the next Senator from California. The fact that McCarthy noted in his letter to Hakeem Jeffries that kicking Schiff off the Intelligence Committee was a way to restore integrity is risible. I am sorry for the brouhaha that the House GOP has created with their destructive leadership but expect that they will relatively quickly fall apart. Bombast and incompetence likely will not thrive at the highest levels of Congress, especially in light of a Democratic majority in the Senate and the accomplishments of the Biden administration. And I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. What a wonderful tribute you wrote for her and her religion. It is why Tony Dungy's behavior is so distressing. The year that the Massachusetts Supreme Court recognized gay marriage in May, the Catholic church was one of many groups working to get a gay marriage referundum on the ballot in November. After Mass one Sunday my mother was asked by a lay minister to sign the petition. She took the petition and the lay minister handed her a pen. She responded, "I do not need the pen. I just wanted to read the petition. Do you think Jesus would sign this? Jesus loved everyone." I do not know why so many "Christians" do not understand that simple message.
Love your mother's reply!
I left Facebook 3 years ago and have never looked back. I continually urge my friends to do the same with some success. This cynical move to allow T back might seal the deal. I hope people leave in droves. As Adam Schiff said in his closing arguments in T’s impeachment “he’ll do it again. “ Facebook just gave him a leg up.
I ,too , am thrilled that Adam Schiff is moving out of the House. I called his headquarters and donated immediately thru Act Blue on a monthly basis. My greatest wish is that Gavin Newsom convince Dianne Feinstein to retire early and appoint Schiff to her seat post haste. I really don’t want to see a primary with such great Democrat candidates vying for the same seat in the Senate. I called Feinstein’s and Newsom’s office and said the same. Schiff deserves this seat for all that he has done nationally for this country. Maybe Nancy Pelosi will have some sway with Feinstein and Newsom on this. This is a rare opportunity to counter the craven acts of stupidity going on in the House right now. No one knows that better than Schiff and Pelosi!
I hear what you mean about Adam Schiff, but i would also hate to lose Katie Porter!! And, then i read Katherine Terhune's post about yet another police killing of Keenan Anderson in LA, and I can think of nothing else!! I am literally sick to my stomach! God help us!!