"To say the truth."

Today’s Edition (Vol. 2, No. 67) “To say the truth.”

          On Monday, the jurors in the Derek Chauvin murder trial were instructed to begin their deliberations. Their charge is to deliver a verdict—literally, “To say the truth.” As the nation anxiously waits to learn whether justice will be served, the media is focused on the possibility of violence if Chauvin is not convicted. The focus on that question is unfair and conflates the constitutional “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” with the actions of small groups of criminal opportunists. If the jury fails to convict Chauvin, hundreds of millions of Americans will be outraged, and millions may take to the street in peaceful protest in accordance with the finest traditions of American democracy. Republicans will inevitably portray the exercise of the First Amendment right to seek redress for grievances as criminal activity organized by “Antifa and radical leftists.”

          Indeed, as America waits for the Chauvin verdict, Republicans in Florida are doing their best to intimidate Floridians who seek to exercise their constitutional right to assemble and seek redress of grievances. GOP Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill titled, “Combating Public Disorder Bill,” which heightens penalties, delays bail, expands the definition of crimes committed during a “riot,” and punishes local governments that fail to act swiftly to quell violence. See generally NYTimes, “Florida Passes Public Disorder Bill.” Like other GOP bills based on false narratives, the “Public Disorder Bill” is a remedy in search of a problem. Florida has existing laws that criminalize property damage, assault, and public disorder.  Republicans are apparently dissatisfied with those laws because Floridians feel emboldened to exercise their constitutional right to protest.

          The problem with Florida’s new law is its overreach and ambiguity. Per the Times,

          The bill also makes it a third-degree felony to participate in a riot, which is defined as three or more people acting in common to “assist each other in violent and disorderly conduct” that results in injury, property damage” of injury or property damage.

          Under Florida’s Public Disorder Bill, the burglary of a liquor store by three perpetrators could be charged as a third-degree “felony riot” by an aggressive prosecutor. [Note: I am not defending burglary of liquor stores.] The implied threat embedded in the Public Disorder Bill is that innocent bystanders will be swept up in mass arrests if they are within 100 yards of someone committing property damage. That concern is real. A CNN producer was recently arrested as she and her team covered protests in Minneapolis over the killing of Daunte Wright. See NBCNews, CNN producer alleges police asked 'do you speak English?' during her arrest.” The producer, an Asian American, was walking with her camera crew when she was grabbed from behind, thrown to the ground, zip-tied, and transported to jail—all as she repeatedly identified herself as a member of the press. An even more harrowing story is that of a Black police officer who was working undercover during protests in St. Louis. The Black officer was photographing crimes in progress when fellow members of the St. Louis Police Department savagely beat the undercover officer, resulting in herniated discs in his back, lacerations on his face, and an injury to his jaw. See The Root, “Three St. Louis Officers Indicted for Beating Undercover Cop, Thinking He Was a Protester.” The reporter and the undercover officer were merely observing protests, for which they were beaten and arrested. Under Florida’s law, those innocent bystanders would be charged with aggravated felonies and held without bail.

          Republican efforts to equate peaceful protests with “felony riots” are rooted in prejudice and racial bias. If Derek Chauvin is not convicted, Americans have a constitutional right to peacefully assemble and petition their government for redress. Criminal behavior should result in the prosecution of the perpetrators, but it should not be used as an excuse to punish Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. Doing so will only inflame passions during a fraught time in America. Let’s hope for justice but prepare ourselves for the possibility of a hung jury or compromise verdict. Above all, let’s honor the memory of George Floyd by upholding the rule of law that was denied to him.

The next big election fight: Texas

Readers know that the GOP-controlled Texas legislature is considering a spate of bills to make it more difficult to vote. An article in Vox explains that some of the tactics that Republicans in Texas are using mirror those used in Georgia. For example, Texas has 254 counties—yes, 254! Most of the population in Texas is crammed into five counties that each have more than 1 million residents. Those counties have the heaviest concentration of Democratic voters. The Texas legislature is considering a bill that would place restrictions on ballot boxes that apply only to counties with more than 1 million voters—i.e., the Democratic strongholds! Thus, a distinction that is neutral on its face has the practical effect of making it harder for Democrats to cast their ballots. See Vox, “The next big voting rights fight is in Texas.”

          The tactic of using ostensibly “neutral” regulations to prevent non-existent voter fraud has a long and ugly history in Texas. See the excellent discussion in an editorial in the Houston Chronicle, “Editorial: The Big Lie - Texas has been crying 'election fraud' since it blocked ex-slaves from voting.” I urge you to read the editorial; it is a primer on the many ways the Texas legislature has tried to disenfranchise Black and Hispanic voters. The voter suppression tactics in Texas have worked. Per the Houston Chronicle,

But lawmakers in Texas, which has the most restrictive election laws in the country and a perpetually rock-bottom voter turnout rate, appear to have been the most successful in their thievery.

Let’s hope that public outcry over the restrictive laws will prevent their passage. But given the sordid history of voter suppression in Texas, we face an uphill battle. A reader sent a note with a good suggestion: If you own stock in a company that has a major presence in Texas, reach out to their investor relations office to express your views as a shareholder. See this NYTimes article for companies that might be persuadable: “Hundreds of Companies Unite to Oppose Voting Rights Limits, but Others Abstain.”

The News Bubble.

Fox News is leading with comments by the judge in the Chauvin murder trial that comments by Rep. Maxine Waters “might be an issue on appeal.” Fox is also pushing the notion that Minneapolis is “bracing for damage” ahead of the verdict. In the far-far-right media, stories about Dr. Fauci, vaccines, and “coronavirus hysteria” still dominate the headlines. Scattered headlines defend Tucker Carlson’s “replacement theory” remarks. The New York Post has a headline that says, “Impeach and Remove Maxine Waters.” [Newsflash for The Post: Members of Congress cannot be impeached.]

Concluding Thoughts.

          Among the many readers of the newsletter, I am honored to include Holocaust survivors and their children. Over the last four years, I received dozens of emails that expressed anxiety that “tanks would roll down Pennsylvania Avenue” to keep Trump in power. I responded by saying that I understood those fears, especially from Survivors and their children, but assured the readers that Americans would never let that happen. Although tanks did not roll down Pennsylvania Avenue to keep Trump in power, what happened was worse: An assault on the Capitol by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, racists, and lunatic conspiracy theorists.

          Though the crowd that assaulted the Capitol numbered a few thousand, they represent the views of millions of Americans, albeit a small minority. Still, the willingness of major news outlets to legitimize and provide a platform for thinly veiled white nationalist propaganda should cause all of us to remember that we must speak up every time those ugly theories insinuate their way into the marketplace of ideas. See Charlie Sykes in The Bulwark, “Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud.” (“So far, there has been little pushback to the “white replacement theory” either from prominent Republicans or from the conservative “thought leaders.”) We owe it to Holocaust Survivors and their children—and to every group that is targeted because of their religion, ethnicity, or national origin—to rise to their defense. America won’t repeat the mistakes of Germany in the last century—but only if we remain vigilant and outspoken in our defense of others.

I will wrap up early this evening to give the pen to one of my daughters. I will let her speak for herself, but I note that the essay below was drafted as a “Today’s Edition” style invitation to a Zoom birthday party for my 65th birthday. While I had reservations about including a laudatory essay about me, my Managing Editor demanded that I include the piece and I was touched by my daughter’s gratitude for the newsletter.

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Written by my youngest daughter as an invitation to my 65th  birthday celebration:

          It’s understandable that many of us feel overwhelmed. The human brain evolved to cope with tragedy on the level of our immediate social group: friends, relatives, neighbors. Hearing about dozens of crises, hundreds of times a day, all of which hurt good and valuable people, is incomprehensible.

          But today I’d like to share a message of hope by highlighting the story of one of hope’s most able and eloquent messengers – Robert Hubbell.

          In the aftermath of the 2016 election, despite the support of many like-minded radical peers, I was reeling. I reached out to my Managing Editor and my – sorry, my mom and dad – because sometimes a girl just needs her parents.  They flew out that same weekend.

          Trips cannot last forever, though. As they prepared to leave, my dad promised that he would keep me updated on major news items, to relieve me of the burden of interacting with the news and doom-scrolling my way into an anxiety attack. Ever since, he has sent me a brief email of the day’s events, with frequent reminders to connect with community, stay optimistic, and stay committed to righting the wrongs. He told me that you’ve been getting these emails, too.

          Every evening he takes the time to remind us that the battles will be tough, but our ancestors also faced tough battles. He reminds us that there are other people, real people with faces and names and families, who care as we do. But most of all, he proves that he cares like we do, by reaching out every night to say: hello, I am here, I saw the news, and I believe that if we care about each other enough, we are going to be okay.

          Even as the months rolled on and his email newsletter reached distribution numbers also difficult to imagine, I never once heard him explain its origin without grounding it in relationship. He isn’t doing this because he is trying to single-handedly fix the American political system, or because he believes it his responsibility to address every crisis the world produces—an impossible task anyway. He is doing this because despite how wide and uncertain and incomprehensible the scale of events can be, he knows that his response—our response—must be on the human scale, made tangible in how we reach out to each other and survive together. Most of us cannot guarantee equitable vaccine distribution, but we can reach out to the elderly people in our life during the pandemic. We can offer rides to demonstrations. We can send an email to our friends that says: hello, I am here, I saw the news, and I believe that we are going to be okay because we care about each other.

          Dad often reminds me to be hopeful, and I am, but it’s less because he tells me to (sorry, dad) and more because watching him write the newsletter is an example of how much someone can care about me. It also challenges me to care that deeply about others, and not just in an abstract way – in a way at least as tangible and strenuous as several hours of writing per night! I am hopeful because someone like him exists, and because of the promise of so many more people like him who read this newsletter.

          Thank you, dad, for caring so deeply about all of us, for reminding us to stay hopeful, and for being that hope when things feel hard.

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          Talk to you tomorrow!