i think the difference is that you see the government as a coherent body acting in unison under the direction of the president, and i see a bunch of thugs using both the government and corporations (and other institutions) as tools to oppress in many different and loosely coordinated ways.
i actually don't think trump is an overt racist per se, only a highly self-centered opportunist who advances the white supremecist agenda because he couldn't care less about anyone but himself. an equal opportunity disregard, if you will. not a defense though, he's more suited to prison than office.
Its not just the President and it’s not just Republicans. It’s also Democrats like Clinton who got “tough on crime” and instituted policies that disproportionately affected minorities and naive Black politicians[1] who were dumb enough to think that the government was the answer to crime that was hurting their communities and that police would be used for something more than “border patrol” to keep minorities out of places where “they didn’t belong”.
[1] For context, before I get downvoted to oblivion and flagged for being a “racist”, please read my previous comments. I am Black.
yes, democrats have been complicit, sometimes overtly, sometimes inadvertently. the idealogy around policing and use of force transcends party, institutions, and even race itself. policing needs to be completely reformed and its funding largely funneled to community building and support rather than use of force against minorities.
there was a great story recently on latino usa[0] about josé tomás canales, a texas representative from 100 years ago who fought against the racist impunity of the texas rangers on the texas border. the lawyers for the rangers, knowing that the national media was trained on them in a time with little national media, magnified the threat and danger of the border and mexicans to turn the country toward support of the racist use force by the rangers. a hundred years later, we still curry in that bullshit.
i actually don't think trump is an overt racist per se, only a highly self-centered opportunist who advances the white supremecist agenda because he couldn't care less about anyone but himself. an equal opportunity disregard, if you will. not a defense though, he's more suited to prison than office.