6/4/2020

Friend DJT,

            Can you believe that Tiananmen Square happened 31 years ago? At the time, I remember thinking, I’m not sure I would be brave enough to stand in front of a tank. I showed that famous image to my students last June & most had not seen it. My students from China were especially interested. When I asked them to what they thought the protesters might be thinking, they had a hard time answering that question.

            Today’s protestors are facing two potentially lethal foes – CV & the police. They are demonstrating what Ghandi called, the “cool courage to die without killing.” While a few folks have gotten carried away and gotten violent, most have put their bodies in the streets and their voices in the air to demonstrate the strength of their convictions. I wish more of them were wearing masks.

            I was happy to hear that Sec. Mark Esper does not think we are in an “urgent and dire of situation” & is dissuading you from invoking the Insurrection Act. From what I can tell, the protestors don’t have guns & looting wasn’t so bad last night. Our military folk have been trained to kill & are not well equipped to deal with unarmed, angry civilians. Using the guards from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as you’ve been doing in DC is also a bad idea. They don’t respect civilians either. No one wants to see a repeat of Kent State so let’s do our best to recognize non-violent protests and avoid calling them “riots.”

            In the meantime, you might consider what you can to advocate for police reform so we don’t see another incident like George Floyd’s murder. We’ve got lots of brave young folk in this country & I don’t think they’re going back inside until they see some meaningful changes.

            HYITL,