When the Levee Breaks
When the Levee Breaks
As soon as the Hurricane that hit Puerto Rico had subsided, the media began their attack. Apparently, President Trump was sitting on his hands, doing nothing. There could be only one reason. Puerto Rico was filled with Brown people, and president Trump hates Brown people. This they knew because they had said so, over and over again, which made it true.
Meanwhile, a fair portion of the U.S. population did the same, and split right down the middle, each taking a side based on their political affiliations. One side would read only those things they agreed with. While the other side did exactly the same. It was as though a jury of 12 good men and women decided to hear only the testimony they liked. Six on one side, six on the other. “You listen only to the defense, we’ll listen only to prosecution. That way we’ll soon solve this problem. Diversity is our strength!”
Remarkably, in spite of their diverse perspectives, they could find no common ground, when comparing notes. “Hmm?” They’d mutter. “Why can’t the other side just see our point of view?”
Unfortunately, the very same thing was happening in Puerto Rico. The governor of the Island, when asked by the American press to say something about president Trump’s inaction and obvious hatred of Brown people, responded with; “President Trump’s been great. He had American boots on the ground, helping, even before the hurricane hit.”
“What?” said the press. “President Trump sent in the military, even before the storm? This could mean only one thing. President Trump was using men with guns to oppress the Puerto Rican people because of the color of their skin.”
“No! That’s not what I meant!” Shouted the island’s governor. President Trump’s been a great help, contrary to everything you're saying.”
“I guess the governor must be afraid to speak the truth.” Said the press. “After all, he’s Brown, and everyone knows that president Trump hates Brown people.”
It was then that a lone mayor of a town, just outside of San Juan spoke up, disagreeing with the governor and said, “Yeah! That’s right! Donald Trump is doing nothing!” which was exactly what the America media had waited salaciously for. Someone, anyone, who would say what they wanted to hear. “I mean, what had Trump done, besides send in food, water, military personnel, healthcare workers by the thousands, many, even before the hurricane?”
This reminded the press of Hurricane Katrina when George W Bush had allegedly dynamited the levees in New Orleans, in an effort to kill as many Brown and Black people as possible. This was quite literally one of the ongoing rumors/stories being perpetuated in the aftermath of Katrina. And, if that story arc seemed a bit too extreme, they could always just say that George W Bush sat on his hands and dragged his feet with the necessary aid. Always because of Brown and Black people, let’s not forget that part! The fact that the levees had been previously judged unsafe, and, the money that was supposed to be used to fix them—prior to Katrina--was used elsewhere by New Orleans’ politicians, was beside the point.
At the end of the day, all this politically motivated bullshit was parred down to a tweet by President Trump. Why? Because he had the balls to criticize the mayor of Puerto Rico for saying that the president wasn’t doing enough. This echoed the media’s agenda, which is always the same—make Donald Trump look as bad as possible—even if it is a goddamned lie. Politics is still politics, after all.
Yes, hurricanes come and go, but how often do you get a crisis of this magnitude, from which to drive a political and racial stake right thru the heart of America and our Puerto Rican commonwealth.
And, as the smoke cleared, the two sides of the jury wondered aloud, “Why the hell can’t we see eye to eye?” Listening to the other side was out of the question, however, so they could only judge by what they knew. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much.
“Now what?” They wondered. “Hmm? Buy a gun, maybe?"
"Yeah, that’s about all we have left, I guess. Buy a gun.”
Mark Magula
As soon as the Hurricane that hit Puerto Rico had subsided, the media began their attack. Apparently, President Trump was sitting on his hands, doing nothing. There could be only one reason. Puerto Rico was filled with Brown people, and president Trump hates Brown people. This they knew because they had said so, over and over again, which made it true.
Meanwhile, a fair portion of the U.S. population did the same, and split right down the middle, each taking a side based on their political affiliations. One side would read only those things they agreed with. While the other side did exactly the same. It was as though a jury of 12 good men and women decided to hear only the testimony they liked. Six on one side, six on the other. “You listen only to the defense, we’ll listen only to prosecution. That way we’ll soon solve this problem. Diversity is our strength!”
Remarkably, in spite of their diverse perspectives, they could find no common ground, when comparing notes. “Hmm?” They’d mutter. “Why can’t the other side just see our point of view?”
Unfortunately, the very same thing was happening in Puerto Rico. The governor of the Island, when asked by the American press to say something about president Trump’s inaction and obvious hatred of Brown people, responded with; “President Trump’s been great. He had American boots on the ground, helping, even before the hurricane hit.”
“What?” said the press. “President Trump sent in the military, even before the storm? This could mean only one thing. President Trump was using men with guns to oppress the Puerto Rican people because of the color of their skin.”
“No! That’s not what I meant!” Shouted the island’s governor. President Trump’s been a great help, contrary to everything you're saying.”
“I guess the governor must be afraid to speak the truth.” Said the press. “After all, he’s Brown, and everyone knows that president Trump hates Brown people.”
It was then that a lone mayor of a town, just outside of San Juan spoke up, disagreeing with the governor and said, “Yeah! That’s right! Donald Trump is doing nothing!” which was exactly what the America media had waited salaciously for. Someone, anyone, who would say what they wanted to hear. “I mean, what had Trump done, besides send in food, water, military personnel, healthcare workers by the thousands, many, even before the hurricane?”
This reminded the press of Hurricane Katrina when George W Bush had allegedly dynamited the levees in New Orleans, in an effort to kill as many Brown and Black people as possible. This was quite literally one of the ongoing rumors/stories being perpetuated in the aftermath of Katrina. And, if that story arc seemed a bit too extreme, they could always just say that George W Bush sat on his hands and dragged his feet with the necessary aid. Always because of Brown and Black people, let’s not forget that part! The fact that the levees had been previously judged unsafe, and, the money that was supposed to be used to fix them—prior to Katrina--was used elsewhere by New Orleans’ politicians, was beside the point.
At the end of the day, all this politically motivated bullshit was parred down to a tweet by President Trump. Why? Because he had the balls to criticize the mayor of Puerto Rico for saying that the president wasn’t doing enough. This echoed the media’s agenda, which is always the same—make Donald Trump look as bad as possible—even if it is a goddamned lie. Politics is still politics, after all.
Yes, hurricanes come and go, but how often do you get a crisis of this magnitude, from which to drive a political and racial stake right thru the heart of America and our Puerto Rican commonwealth.
And, as the smoke cleared, the two sides of the jury wondered aloud, “Why the hell can’t we see eye to eye?” Listening to the other side was out of the question, however, so they could only judge by what they knew. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much.
“Now what?” They wondered. “Hmm? Buy a gun, maybe?"
"Yeah, that’s about all we have left, I guess. Buy a gun.”
Mark Magula