“Send her Back!” The Infection is On

Comparisons have been made to the Nuremberg Rallies, in particular, the 1936 Rally. While they are on point, there are other episodes of American history that serve as examples as well. Not only is there a parallel to Andrew Jackson, and this president thinks Jackson was great but to more recent events.

George Wallace ran on a similar theme in 1968. His rallies were just as vitriolic and toxic. Granted, Wallace did not become president, not that Richard Nixon was less toxic. Nixon was in that sense more sophisticated. Nixon ran on the southern strategy that since has become standard in the Republican Party. This seeks to make the party into the representative of old white men, who fear change and minorities.

The War on Drugs and we have some evidence on this, was about keeping blacks down, to a lesser extent Mexican-Americans. It was targeted and we know this from how it was pursued. Crack cocaine, most often found in poor black neighborhoods, got more time than cocaine. The latter was found with mostly white, middle class, and upper-class people. The sentencing guidelines were meant to punish one group far more severely than the other.

What happened at North Carolina is an echo of what Wallace used to do. It is just as coded, or not, we are beyond the dog whistles at this point. It is just as violent, and it is in line with…