{"id":2475,"date":"2020-06-12T22:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-13T03:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=2475"},"modified":"2020-06-28T03:03:57","modified_gmt":"2020-06-28T08:03:57","slug":"does-trump-law-and-order-mean-martial-law-coming-to-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2020\/06\/12\/does-trump-law-and-order-mean-martial-law-coming-to-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Trump Law And Order Mean Martial Law Coming to America?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Emil Guillermo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Are you joining in any George Floyd protests in Hawaii? Maybe by ZOOM? Or does the state have a surplus of \u201cAloha\u201d? If so, send some to the mainland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s unclear where we\u2019re going. It seems like peaceful protests are maintaining momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But Donald Trump still stands by his action on Monday, June 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In fact, it puts him in the lead in my ongoing post-colonial competition between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and U.S. President Donald Trump for best autocrat in a derivative democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Trump terms, it\u2019s apprentice governance in real-time, more like a reality show I call, \u201cMy, How Our Democracies Have Evolved, Little Brown Brother.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump and Duterte are battling neck and neck\u2014especially in these COVID times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump is a \u201cno mask, don\u2019t ask\u201d guy. Mask? And hide a mug only Melania could love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At a meeting this week, I didn\u2019t see Duterte mask up either, even when aides wore masks AND face shields. I\u2019d call it a tie, even if Trump takes hydroxychloroquine too. (Turns out a study by the University of Minnesota has declared it\u2019s no better than a placebo. Fitting for a placebo president.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But Duterte still has a slight edge as the man who never met an extrajudicial killing he didn\u2019t like. All Trump can claim is jailing a few border crossing children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That is until the night of June 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That\u2019s when hundreds of protesters gathered peacefully to express their rage in the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died when a white police officer in Minneapolis took a knee on his neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then Trump stepped up his game. He trucked in active military troops to the White House, which may in his mind make up for not calling it a \u201cpalace.\u201d He had law enforcement sweep the crowd, hurling tear-inducing pepper spray, tear gas and smoke bombs, forcing the crowd to retreat. They were all mostly innocent people expressing their right to free speech and assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But Trump unabashedly took the lead by putting the authoritarian into USA. He rolled more reinforcements and even had unidentified police. Secret Police? Like Iran?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s the \u201cmartial law creep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump, who has long had an Asian dictator fetish, was overtaking Duterte! And now solidly vying to lap the man he professed love for, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. By threatening to invoke the 1807 Insurrection act, Trump seemed to be aping his Chinese counterparts who recently put a lid on Hong Kong, and who 31 years ago butchered the innocent in Beijing\u2019s Tiananmen Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How silly to have feared a simple Constitutional crisis. This is a core democracy crisis in America like never before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And to think, all we really wanted from the president were simple calm words of empathy. You know, \u201cwe\u2019re one nation\u201d talk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But all we got Trump is acting like the second coming of Marcos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first started crying earlier in the week. And it wasn\u2019t from tear gas. I was watching cable news. Just like the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On my screen, a young Asian American woman, blonde streaks in her hair, desperately helps her distressed Asian American male companion. He\u2019s squinting in anguish as if mocking Mickey Rooney in \u201cBreakfast at Tiffany\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But it\u2019s no joke as the woman douses his bawling eyes, then takes the water bottle to flush her own, all before bending over, her mouth open gasping for air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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None of us can breathe easily anymore in this America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As I am socially distanced in California, I saw them both as my proxies, all of us outraged by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The two tear-gassed Asian Americans were among the victims of our insecure, narcissistic leader, who reports say was so upset as being seen as retreating to a bunker during the weekend of riots when a part of the nearby St. John\u2019s Church burned down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump needed a photo op. \u201cIt was just to win the news cycle,\u201d said a Trump advisor to the Washington Post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It may have done more than that. After all, the president has done in his tenure from travel bans, to border wall politics, to say he\u2019s not taking responsibility for pandemic delays that have resulted in tens of thousands more deaths than necessary, the gassing of the innocents at Lafayette Park on Trumpian whimsy may be the unforgettable act that dooms his presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Or just add it to the list of ignominious Trump actions. It will be a long list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I was actually working on another piece on the cruel and vicious ways alpacas are treated when shorn for their wool. Normally docile, alpacas react by screaming, crying, and vomiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sort of like protestors when gassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That\u2019s how I saw what happened as police with shields physically swept through the peaceful crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And all because the president wanted that path cleared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TRUMP\u2019S FAKE NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TV was the only way to appreciate yet another Orwellian moment of the Trump administration. As cameras were fixed on the Rose Garden for a Trump statement, you could hear the flash-bang grenades and the commotion of the police harassing the protestors a few blocks away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then the president appeared. In split-screen, as the peaceful protestors were attacked, the president declared himself our \u201claw and order president,\u201d a flashback to Nixon, who used it to win despite the stink of Watergate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In his statement, Trump claimed to be for justice for George Floyd and his family but couldn\u2019t take the time to distinguish between violent instigators and looters and peaceful protestors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looters are unfortunate opportunists. Not political players. They\u2019ve lived under the thumb of white supremacy. They feel entitled to free stuff. But there\u2019s no excuse. It\u2019s against the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More to the point, they\u2019re not the majority of people involved in more than a week of protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But Trump held firm: \u201cWe cannot allow the righteous cries and peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perhaps an angry insecure politician can drown them all out indiscriminately as the president did that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With a broad brush, he seemed to call it all an \u201cact of domestic terror.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat is why I am taking immediate presidential action to stop the violence and restore security and safety in America,\u201d the president said. \u201cI am mobilizing all available federal resources civilian and military to stop the rioting and looting to end the destruction and arson and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights. Therefore, the following measures are going into effect immediately. First, we are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country. We will end it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The president said he\u2019d deploy the U.S. military to states and cities. Under that 1807 law, he can do so. But not if the courts and Congress have a say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And note the wink to gun nuts by mentioning the Second Amendment, essentially giving the OK to MAGA vigilantes everywhere to protect America on their own. You mean like the guys who killed Ahmaud Arbery?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When the statement was done, the photo op continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BIBLE RAISER TRUMP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, a stroll from the Rose Garden to Lafayette Park. Led by his main enabler, Attorney General William Barr, from a reporter\u2019s eye view it could have been the Trump version of a perp walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The path clear of protestors, Trump went directly to St. John\u2019s and held up a prop, a Bible as if the book meant something to him. It was just a symbol signifying his love of Christian voters. But it should be taken as a sacrilege by any God-fearing Filipino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And then he called his aides\u2014all white\u2014to stand by him for another picture that glaringly revealed why Trump is out of synch with his own country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After last week, all we wanted was calm reassurance that our nation and democracy would be safe. And that the travesty of George Floyd\u2019s death was not going to unravel us. We wanted to hear from a leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instead, the president once again was unable to show adequate comfort, care, or empathy for all the people. He used the moment not to bring the country together, but to hasten the unraveling of the country. He used us. Our anger. Our rage. He turned it conveniently into his \u201claw and order\u201d campaign playbook, never mind he gassed innocent peaceful protestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The protests are effective, but they\u2019ll have to keep it up. The loud voices have helped bring quick change in George Floyd\u2019s case. All four officers in Minneapolis have now been arrested. And the base charges have been raised to second-degree murder. There are policies being changed around the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More significantly, decent Republicans\u2014like former Defense Secretary James Mattis and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski\u2014have begun speaking out against a racist and insensitive president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But it\u2019s going to take all of us to condemn what\u2019s really happening. Trump made us forget the pandemic for now. Don\u2019t let him make us forget our democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If not, the president seems to be preparing for an anarchy he\u2019s sowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That will make it a long hot summer of tear gas and rubber bullets, as he looks to extend a clearly abusive and immoral presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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EMIL GUILLERMO<\/strong>\u00a0is a journalist and commentator. He was a columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and served on the editorial board of the Honolulu Advertiser. Twitter @emilamok. Listen to his \u201cEmil Amok\u2019s Takeout\u201d on amok.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emil Guillermo Are you joining in any George Floyd protests in Hawaii? Maybe by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1",275,183,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Candid Perspectives<\/a>","tag_info":"Candid Perspectives","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/MPs.jpeg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2477,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475\/revisions\/2477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}