Years ago it was said that driving while Black was dangerous, but the cold blooded murder of Ahamaud Arbery by two white men in Georgia allows us to tweak that to jogging while Black is deadly. And yet no arrests have been made. The murders, no assassins, are still free, going about their lives as if nothing happened. Gloating, I’m sure, over their “trophy killing” in conversations with their close friends.

Can you imagine a similar response by law enforcement if two Black men murdered a innocent young white man jogging in a neighborhood on a bright sunny day? Once again, racism proves to be deadly, especially for young Black men.

A little alternative thinking: If Hillary were in the White House, the fight against the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis would be on a different footing, that is, science driven, nationally coordinated, unifying, and empathetic. And thus saving lives and protecting livelihoods. Long ago, I reached the conclusion that the concept of “the lesser evil” and its traveling companions, “never trust a liberal” and “vote your conscience” was a crock of sh-t. Nothing has changed to alter that conclusion.

Trump, in Arizona, said yesterday: “Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon.”

What drives this push to reopen in face of a pandemic that is still raging? In a few words, it’s Trump’s reelection hopes. He’s falling in the polls and his calculus is that a locked down economy for any extended time will seal his reelection fate in November. And if the only way to change that outcome is to prematurely restart and gin up the economy — profits, consumer spending, and, not least, employment — even if it means over the bodies of many more covid-19 victims, he is more than willing to pay that price. In fact, for Trump, it’s a No Brainer, not something that he would lose a wink of sleep over.

I finally read this NYT editorial, and it’s amazing. It makes me think that a coalition is taking shape across the country that goes beyond well beyond the “movement” as we understand it. I could cite other examples of a similar kind to buttress my point. Obviously, the movement, if it is smart, will adjust to this new reality. It would be a mistake not to. More could be said, but the sky is blue, the sun is out, and it’s time for my daily walk.

If Trump had to make a choice between reducing employment levels and restoring corporate profitability in the short term, that is, between now and November, I suspect he would chose the former over the latter. Why? Because lower unemployment rates, which was one of his claims to fame before the pandemic, are probably essential if he is going to win reelection in November, Even his billionaire backers, I suspect, would go along with this trade off, knowing that it is temporary and that nothing will be better for their bottom line than 4 more years of Donald in the White House.