Many Black Americans of a certain age can vividly recall the rallying cry to "Fight the Power". And fight the power they did. From marching in the streets, to clashing with the police, Black people fought the power in every legal, peaceful and not so peaceful means to reverse the trajectory of their lives. Much of the gains Blacks made was by spotlighting and shaming those responsible for establishing and enforcing gross inequities and flagrant discriminatory policies affecting Black America. And for a time, this strategy made a difference.
Unfortunately, times are changing. Marching in the streets and clashing with the police has become less effective. And while spotlighting and shaming elected officials has created public awareness, lately those elected officials have begun fighting back. Despite calls for Governors and Mayors to resign due to a lack of confidence, trust and overwhelming evidence of dereliction of responsibilities, we're beginning to hear another popular rallying cry from the past: "Hell No We won't Go!" Only its not from the people, its coming from the power.
Elected officials like Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanual and Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder are both facing the public's wrath after repeated calls for their resignations and even criminal investigations. Neither one is willing to do any more than acknowledge the public's concerns and make promises said concerns are their concerns too. But the message is clear, no matter what the public wants, they're not leaving and they can't be forced to either. If you think about it, this is dangerous.
When Rahm Emanuel, was elected mayor, he inherited a corrupt, out of control, brutish police department with a very strong union to protect its methods of law enforcement. The public was depending on the new mayor to change the culture of the department to alleviate the horrors of police brutality Chicagoans were experiencing. Emanuel not only did nothing, but he adopted a don't rock the boat approach to dealing with his police department. Whenever excessive force could be proven, (a rare event) the mayor would just pay the complainants off and did his best to keep everything on the dow-low until the story died down.
When eventually confronted with his lies and other critical failings, Mayor Emanuel for all intents and purposes, demanded an opportunity to fix the problem himself. Even with his police department under investigation and Chicago City Council members calling for the U.S. Justice Department to include the Mayor's office too, Emanuel refuses to budge. Sure, he's given press conferences admitting some regrets, but by the end of every public announcement, Emanuel is firm about finishing his second term.
In the case of Governor Rick Snyder, calls for his resignation and even arrest for dereliction of duty of the highest order are falling on deaf ears too. As Flint Michigan's citizens were being poisoned daily by lead and other dangerous toxins with the full knowledge of his administration, Snyder maintains he'll do everything in his power to fix the situation. And while he may try, the fact remains, governor Snyder let the children of Flint Michigan drink and bathe in water with high levels of trihalomethanes, a chlorine byproduct linked to cancer and other diseases. Many of those children are suffering now.
On the other hand, at the same time Flint Michigan's children were consuming water unfit for animals, employees in the Flint state office were provided with fresh water supplies delivered in secret. In fact, state workers in the Flint office had been getting supplies of purified water for more than a year before the public was told what was happening. Hence, the very definition of dereliction of responsibility fits governor Snyder like a well tailored suit.
Bottom line: Considering these unprecedented charges of criminal neglect, incompetence, no confidence and a complete breakdown of trust by the people they serve, one would think mayor Emanuel and governor Snyder would be looking for a rock to hide under. But these days, when the people stand up to fight the power, the power fights back. "We the People" need a plan B. Podcast below!
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