Did you watch the Cohen’s Congressional testimony today?! Whew Chillay! I thought it would be explosive, and it did not disappoint.
There were many different topics I wanted to cover, but I’ve narrowed it down to two important lessons we can learn from the Cohen hearing.
1. Stop Using Black People As Props to Prove You’re Not Racist
The most heated exchange of the hearing, ironically, did not occur between Cohen and another representative, but between Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
If you didn’t watch, here’s the context. Cohen testified in his opening statement that Trump is, among other things, a racist (surprise, surprise) who said that he doesn’t know one country run by a black person that’s not a shithole and that black people wouldn’t vote for him because “they’re too stupid.”
Setting aside the fact that black people would never vote for Trump not because we’re stupid, but because we’re far too intelligent to be duped by an obvious con man, let’s turn to how Rep. Meadows responded to Cohen’s claims.
Instead of stating something along the lines of “I do not know Trump to be racist and you Mr. Cohen have no proof that he is,” Meadows decided to bring Lynn Patton, a black woman to the hearing and use her as his prop. He had her stand in silence while he assured the audience that she would testify that Trump was never racist towards her, nor did she observe him being racist.
In other words, Meadows tried to prove that Trump wasn’t racist by engaging in offensive racist behavior that only revealed his lack of self-awareness.
I saw this same prop used when I practiced law. Consistently in cases of racial discrimination, the opposing side had a black person sitting at the table, even though that person was inconsequential to the trial. They were props, and it was a bit insulting that opposing counsel didn’t think we would notice.
When Meadows paraded Patton around, I was offended, and so were countless others. Rev. Dr. William Barber summarized my sentiment perfectly in a series of tweets pointing to the flaw in Meadows’ approach.
Meadows has voted against the expansion of voting rights. That’s racism. He has refused to fix the Voting Rights Act. That’s racism.
— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) February 27, 2019
While most of us did not have a literal voice on the panel today, Tlaib did, and she did not hold back. She said what many of us felt: that Meadows parading Patton around was offensive and racist.
As you can imagine, Meadows was livid! He demanded her comments be stricken from the record and what ensued was a heated moment that you have to watch to fully appreciate.
While I respect Chairman Cummings for trying to be a peacemaker, he failed. He started strong by bringing his parents’ sharecropper history, but then things just went left.
As he sought “clarity,” he gave in to the same tropes as Meadows by insisting that Meadows was one of his “best” friends, whose pain he felt. This led to Tlaib apologizing for insinuating that he was racist. Honestly, the dénouement of this exchange felt like a betrayal of truth.
The truth is Tlaib was calling Meadows’ act racist because it was. Essentially what she said was “if the shoe fits wear it,” and Meadows shoe fit perfectly.
Why is it that when people of color call out racism, white people become emotional and indignant? I get it, no one wants to be called a racist, but then you must not act like one.
I witnessed this same indignation from my white colleagues when I practiced law, especially during jury selection. When we asked for a race-neutral reason for why they were trying to remove all the black people, they would get offended. But their real offense was not that we called them something that they were not, but that we would dare call them out. They were upset that we disrupted their self-delusion.
And here is the lesson in all this for my less melaninated brothers and sisters.
Stop pointing to your black friends or black family members as evidence that you are not racist or what you did was not racist. You can have black friends and still hold racist beliefs and act on those beliefs.
Your inability to understand this critical point is why racism persists in this country. As long as you continue to point to external markers (i.e. your black friends) to prove you’re not racist, instead of dealing with your internal state, then the most insidious parts of racism will continue to flourish.
2. Be Consistent in Your Approach to the Criminal Justice System
Finally, the hearing told us that we must have a consistent view of how the criminal justice system operates.
I found it so ironic that the conservatives were outraged that a known liar who was convicted of lying was now testifying before them. Admittedly, it seems odd to me too that a known liar’s testimony would be used against someone else, but this is exactly how our criminal justice system functions.
Everyday prosecutors rely on known liars and criminals to “flip” and “turn state’s evidence.” They then used these liars to provide testimony at trial to convict others, which not only leads to the loss of liberty for individuals, but sometimes the loss of life. Most of the time these witnesses are given deals of reduced sentences in exchange for the testimony.
Where is the outrage over the use of these types of witnesses in criminal trials? Where is this same disbelief we saw with the conservatives during the Cohen hearing? Is this testimony somehow more palatable when the accused is a black or brown person, or someone from a lower socio-economic background?
I’m not saying their outrage isn’t valid, I’m just saying it’s not consistent.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
(Photo: screengrab)
