The Wayward Scholar

On Tuesday night, I tuned into the Van Jones ‘the Messy Truth’ on CNN. Typically, I don’t bother watching news shows, segments or any live stream debates. I often find them grating and there is rarely any constructive critique or discussion about national or world news but rather a focus on sensationalism and disruptive, immature or straight up ignorant behavior. Though I must admit there are moments in which I may regretfully hand over my life to a viral, three-minute clip of pundits attempting to discuss a particularly controversial issue. There are a few gems in which I find my curiosity peaked and the Messy Truth was one of those moments. I was expecting something different, more substantial and new with this segment but was utterly disappointed. Firstly, I believe that this type of conversation should have started back in June and July before we elected our President. I wish that our news and media outlets, our leaders were more interested in what we were feeling and needing from the beginning and not now when it’s too late.

I identify strongly with what is happening in the country with what Van Jones originally stated on the election night; that this was a white lash. The white lash in which was generated by a great momentum and effort to make America “Great Again” in complete disregard to the reality of race and racial issues within this country. The issue of race is a completely valid perspective and I did not see that validated or heard on Tuesday. It is endlessly frustrating that racial issues and race are systematically ignored and the messy truth is that no one seems to truly care.

On Tuesday, Van Jones invited Rick Santorum as his primary co-host/co-panelist, likely just to appear bipartisan and create a sense of discussing issues in a non-partisan or neutral way. Additionally, Jones would take questions and comments from the audience throughout the segment for the panelist to comment on or respond to.

The first instance that got under my skin was when a doctor described her apprehension about the safety and security of her young son’s growing up in the midst of a constant reminder of police brutality, police use of excessive force, and murders of (disproportionately) black men, women, girls and boys at the hands of law enforcement. Rick Santorum responded with a rehearsed troupe about ‘law and order’ and the Trump’s administration likely solid stance of ‘law and order’ in African American communities. She and Van Jones gently attempted to explain how these terms and the idea of “law and order’ is received as a dog-whistle for a likely increase in state sanctioned violence.  Jones emphasized that the rhetoric of law and order does not reassure people of color that they will be safe because law and order does not equate to ensuring officers are going to be held responsible for their actions. Santorum’s entire response was settled around the familiar, lame notion that black on black crime is the number one cause of deaths in the black community.

It only got worse from there as Santorum was asked a similar question about safety and security by a Muslim woman and lastly an undocumented immigrant whom has contributed tremendously to our country in which he informs her that she will likely be deported anyway.

He goes onto say that these claims that the audience have made are ‘baseless’ and ‘inaccurate’ and is not Trump’s or any of his fellow Republican’s fault nor responsibility to handle the ‘misinterpretation’ that they have had about Trump’s rhetoric. nor their responsibility of those citizens who have been terrorizing minorities in Trump’s name since the election.

The entire segment basically was a speed session to get to as many people and as many questions as possible within the allotted time. Rather than spending the necessary amount of time explaining, feeling, discussing and frankly educating each other about valid life experiences and the injustice that permeates our nation. The show was really about creating a space that made faux-oppressed white folks feel comfortable and safe. To provide them, yet another, space to explain away bigotry, racism and hate and set up convenient placeholders to further distance themselves from the realities of white power structures rooted in our democracy and the tremendously real pain inflicted upon our communities and families.

And we know that it is Santorums white privilege, that it’s his whiteness and attempts to cleave onto the illusion of reality that has been fabricated around him that ignites his dismissive and insensitive reaction. We know this to be true, because we have already asked these questions and we have discovered the answers and re-discovered them, over and over and over again. We have discovered them for ourselves in our own experiences, we have discovered it time and time again throughout multiple disciplines such as World history, Sociology, Philosophy, English, Literature, Psychology, Social and Behavioral Psychology, Research, Political science…etc. I just don’t get it.

The real messy truth is; we are not ready as a nation to have this conversation if we cannot have it in a way that is painful. It should make more of us angry and we should have every right to express that hurt, pain and fear. The real messy truth is there is a refusal to hear what anyone has to say when it is voiced from black lips. There is a refusal to hear what anyone has to say because he, like so many others already think they have the only true and valid answers. It is designed that we are always met with suspicion and mistrust before our own personal experiences are even considered remotely credible.

In contrast to the four minorities (including Jones) that spoke with him about their fears and troubles living in America. We have the McDonald family who shared their story, their worry, in which presumably similar Trump supporters/voters align with or have similar hardships to share. Santorum without even speaking with them (at least on camera) immediately agrees and immediately validates their struggle and hardships. He goes on to say that during his campaigning he discovered for himself that issues such as the McDonald’s family, were not rare. That these issues were dominant in the heart of America and they touched him the most. They were the issues and the problems that he had heard from the American people and wanted to amend.

The ‘rust belt’ communities, working class communities, and middle-America were ignored by our government and suffered negligence for at most 2 and half decades. Though for centuries as recent as this week*, we’ve had people of color vocalizing and explicitly finding platforms to be heard and are systemically ignored. We saw an example of this on Tuesday as a white couple came on stage and received empathy, compassion and were heard and four minorities presented their own woes (that were essentially each the same) and were dismissed. When a population of people complain about an issue, that is dubbed the “white” working class, everyone jumps on board to support them. When any population of people dubbed non-white complain about an issue…well we already know.

If people like Santorum can understand their perspective and empathize with their hardships, it should not be difficult to understand ours. This is why we cannot have a conversation, why we cannot compromise or find middle ground because our safety has been traded for wealth and economic value. That our compromise is always some form or structure of white supremacy and it has got to stop.

The truth is that our government(s), local through federal, as represented by Rick Santorum aren’t concerned about all of us. That it appears, unsurprisingly that our government doesn’t really intend to or, perhaps knows how balance resolutions that takes care of ALL of us at the same time.

Although, this was only the first episode I still hope that we can see more radical, thoughtful and extensive conversations happen. I hope that we will see Van Jones ask the tough questions and have co-hosts that can ask just as equally tough questions. Hopefully, in future episodes we will see more of us truly building bridges rather than walls. We will see us create real resolutions to four century old problems because racism is real. Racism is real and we need to stop talking about as if it is theoretical. We need to be real, raw and genuine. I believe from true authenticity and accepting truth, that we can learn to create a system of democracy not based on choosing sides or choosing who is more or less deserving. We can build a true democratic nation and have discussion that will make real progress. In the upcoming episodes I am looking forward to things getting much messier.