Monday’s Column: Making the impact of coronavirus worse
Race, politics and a lack of justice is making the impact of the coronavirus pandemic worse on Americans. Many politicians at the Federal and State level are instead helping targeted constituencies rather than addressing the wider problem in Illinois, Cook County and Chicago. They are creating a race and political divide intentionally and everyone is paying for it
By Ray Hanania
Coronavirus is a serious health threat. But the biggest health threat is how our elected officials exploited the COVID pandemic for their own political benefit by using race, politics and bullying.
Surprise, surprise! Our Federal Government, senators and congress members, and even some local politicians like Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, have all figured out a way to exploit the coronavirus which has taken nearly 700,000 American lives.
These officials want the pandemic to continue because it gives them a reason to play politics with your tax dollars. Pritzker and Lightfoot have figured out a way to strengthen their voter base by appealing to minority communities.
Seniors receiving vaccinations and medical care by doctors. Photo courtesy of the CDC and Unsplash
Here are some of the factors behind this exploitation.
They have created special financial programs and welfare payments to help some ethnic groups, while ignoring the larger ethnic groups who socially have been in the doghouse since the May 25 killing by a White police officer in Minneapolis, George Floyd.
Floyd’s death marks a transition in how this country has created a separation between races that in liberal-heavy regions strengthens the voting base of some politicians.
The politicians have treated Floyd killing like a pre-planned act of “Premeditated, First Degree Murder,” rather than the lesser charge of “Involuntary Manslaughter,” because the police officer, Derek Chauvin is White. Chauvin was sentenced 22 ½ years in prison after a kangaroo court hearing, far more years than many of the most vicious killers in Cook County have been given for even more brutal crimes.
Believe, if the Floyd killing happened in Cook County, States Attorney Kim Fox would have aggressively pursued the toughest level of murder charges against Chauvin, rather than delay and reject charges sought against gangbangers who are a part of her political base as she is doing now.
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The vast majority of “White People” are not racist but they are being punished by this exploitation which is fueling an anti-White movement and creating a national divide of animosity and hate. Treat everyone the same, equal and stop racism and reverse racism. It’s not racism to speak out against race bias in politics and the media and in society.
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Police agencies are reporting throughout Cook County that Foxx is denying many criminal charges against mostly minority criminals from Chicago! More and more criminals see how lax Cook County is in prosecuting crimes and are coming here, which explains why the crime numbers are steadily rising.
Chauvin was guilty of negligence and should have been stripped of his badge, and maybe even given a few years in prison for 3rd degree murder or Manslaughter which is defined as “the unlawful killing of one human being by another without malice aforethought.”
Does anyone really believe that Chauvin intentionally killed Floyd?
The Floyd case has become the foundation of a widespread political movement to punish anyone who works hard and benefit those who do not and have become accustomed to accepting handouts, welfare and excessively funded government funded programs.
It’s the politicians who have created this stereotype, not the victims who try to complain are demonized as “racists” and haters. No one is allowed to challenge the ridiculous Chauvin verdict without being called a member of the Ku Klux Klan, or a Nazi, or a fascist!
Government has been directing so much money to the “neediest” of Americans and they are ignoring those who have toughed it out and struggled to work through the pandemic. When it was time to return to work, most of those responsible people did return to work. But so many more, like employees of the US Postal Service, for example, have instead stayed home.
Many unemployed found that the increased unemployment was far better of an option than returning to the work force. Why? In part because many parents including single parents could stay home with their children who could not go to school. Instead of addressing the need to help parents return to work while their children stayed home, the politicians let them stay home by giving them more and more money and welfare programs under the guise of post pandemic social services.
What we are seeing today is a collapse of our economy and an increased financial and tax burden on the backs of those who did go to work.
Major businesses are closing, instead of being helped by government because the liberal-politicians hate the rich successful business leaders.
We’re starting to see campaigns to help businesses based not on need but on race with special campaigns targeting certain racial groups, who happen to be a large part of the far left political movement.
As a consequence, we are seeing working class families struggle to make ends meet with the “poorer” families are getting much support. These politicians won’t be satisfied until every successful hardworking person is unemployed and has to come to them for money, in exchange for the implied requirement of voting for them.
What should have been done?
Once it was clear the pandemic was turning, we should have ordered everyone to return to work with precautions that include wearing face masks, mandating vaccination and maintaining social distancing.
Government should have enforced their warnings against price gauging, but nothing was done. That’s why prices are increasing in our grocery stores. Costs of food have doubled. Gasoline prices are racing to $5 a gallon. The cost of living is skyrocketing. Seniors on fixed pensions and social security are struggling with no resources or programs to help them.
Seniors should be the first minority group to be helped.
What needs to happen is that the poor should be helped, but those who are working should not be punished for being successful. They should be rewarded to keep the economy going, jobs coming, and prices down.
Instead, prices are rising, welfare is going up, racism is being exacerbated through biased policies, and the country is being divided on political basis, intentionally.
The vast majority of “White People” are not racist but they are being punished by this exploitation which is fueling an anti-White movement and creating a national divide of animosity and hate. Treat everyone the same, equal and stop racism and reverse racism. It’s not racism to speak out against race bias in politics and the media and in society.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter and political columnist. This column was originally published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A critic of mainstream news media bias, Hanania advocates for peace & justice for Israel & Palestine, & the empowerment of Arabs in America.
Click here to listen to Ray's Political Podcast.
Hanania's columns are archived on his personal website at RayHanania.com. Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Hanania is President/CEO of Urban Strategies Group which provides communications services to governments and private businesses, and hosts writing training workshops, and publishes books.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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