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| Danielle Carter-Walters |
The president sat in the Oval Office Friday, praising the National Guard. In mid-August, he deployed the D.C. guard to Washington, where they patrol the National Mall, keeping a careful eye on tourists — what tourists there are, considering the number of visitors to the United States is down by 22%, a loss of $12.5 billion, thanks to America's performative hostility to foreigners.
Fresh from that triumph, he said Chicago is next.
Why us? Why are we so fortunate?
"The people in Chicago ..." the president said, "are screaming for us to come."
They are? Did I miss that? Who in Chicago, exactly, is screaming?
The president gave hints. Chicagoans who "are wearing red hats, just like this one."
He himself was wearing a jumbo baseball cap emblazoned "TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!" Part of his new line of Trump merchandise that includes "Trump 2028' and "4 More Years" hats. There are photographs.
"They are wearing red hats," the president continued. "African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, 'Please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please."
They are? I was about to laugh this off as mere mendacity. But for all the slander directed at the media, we still do that truthy-facty thing. Before I could ridicule the notion of Black Chicago women begging for troops to frisk them at bus stops, I had to go looking.
I quickly found Danielle Carter-Walters, a personal fitness trainer. She indeed has been pleading for precisely this.
"We knew he had been listening to us," said Carter-Walters, a co-founder of Chicago Flips Red, a group of Trump supporters. "When I saw it, I said, 'Oh, wow.' We've been asking for it in our videos. Now, he's doing it."
So I asked: She sincerely believes Chicago will benefit from the National Guard patrolling its streets?
"Yes, I do," said Carter-Walters, who lives in Marquette Park. "Our communities are out of control. The destruction. The devastation of what's happening. We are being displaced out of our homes by illegal aliens.
"I stay on the South Side of Chicago. I'm living the experience. You can't sit in your car without worrying about being robbed, mugged, shot, carjacked. We definitely need something to be done."
She said her group has only eight members, but more are out there.
"There's a lot of us, thousands, silently supporting us," she said. "People think that Black women can't be MAGA. People are starting to see there's a lot of us."
I did not start writing today's column intending to platform a Trump fan. But the story led me there.
To continue reading, click here.
She has a point but Trump isn't the answer.
ReplyDeleteWhen exactly was Chicao not "corrupt"? Isn't that our brand?
DeleteI live and work on Chicago's West side Garfield Park / Austin.
ReplyDeleteOver the last 2 months we arrive at our warehouse near Chicago and Cicero on Monday morning and there has been what is commonly referred to as a street takeover hundreds of empty beer and liquor bottles strewn up and down the streets many of them broken so there's broken glass everywhere there are stolen and burned out cars left behind big black skid marks in the street and when we've called the police they say what can we do about it what do you want us to do.
I figure as these drunken stoned assholes get into their cars to drive away maybe give him a DUI
Last week at another Street takeover nearby just west of Cicero closer to the Eisenhower expressway three people were killed and five other were shot it may seem like Chicago isn't a particularly violent place but parts of it really are and the police who's new training academy is just a couple blocks away don't feel like they have the power to affect this circumstance
I am not walking around wearing a red hat I'm not a trump supporter I did not vote for Donald Trump I do not like a lot of his policies but I'd like it if he could convince law enforcement in Chicago to enforce the law in ways that protect me and my property I'd like it if someone could it doesn't necessarily have to be him but the police do not do their job anymore ever since the defund the police movement we don't have enough police we're not living up to the consent decree that we entered into with the justice department I certainly can understand this lady slipping into the false narrative being presented by the Trump administration you just want somebody to make it so that your kid can go get on the bus without being accosted that your wife can go downtown to work on the train without feeling threatened the powers tolhat be here in the city of Chicago have not managed to accomplish that or make things much better crime is underreported in Chicago crime is not down
The citizens have come to understand there's no reason to call the police they don't do anything
You should come over and have a look at what these people leave behind or better yet come with me on a Saturday night and see what the hell is going on over here
South and West: E. 71st and Woodlawn. East Garfield Park.
DeleteWhat made you choose to live in those places? Most would not.
There are many hundreds of thousands of people who live in" those places" grizz.
DeleteI was born at Garfield Park hospital in 1958 lived at 33 28 West Ohio then my family moved to North avenue and Central I have lived various places in the city and had been living in West Town prior to the pandemic.
My friend had to sell the two flat I was living in in the midst of the pandemic which landed me in another friend's property at 71st and Woodlawn.
After my mother's death I looked for property that I could afford with my inheritance having never owned previously and always been a renter and always lived in the city of Chicago.
We found a place at Warren and Sacramento that we could afford three flat I live there with my son now grown nearly 30
It's near to where I work it's a short commute my business is at Chicago avenue and Cicero
I hope that answers your question now let me ask you one
Are only poor black people supposed to live in these places?
That just don't seem right
I've tried to be a positive force in my community through My adulthood volunteering hiring minorities to work for my business donating school supplies to the local grammar School
Keeping bees in the community garden
This is my city I love it here.
We have problems I hope to be a part of fixing them
Well, that's really interesting to hear you were born in Garfield Park Hospital. I was born there, too, but not many people ever heard of it. My family lived on Ridgeway at the time, a couple blocks from OLA
DeleteIt smacks of another Trump stunt. Like seat fillers at a rally.
ReplyDeleteTotally. She must have been promised a cabinet position (red hat curator) via slot on Fox Gnus
DeleteI lived at 7040 South Woodlawn for 3 years during covid at least three people were murdered on my block shot to death right in front of my house
ReplyDeleteMy ex-wife lived in Rogers Park there was a person shot to death in front of her house one of the teachers that my kids Waldorf School was killed in a drive-by
Out in front of restaurant did she was eating at an innocent victim of an unsolved crime
I've had knives pulled on me guns pointed at me
I'm sorry but saying Chicago isn't a particularly violent city is like saying lake Michigan isn't particularly wet.
When I first moved to my Warren Street address the SWAT team was in my yard in Hot pursuit of some criminal there were 30 or 40 officers armed with automatic weapons and a helicopter hovering over my house they didn't catch anyone.
I feel like they do these operations just to terrorize the population the sirens are going night and day you just don't know what the f*** you're talking about and even in the midst of all this I'm not saying Trump should send in the national guard I'm saying we need to get a handle on crime in Chicago you don't believe anything that Mayor Johnson says except when he says crime is down it's not true
I hear what you're saying. I don't have the answers, but I acknowledge it. That's the thing about having the one track hate Trump mindset at all costs. Eloquent people who can write pages about most subjects, especially the evils of Trump, are passing you right by. I guess even acknowledging these kind of events makes one some sort of traitor
DeleteShe dresses and looks to attract Trump, mission accomplished. Trump will send troops here not because of her and her many ? followers. He will send them to show his power. He has declared war on America.
ReplyDeleteThe Ivanka quote is fake. The Trump family provides us with enough things to be appalled and frightened by without embracing falsehoods. My interest is the hat stating "Trump was right about everything" Who wears such a thing? Is he announcing his infallibility? A deeply, deeply damaged and dangerous man.
ReplyDeleteThat hat is absolute proof of him wanting to be dictator! Of course only a true lunatic would ever wear such an abomination.
DeleteOf course the one good thing is he's obviously dying & will not see 2028, or probably even 2027!
There are two Chicagos when it comes to crime, and one of them is a nightmare. To deny that is to give DT more ammo.
ReplyDeleteNo one is denying there is crime in Chicago. What I said is, it isn't among the worst places. Crime is an excuse. To fail to see that gives DT more than ammo, it gives him a free whip hand.
DeleteMy point was that in certain neighborhoods it is among the worst places. And to the people who live in those neighborhoods that is their Chicago.
DeleteGotta tell ya, Mister S, I laughed at that ridiculous image of this "personal fitness trainer" (yeah, right) in that ludicrous wig and that silly red hat and that goofy red shirt. I saw the other image...for "Stalinade...the real RED soda"...and I thought "Chicago Flips Red" was a funny advertising and marketing campaign for a brand of pop that looked straight out of the pages of MAD magazine. Soon realized that the soda she was shilling for was orange. And then stopped laughing.
ReplyDeleteIt saddens me whenever any person of color falls for his song-and-dance routine. Felonious is not their friend. He was raised and taught to hate their kind. And he uses them unmercifully. The wolf, luring the lambs to his slaughterhouse. And persuading them that the peril they see coming from undocumented immigrants is real. And making them believe that immigrants are to blame for crime and the deterioration of life in the city. Furnish the scapegoat and they'll follow you anywhere. Last century it was the Jews. This time around, it's..."the aliens."
Who is this "we" she speaks of? Eight chumps, in a city of millions. Who is wearing a red hat and shirt, and is begging for soldiers on Chicago's streets? Nobody. Of course she is far, far too young to remember 1968. Be careful what you wish for, girl. "African American ladies, beautiful ladies" (Dude, please!) are NOT saying, "Come to Chicago." I would make book on that, in a heartbeat.
Has anyone else ever noticed that people of color always "stay" in a particular location? Not "live" but "stay." That one word speaks volumes, at least to me, about the transiency and the impermanence and the temporary situations that too many Chicagoans of color deal with .The rootlessness. The lack of social and family ties. But, hey, let's blame that on the "illegals" that Dear Leader is targeting.. "We are being displaced out of our homes by illegal aliens"...boot them out and our lives will be fine. And I will be pitching for the Cubs tomorrow night.
This is not about fighting crime. It is about his deep and festering hatred for the proud and enlightened city of my birth...the city that hounded him out of town with a nice little riot in 2016. It is about retribution against the places of resistance and protest that must be brought to heel. Hitler attacked Stalingrad primarily because of its name...and its symbolism. Will Chicago be Agolf Twitler's Stalingrad? Will my hometown be where real and even physical resistance finally begins? A part of me hopes so. Bring it, dude. Come and take it.
"We know what’s best for the people.” Where have we heard that before? He means what he says? But always chickens out when push comes to shove. He loves America? No, he hates it, and he hates Americans. He’s listening to what the people want? What people? His numbers have never been worse. He wants to get America back? Back to what? To lynching and cross-burning and whipping and enslavement? This poor girl doesn't know the history of her own people.. And that may be the saddest thing of all.
Foolish little girl. Laugh her out of the room.
And then pity her, for being chumped by the charlatan.
Alas Grizz, she isn't alone in animosity toward immigrants. When Texas started sending them here by the busload, a common Black community reaction was, "How come the city is doing this for THEM? What about US?" It isn't a laudable reaction. But it is a common one.
DeleteThe old divide-and conquer strategy. One of the oldest plays in the Dictator's Playbook. Ethnic minorities vs. immigrants. It seems to be working well. They are divided...and he has conquered.
DeleteAnd so far this season (since January) he is winning..."bigly"...and I am vacillating between anger, apathy, and complete despair. All that in a day. All that in an hour sometimes.
I don't doubt that there are many more African-American people in the city of Chicago who are Trump supporters. I've met many of them in a previous comment from some months ago mentioned that we are unaware of this phenomena
DeleteEspecially young black men are Trump supporters because they've gotten screwed over by Democratic politicians that promised and things in never delivered.
And as far as the notion that immigrants commit less crime than naturally born Americans it's a difficult circumstance to get accurate information about as undocumented people hesitate to call the police and when there are crimes committed by undocumented people in our sanctuary City which I support it is not part of the police report that the person who committed the crime is undocumented that's how we help to protect these people from getting deported
One last comment about the street takeovers in front of my business when I'm here and it's happening the people are Latinos they're partying in the street the music is very loud the screeching of the tires the fireworks the drinking is by and large undocumented immigrants committing crimes I've talked to them they've asked please don't call the police they say we're not causing trouble we're not committing any crime it's amazing that we just get to decide what is crime now what they're doing is criminal activity they just don't think so and with the police not enforcing the laws it reinforces their belief that drinking and shooting off fireworks and now killing people at these Street takeovers is not illegal seriously you ought to come down here on a Saturday night and see what's happening it is off the hook
Grizz, one thing I learned listening to the Chicago cops on my scanner over the years was, when they would call in to the dispatcher, always called "Squad", they would say the person they were holding was "staying at XXX address".
DeleteWhat does that tell you? They picked it up from the people they dealt with the most. My wife worked with kindergarteners of color. Some had to repeat three years in a row because they moved around so much. The kids never said "We live"...always "we stay"...because of their fluid (as in no fixed address) situations. Living with mom's boyfriend, or cousins, or stepmothers. No wonder they fell behind so fast...and so early and often.
DeleteWorked with...and still work with...many, many people of color. For decades. So I know what I'm talking about. Adults said...and say...the same thing. Yes, i know it's a speech pattern or a dialect thing. But there's a reason for it.
Trump is a genius at identifying a legitimate problem and tackling it in the most heavy handed and maladroit way. Regarding this personal trainer, although sincere, she has nailed the look and message required to be heard. Eight people in her group pretty much says it all; doubt there are silent thousands behind her supporting martial law. Why does she remind me of Stephen Miller? A shonda of the highest order.
ReplyDeleteIf the DC experience is any guide, the National Guard will not go anywhere near the South Side or Garfield/Austin but will wander around Grant Park arresting food delivery drivers. The presence of the National Guard in our "blue" cities is a crime in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteIn Washington, D.C., the National Guard troops aren't patrolling the parts of the city that have crime problems. They're patrolling the tourist sites. We can be sure that if Trump sends troops to Chicago, they won't 'be deployed in Englewood or the West Side. They'll be employed in "downtown Chicago," where they can protect places like Trump Tower. We'll just have another huge waste of taxpayer money.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. The National Guard troops will have a presence in the Loop, Michigan Ave., Streeterville, Gold Coast, River North -- all places for photo ops of grabbing delivery drivers and perhaps protestors. It will be a completely disruptive waste of funds.
DeleteShe is quite obviously a gold digger. How long before our preadolescent president appoints her to a well paying position? 5-4-3-2-1...
ReplyDeleteIn the immortal words of Kanye West she's a gold digger she ain't messing with no broke n*****
DeleteAnyone who imagines Trumpy troops patrolling neighborhoods that are struggling with crime is delusional. What Trump wants is photos of his corps standing in the beauty of the Loop or lakefront so he can send such propaganda to his Confederacy of Dunce as chum. He will telegraph himself as a savior, a conquering hero, with more lies and false data. He will perpetuate the myth that blue states are in need of his wisdom and assistance. Meanwhile, his minions will nab earnest workers of color, or frighten them underground. This will leave hospitals, hotels, restaurants and construction understaffed. It's his magical talent: destructive subversion and malice gilded to fool the naive into thinking that he is the answer. He is the problem.
ReplyDeleteI can’t stand Trump but isn’t anyone the tiniest bit outraged over the illegal block party that went on in Lawndale half the night last week where several people were shot? And people were dancing on top of cars including police cars? This should not happen. Period. The people in that neighborhood deserved to be protected. That’s what government does. They pay taxes for that. Apparently it was all too much for the police to handle. What should have been done?
ReplyDeleteExactly the same thing is happening in the 4700 block of West rice where I've had my business for 27 years every weekend for the last month and a half. Nobody's been shot
DeleteYet
Stop it before it starts
So that the police aren't outnumbered have a patrol car at each end of the block and when partiers roll up see if they have open container in the car if they're already above the legal limit and throw them in the wagon
I'll bet that Trump sends troops to Chicago. More fascism and spectacle while he gets richer. What can the average person do?
ReplyDelete42 more months to go, at least. But there will eventually be a backlash.
To be clear I'm not asking for the national guard on the West side .
ReplyDeleteActive and effective policing by CPD would be appreciated.
I just want to be sure this narrative of Chicago not being a crime ridden place is challenged.
Just because it's not as crime ridden as someplace else or not as crime ridden as it once was it's still a big problem how much crime is happening here
How many Mondays have gone by with another horrible tally of weekend deaths and woundings in the city? I can see where the optics of this will make some people say "well at the least someone is trying something else". People (including myself) will bitch and moan that this isn't the answer, but I'd be happy to see someone from the Left side of the aisle try something new.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the founding fathers would have done if King George had sent the military (redcoats) to the colonies to enforce laws.
ReplyDeleteJoanie Wimmer