Is it possible that white right wing politicians will ever tire of telling Black Americans what to do?

Based on the modern history of Memphis, the answer is obvious. 

The latest evidence can be found in the decision by Trump and his sycophants to send the National Guard into Memphis and “the military too, if it’s needed,” he said.  The announcement by the president was accompanied by his typical trash talk, braggadocio, and pettiness, not to mention his customary disregard for the truth.

For example, while acknowledging that crime is down in Memphis, Trump claimed credit and suggested it is linked to his decision to send in the FBI to collaborate with Memphis Police Department five months ago.  The truth is this: crime in Memphis has been declining for two years and the surge in FBI resources was announced in November, 2023, when Joe Biden was president.

Never mind that National Guard members aren’t trained in law enforcement, never mind that Memphis is already working collaboratively with state and federal agencies, and never mind, if you believe lots of people in uniforms walking the streets can reduce crime,  how about just paying for more police?

A Punch In The Face

White right wingers have no interest in solving the problems that create crime, only in jailing more and more people.  Even with the Memphis crime rate at its lowest in 25 years, the facts never get in the way of an opportunity to beat up a majority Black city with a Democratic majority. 

Even at a time when our tourism industry is already faltering because of Trump policies discouraging international visitors, the white opportunists send in the National Guard to decimate it even more.  Although the crime rate peaked when Memphis had a white mayor and a white attorney general, it was only after a Black mayor took office that the right  wingers declared a crisis.  At a time when Memphis is working hard to improve its national brand, the National Guard presence will essentially be a punch in the face.

All in all, these are examples of the plantation mentality that grips state policies and politicians and makes Trump’s decision to send in the National Guard against the wishes of its city leaders seem logical to them. 

While the details remain to be worked out, there’s hope that Governor Bill Lee will stand for common sense in the deployment and not simply acquiesce to Trump’s militarization of the city.  Left to his own desires, it has been reported that the governor would not mobilize the Guard to Memphis but it’s hard to imagine him standing against anything the president wants.  After all, he uprooted 160 Tennesseeans in the National Guard from their jobs and their families and sent them to Washington, D.C., to ingratiate himself with Trump.

Meanwhile, the president’s servile toady, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, and the Trump mini-me expounding from his gaudy faux governor’s mansion in Eads, State Senator Brent Taylor, appear to have been in instrumental in this decision; however, other white right wingers quickly fell in place, notably David Kustoff, who has made a Faustian bargain with MAGA for power and State Rep. Mark White, who from his white majority district in East Memphis and Germantown persistently interferes in the decisions of Memphis’ majority Black school district.

According to the Commercial Appeal, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton was less gung-ho in his reaction: “I’m not against the National Guard coming in, just maybe a different role than they’ve been using in other places.  Memphis issues are a little different than what was in D.C.  I think there are other things we can do.”   That said, there’s little reason to hope he won’t fall in line if Trump pressure is applied.

We’ve Seen It Before

This isn’t just about crass hypocrisy.  It’s about a pattern of behavior.

The right wing Greek chorus can’t conceal the fact that when these white politicians had  opportunities to help Memphis, they refused.  Instead, Taylor, White, and their far right colleagues in the Tennessee Legislature voted to make guns on Memphis streets ubiquitous with passage of permitless carry.  Even when Memphis asked for a limited pilot program to combat the proliferation of guns, the state legislature said no. 

The cause and effect are unmistakable.  Compared to 2016, when permitless carry was approved by the legislature in 2021, violent incidents involving guns increased 42% and guns stolen from cars climbed 67%.  Within two years of passage of permitless carry, the Memphis crime rate climbed 34%, violent crime by 7%, and property crime by 52%.

So, first, they flood Memphis with guns and now they call for the National Guard to fight the crime fueled by their reckless decisions.  

Enemies of Self-Governance

But this disregard for Memphis is not an isolated incident.  It’s a pattern of plantation mentality at its core. 

Time and time again, these politicians’ plantation mentality has led them to interfere in the city’s right to home rule, its own decision-making, and self-governance.

When Memphis leadership wanted to enact a living wage, state legislators blocked it.  When City of Memphis leaders restricted traffic stops for minor violations, the state legislature and the governor banned it from being implemented.  At a time when Memphis was dealing with an epidemic of police killings, state government forbid it from creating an effective police review board.  When Memphis voters approved local gun control measures last, Republican state leaders threatened to cut off state funding if it was implemented. 

The state passed a law that banned local government from having residency requirements for police, obliterating a Memphis city charter provision that required new police recruits to live within Shelby County. 

In other words, it’s pointless now to look for white far right state legislators to be voices of reason as the self-governing by a majority Black city is eroded, if not obliterated.

Here’s the thing: if these law and order right wingers were serious about reducing crime, why are they silent while Trump cuts funding for numerous federal programs that support local crime reduction efforts?  These cuts, which fly in the face of all the tough talk, have gutted initiatives on domestic violence prevention, victims’ services, intervention, juvenile justice, and police training. 

The Department of Justice has cut 373 grants valued at about $820 million that would have supported state and local public safety efforts and funded police.  Approximately $169 million was eliminated from community-based violence intervention programs; $158 million in grants was eliminating for gun violence prevention; and $3.5 million was cut from Project Safe Neighborhoods.  And in keeping with the Trump Administration’s disdain for the facts, it eliminated funding for research and data collection.

Plantation Mentality

In other words, sending the National Guard to Memphis without meaningful consultation with its city government is the latest example of the plantation mentality that lies at the heart of so many right wing decisions affecting Memphis. It’s why sending the National Guard to Memphis isn’t about reducing crime but about white right wingers forcing a Black city to kneel to their will.

For those who believe plantation mentality is too harsh in describing these politicians’ mindset, consider its elements: it condones racial inequality, racial hierarchy, paternalism, and control.  It is condescending, seeks subservience, and enforces a power imbalance based on race.   

It is what we are witnessing with the deployment of the National Guard.  We know it when we see it, because we’ve seen it all before.  

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