The Enemy of My Friend . . .

Back when I was a young boy, perhaps eight or nine years old, I was allowed to play outside unsupervised on the next block. I do not recall the exact circumstances of the incident in question. All that I can recall is that a bunch of us, including my friend, Jackie, and his older brothers, Jimmy and Tommy, were playing some group game. Certainly the game had to be rough because Jimmy was playing, and I must have gotten hurt. My mother was not particularly fond of Jimmy, as she thought he was a bully. She marched down to the other block, and verbally let Jimmy have it! (The enemy of my friend [son] is my enemy!) Good for my mother. 

I once had a similiar situation at work where I thought that someone in my department was being unfairly being chastised by an administrator and so I lit into the administrator. (The enemy of my friend is my enemy!) Good for me.

President Trump is not about to let some biased congressman (Rep Elijah Cummings) unfairly berate someone in his administration, especially when the congressman is doing it for his own political purpose. So in response, Mr. Trump lit into Rep Cummings (D,Md.) He tweeted:“Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bullying, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the worst in the USA.” He added, “As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cummings’ District is a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess.”(The enemy of my friend is my enemy!) Good for President Trump.

The response by Democrats and the liberal media was the hackneyed, “Donald Trump is a racist,” as Elijah Cummings is black. To me the crux of the issue is whether or not Cummings’ district is  a “rat and rodent-infested mess.” This is crucial as the vast majority of the district that he “represents,” is black. If President Trump’s comments are true and they eventually lead to an improvement in their living conditions in Baltimore, will the Democrats and the liberal media give Mr. Trump his due?

In 2018 the former mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh while touring an east Baltimore area of vacant houses with city leaders and said: “What the hell? We should just take all this [expletive] down.” “Whoa, you can smell the rats.” “Whew, Jesus.” “Oh, my God, you can smell the dead animals.” Were these comments racist? Of course not, as Mayor Pugh is black.

After the Baltimore riots in 2015, President Barack Obama spoke about communities in the major Maryland city that are struggling with “abject poverty,” “no investment,” and drugs. Obama partially blamed the riots on the lack of opportunity in Baltimore communities, pointing out the high rates of crime, substandard education, and drug abuse. According to Mr. Obama, Baltimore is not exactly the gem of the Chesapeake, although to be fair, he did not mention the rats. Were these comments racist? Of course not, as President Obama is black.

In December, 2015, the Baltimore Sun reported Bernie Sanders said, “Anyone who took the walk that we took around this neighborhood would not think you’re in a wealthy nation,” Sanders said during a visit to the city’s West Baltimore section . . . “You would think that you were in a Third World country.” Were these comments racist? Of course not, as Sanders is a liberal.

From Townhall: 

This week Turning Point USA’s Chief Content Creator, Benny Johnson, hit the streets of Baltimore to talk to residents about their experiences and to set the record straight. On being ‘Rat Infested’:- *Every* person I spoke with *confirmed* that the district was rat infested
– One man told me that rats the “size of cats” run through his house regularly
– One woman told me rats have “taken over” her neighborhood 
– One called it a “plague of rats”
On trash in Rep. Cummings’ district:
– There is trash everywhere
– Filth & garbage piled up high in the street
– One building had a big sign that begged ‘DO NOT PUT TRASH HERE’ – below the signs were piles of rotting refuse
– Constituents blamed the trash for the rat infestation
Were the comments by these black Baltimore residents racist? Obviously No,  even though they were essentially the same as Mr. Trump’s! Is Benny Johnson a racist? Hard for me to know at this point as I neither know the color of his skin nor his political affiliation, which to Democrats appears to be crucial when evaluating whether or not someone or that someone’s comments are racist! (The enemy of my black friend must be a racist!)