So with Trump sending the troops and tanks (yes) into DC, the MAGA noise machine is going overtime to explain to the base that cities (especially cities with a majority black population and government) are pits of crime and violence. Except…well…they aren’t. Sure there are bad neighborhoods everywhere, but violent crime is actually down overall. At least according to the last most recent reliable stats. But I’m sure they’re working on fixing the stats right this very moment. 

This item from Media Matters For America came across my news feed yesterday…

Fox host: “If they had National Guard troops in Times Square it would make me feel safer

AINSLEY EARHARDT (FOX HOST): So the president implemented this Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force and in less than a week they’ve taken 100 violent criminals off the streets. I think it’s great. I wouldn’t mind seeing the National Guard, especially if it’s in areas where there is a lot of crime. I mean, think about Times Square. There is a lot of crime there. We cover a lot of stories there. If they had National Guard troops in Times Square it would make me feel safer.

I don’t think all of this is deliberate hyperbole. There’s some real fear there on the part of this group of Trump/MAGA blowhards. They’re surrounded by too many Not White faces, too much social and cultural representation that isn’t their own. To walk in Not Fox News/Trump/MAGA territory is to be out of their comfort zone.

But there’s something else I think that’s at work here. I’ve walked through Time Square by myself many times. Last time I was in NYC (to see Boys In The Band at the Booth Theater) I wandered around from the Hotel to Hell’s Kitchen, had a great time just exploring somewhere I’d never been before, and the local food was excellent. But I’m used to this. I’m single, an only child, and prefer taking my walks by myself because a companion, unless very good friends or a lover (which I’ve never had), would restrict my wandering. Plus, I might walk their legs off. That’s all well and good, but there is something else I’m used to, and have been since childhood.

Evaluating my surroundings moment to moment.

It happens automatically, and so routinely I don’t even notice it anymore. But it’s there, in the background of my thoughts. Always.

I remember a moment I was walking to Friends bar near DuPont Circle with strike 3. There was nearly no foot traffic at that moment, and 3 and I was chatting easily as we walked. I barely noticed the group of older kids walking toward us, and I only remember in retrospect adjusting my path to take them just out of arm’s reach as they passed us.

I heard a sickening thud. One of the kids, large and heavy set, had thrown an elbow at 3’s chin and nearly knocked him over.

And suddenly there it was, and there was nobody else around to come to our aid. As often happens at these moments, the streets were empty. It was just the two of us and those kids who were laughing at 3. I moved to stand between them and 3 wondering what the hell I was going to do if they turned on me too, but they just kept laughing and walked off. 3 wasn’t badly hurt, and we went on to Friends.

As I said, it was only thinking about what happened in retrospect that I noticed my slight change of course. So they would have to take a step toward me if they wanted to cause trouble and I’d have time to react. That was no result of self defense training. It was the reflex of years of school yard bullying.

It’s with me always. It was beaten into me. Evaluating my surroundings as I walk along just comes automatically and naturally, even now at age 71. And I want to emphasize this: it’s not worry. I’m not constantly worried I’ll be attacked. I’m not constantly afraid. I just…watch. I’ve come to see it as just another part of life. Like putting my wallet in a front pocket when I’m in a crowded place. Like making sure the door is locked when I leave the house.

These people bellyaching about how afraid they are in the cities…I think a lot of it is theater. Performance for the rubes. But not all of it. I am conditioned to be alert. Because I was bullied. By people like the ones looking into the cameras on Fox News. I recognise those faces. I recognise the predatory gaze, and the snear in their voice. I know these people. They are my schoolyard bullies, all grown up now, still playing the old game on their favorite childhood targets. They don’t know how to evaluate their surroundings because they never had to. And it scares them to be anywhere they are outnumbered.

They witlessly gave me a survival skill. What they gave themselves was a false sense of power and security. And you’re really seeing it now.

[Update…]

And just for my classmates to know…I regard my years at Woodward as among the best of my life. The bullying happened in Jr. High. So I’m told, that’s usually where the worst of it usually is.