RNC 2020 & Kenosha: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Hello, welcome to the show that still takes place in this void, think of it as the moon, which is frigid, colorless, and occasionally occupied by a very lonely, malnourished man who definitely peed in his suit, and in fact, let's dive right in. With our main story this

week

, which is unusual for us, it concerns the

week

we just had, it's one of the rare occasions where we actually live up to the title of our show, unlike it probably should call each other 28 minutes on the call tax or whatever. John Oliver and the reason we're doing this is because it's been an incredible week, so

tonight

we're going to talk about two things in particular, the Republican National Convention and the horrible events in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Jacob Blake received several shots. in the back by police and a vigilante killed two people and we'll talk more about Kenosha in a moment, but let's start with the rnc, an event to celebrate Donald Trump's administration, a tough sell at best, but something which was particularly felt. out of step this week considering we have a pandemic on the rampage and the economic catastrophe unfolding and the wildfires and hurricanes ravaging the country, all of which made it a little jarring that the Republicans' initial argument seemed to be essentially these ladies and gentlemen leaders and freedom fighters. and freedom and the american dream, the best is yet to come, okay, so that's kimberly guilfoyle bringing energy to the rnc that can really only be described as I'm sorry, I thought the pigeons were going to fly out of my hands and that marked the guideline for the Last week the main theme of the convention seemed to be telling lies in front of flags because it was four days of a total denial of objective reality, on the one hand there was the misleading portrait that they painted of Trump's opponents, if Biden wins , will be controlled by environmental extremists we would be one step closer to funding government run healthcare, he has pledged to defund the police and is even talking about tearing down the wall, how about that?

Honestly, that sounds great, sadly, although Biden has promised to do exactly none of that. those things biden is a radical environmentalist police defunding socialists the same way i'm the biggest zazu ever you can say i'm all you want and i honestly wish i was but the fact is it's not even close be true and the lies told about biden were just the beginning here, convention speakers also claimed that trump never called white supremacists very good people, which he did, that he passed the veterans election bill, which he didn't Honestly, I'm not surprised a speaker didn't claim at one point that Trump invented budgies or that he stopped murder hornets by sucking them right out of the air and, However, even in the midst of a storm of lies, some still manage. to stand out as White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow referring to the coronavirus with a strange choice of tense, then came a once-in-a-100-year pandemic, it was terrible, the economic and health impacts were tragic, the Difficulties and anguish were everywhere, but presidential leadership came quickly and effectively.

With an extraordinary health and safety rescue to successfully combat the coveted virus, what are you doing? You can't talk about the coronavirus in the past tense when, in a very real sense, it is still raging if you are a character in a watched movie. You don't say it was close while the bear trap is still in your head, but perhaps the biggest chasm between the r c and objective reality concerned race because time and time again rnc speakers went out of their way to assure viewers that Racism in America is mostly a relic of the past and whatever remains can easily be overcome, take Nikki Haley's speech in which she adamantly insisted that America is not a racist country and then told the inspiring story of how the flag Confederate movement in its state capital was withdrawn in 2015 after the massacre. at mother emanuel church after that horrible tragedy we did not turn against each other we came together, black and white, democrat and republican together we made the difficult decisions necessary to heal and remove a divisive symbol peacefully and respectfully oh that's what It happened, does that sound?

Well, just a few things, it's a peaceful story of unity and hope, as long as you start that story immediately after a white supremacist killed nine people in a historic black church. Furthermore, Haley's version of that story ignores the fact that the eventual elimination of the Confederates. The flag was promoted by artists and activists Bryn Use and Bass climbing the flagpole in front of the House of Representatives like she was in an anti-racist version of American Ninja Warrior and then being arrested and then the flag was raised again. 45 minutes later, Haley also conveniently leaves out the part where the candidate she supports has defended those who proudly fly the flag as representing the South, so Haley turns what happened in South Carolina into a story. calm and hopeful of racial reconciliation, it's a little like Someone asked her what the movie Do the Right Thing is about and she said a Brooklyn neighborhood comes together to help redecorate a pizzeria, sure Nikki, I guess that's technically true, but it sounds like you're leaving out some pretty important parts there, and a lot of the rnc's messaging on race seemed aimed not so much at winning over black voters as at reassuring white people that they could vote republican without being racist.

The audience they were speaking to was pretty clear, even in little moments like this, the American people know it. We don't have to choose between supporting law enforcement and supporting our African American neighbors. Wait, Mike, who is the we in that sentence because it sounds like you're making a distinction between us, the American people, and our African American people? The American neighbors, who I suppose by extension are somehow a completely different bunch, but I suppose that sentiment shouldn't be surprising coming from Mike Pence, a man who perpetually looks like he should be living in Ken's White Flight dream home and all this open talk.

Racial harmony was in great conflict with the steady diet of thinly veiled racial panic that viewers were also feeding. Perhaps the most egregious example of this came Monday night when the RNC chose to feature the Saint Louis couple who were accused of threatening black people. Lives matter to protesters at gunpoint

last

month and the message they were there to send was quite clear. It seems as if Democrats no longer see the government's job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens they are dissatisfied with. spreading chaos and violence in our communities they want to abolish suburbs entirely by ending single-family home zoning.

This forest zoning would bring crime, lawlessness, and low-quality apartments to now-thriving suburban neighborhoods, so make no mistake, no matter where your family lives. I will not be safe in the radical democrats of the United States. Wow, okay, first c-span, you really didn't need to put up the banner that says they're personal injury attorneys. I understood a lot of everything, but it is much more important to think about the incendiary. that message is violence and criminals are coming to your community in the form of substandard apartments and you need to fight back believe us the couple who pointed guns at black lives matter protestors and rhetoric like that and vision In fact, it brings us to the second part of our story this week, what happened in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where, to reiterate, the police shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back with three his kids in the car and then at the protest that followed Kyle Rittenhouse on the 17th.

A one-year-old who traveled there from out of state and was illegally carrying a gun killed two people and look, I don't know if he saw McCloskey speak the

last

night and decided to drive to a city he didn't live in to defend his property. he didn't own it, what I do know is that he was an avid Trump supporter, even sitting front row at a rally in January, and Trump and his media ecosystem have been broadcasting essentially the same message as the McCloskeys for years, just Look how Quickly Tucker Carlson moved to try to explain the house's actions written as a natural response.

So are we really surprised that looting and burning escalated into murder? How surprised are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to keep order when no one else would? You don't seem surprised and that alone should be quite shocking because let's be clear, a 17 year old vigilante with a rifle cannot maintain order because a 17 year old vigilante with a rifle trying to maintain order is itself the definition of disorder. Except, of course, if you're a regular viewer of Tucker Carlson, a show that exists to teach its viewers precisely three things: property damage is violence, homicide is order, and pillows are for sale and the events in Kenosha really emphasize the blatant built-in double standard.

American society just look at the difference in how Kenosha police responded to Blake and how they responded to Rittenhouse's alleged gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, walking away with gun in tow as people shouted that he had just shot protesters. A law enforcement officer appeared to ask Rittenhouse if anyone was there. two incidents of injuries two videos with some asking why two different answers why two different answers I think the answer is pretty obvious it's the same reason why before the shooting there was a video of the police trying to enforce a curfew against the protesters even when I offered water to the written house and the militias saying and I quote: we appreciate you guys, we really do and if you're looking for a better visual illustration of the differences between being black and white in America, I don't think you're going To do it. find one, except maybe forcing exactly who sits down and who stands up when Cotton Eye Joe shows up at a wedding and that disparity in treatment continued even after the shootings, just notice how the next day the Kenosha police chief couldn't avoid blaming the protesters who were shot and killed everyone involved left after curfew.

I'm not going to make a big deal out of that, but the point is that the curfews put in place to protect people who would not have been involved in a violation from that perhaps situation that developed would not have happened. Well, first of all, thank you very much for not making a big deal out of the fact that the people who were murdered were awake well past the government's bedtime and you were kind enough to not even mention it except to imply. which maybe was one reason they deserved it and that's the kind of restraint we all expect from the Kenosha police department and you would think that well wait that's just one guy, surely not all law enforcement there they think.

That way, though I will point out that the guy standing next to him is the sheriff of Kenosha, who just two years ago gave a pretty amazing press conference. A group of five young black men had allegedly stolen some clothing from a shopping center and led police on a chase that ended in a minor car accident and at that press conference expressed some opinions that are quite explicit, let's put them in jail , let's stop at least some of these men from going out and getting 10 other women pregnant and having small children, let's stop them at some point we have to stop being politically correct sorry, can I quickly interrupt you because asking that citizens be stopped Americans having small children is not politically incorrect as much as 1940s Germany is politically incorrect and he?

He wasn't just idly saying that he had actually thought of a whole plan and I know it's deeply unpleasant, but honestly, it's worth hearing how detailed his solution was if there is a threshold they cross, these people have to be stored, no. recreational time in prisons we keep them and maybe what we have to do is build warehouses that after this generation is gone, they have perished in these buildings we can turn them into something else maybe shopping centers maybe maybe uh amazon will buy them as warehouses later but at some point we have to get rid of this group of people, we have tolock them up.

I don't think I'm saying anything different than what most people in society don't think, but they're afraid to say it and I. I'm just to the point where I'm saying, okay, if that's what most people in society think, then we are and this is true, a terrible society and I honestly can't believe it was an idea of a sheriff who is still employed. and not a speech from the shark tank lights genocide edition good question, Cuban brand, the answer is that these concentration camps could easily become Amazon warehouses, looks like I have a bidding war on my hands and look, the events in Kenosha would be infuriating. at any time, but it is somehow especially galling that they took place in the same week that the rnc was desperate to assure the country that the United States is not racist while at the same time spreading fear about the violent crimes that threatened the law-abiding citizens; there was a disconnect that was summed up pretty well by nba coach doc rivers in an emotional postgame press conference on tuesday, what sticks out to me the most is just watching the republicans take revenge on our convention and this, they're spewing this fear like everything you hear Donald Trump and all that. of them talking about fear we are the ones who kill us we are the ones who shoot us uh we are the ones who are denied to live in certain communities um we have been hanged we have been shot and all you do is keep hearing about fear.

It's amazing why we still love this country and this country doesn't love us. Yes, exactly, it's all exhaustingly depressing, although in a week of incredible darkness, there was actually one bright spot because shortly after Doc Rivers spoke, something truly extraordinary began to happen in his sport. The Milwaukee Bucks had a playoff game but did not take the court and rumors began to circulate that they were about to refuse to play. Then wnba players, who, by the way, have led the Black Lives Matter movement from the beginning, also refused to play after arriving at a scheduled match with Church with seven bullet holes in their backs and, eventually, beatings. savages spread across both leagues in an unprecedented and genuinely inspiring way. show of collective action and they did it without union approval, so they were risking a lot of their income and maybe even their careers, which makes it so infuriating that when Jared Kushner was asked his response to the strike, this is what Out of his mouth, I think NBA players are very fortunate to be in the financial position that allows them to take a night off from work without having to suffer the financial consequences for themselves, so they have that luxury that it's cool, it's okay, first get jared, welcome to marwyn, reject, reason to start, they won't take a night off from work, the emotional toll of being black in america combined with the pressure to perform at a level of elite during a global pandemic.

I guess it's pretty demanding, so by not playing they're not exactly taking a spa day and if NBA players are too rich to take meaningful action, then who exactly is in the right tax bracket for their protest be approved by the most laminated prince in the United States because we have seen? over and over again that wealth and fame do not protect you at all as a black athlete, they did not protect Sterling Brown from being electrocuted by police after being pulled over for a parking violation in Milwaukee and they did not protect Tarbo Cephalosia from having His leg was broken by NYPD officers in an incident that forced him to miss the 2015 playoffs and put his entire career in jeopardy, and you might want to tie Jared up because this probably won't be the last disruptive action as this one we will see. in the future nor should it be that way because people are tired of waiting, just listen to Jacob Blake's sister, Letitra Wideman, making that very clear.

I'm not sad, I'm not sorry, I'm angry and tired, I haven't cried even once. I stopped crying years ago I'm numb I've been watching the police murder people who look like me for years I'm not sad I don't want your pity I want change right this can't be about pity it can't be about sympathy that's why There is no section in greeting card stores labeled centuries of oppression. It's not about what white people feel or say. It has to be about creating real change in a system that has been built to not respond because history has repeatedly shown us that the system does not respond until it is forced to, so it is easy for rnc speakers to insist that the only appropriate action is peaceful and discreet, but the fact is that that is not how it works.

Thousands of people marched after the George Floyd protest. death and have continued to march even as media coverage has steadily receded, while the mba has made many symbolic gestures in support of the movement, such as painting black lives on the court and allowing players to wear a message of social justice on their t-shirts selected along the way from a list of 29 agreed-upon options, but to underscore how limiting that kind of pre-approved protest can be, let's say your name was on the list but brianna taylor wasn't and I guess the only positive is that if the players wanted to protest that particular restriction the nba had a t-shirt prepared for them the problem with purely symbolic protest is that it's too easy to co-opt and there might actually be no more visceral example of that than the fact that That Kenosha Sheriff and The Human Storage Innovator received positive attention earlier this year when he knelt for nine minutes in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, so it's no surprise that basketball players felt they had to step up. their protest not only by wearing a t-shirt, but also by going on strike. so jeopardizing team owners' money because real discomfort is the only thing that will bring real change here and it's worth noting that the strike has already had some effect, not only did it spread to other sports and other athletes, but also to NBA players now.

I have a promise from the owners to convert as many of their stadiums as possible into voting locations this November, which is fantastic, but it also brings us to the fact that simply voting this November clearly won't be enough because, as much as I or The A rnc would like to believe that Joe Biden will be an agent of radical change, there is simply no reason to believe that to the extent that real change is possible through the ballot box this year, it will only be if Biden is elected alongside candidates progressive at all times. on the ballot from the Senate to state legislatures, to city councils and to sheriffs and even that will largely be a beginning and not an end.

None of this is easy but it has to start and now because our current situation is completely unacceptable and the rnc is actually the week ended up being a good reminder that where we could end up is really scary because if this week showed us anything it's the danger of continuing to be governed by an administration that encourages the ugliest forces in American society that glorifies threats of violence against peaceful protests that tells us there is no conflict between supporting law enforcement and our African American neighbors and that insists that the best is yet to come, which, given everything we've seen in the last four years, sounds less like a promise and more like a threat