The dogs of war. The dogs of oppression. The dogs of the president of the United States.

President Donald Trump has threatened to turn loose “vicious dogs,” if ever protestors of the murder of George Floyd go to the White House to demand action by the president to stop the extrajudicial killing of black men and boys and women, by police and other law enforcement elements in this “free society.”

His threat harks back to the days of the Freedom Rides in the South, especially in Alabama, where racists such as “Bull” Connor held back the police of Birmingham for just enough time for white supremacists and Ku Klux Klansmen to have at the Freedom Riders and do their best to assault and injure as many as possible to teach them a lesson: Don't come to Birmingham or Alabama and try to support the struggle of black citizens for their rights to vote, to work, to drink from a water fountain, or eat at a lunch counter, among all of the other rights they sought. Dogs were used to instill fear.

Connor's thugs did their work well and they inflicted much injury and damage to black men, women, and children. They were allowed (encouraged) to do it under his watch. The murders and mayhem throughout the South continued, as the legacy of the slave-owning class there continued, not just after the Civil War, but to this day in 2020. As far as can be known, there was never any direct order by Connor or any other authority for the KKK to attack those seeking freedom, but it was part of the economy and the culture of the nation, including, as we've seen too often, the northern states.

That's the legacy that black Americans are dealing with to this day and part of the reason that a police officer in Minneapolis could kneel on the neck of a man in handcuffs for nearly nine minutes, in full view of other cops and citizens, until the man was dead. The message here is: Don't ask why protesters are in the streets, but simply look back at the history of the U.S.A., to its origins as a new nation engaged in the slave trade and fully embracing chattel slavery as the natural order of things. And, the genocide against the indigenous peoples of North America must never be forgotten.

The president has threatened that the full force of the government would be used to quell the riots that have happened across the U.S. in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, but especially in Minneapolis, where the murder of Floyd took place. The cop has been charged with third degree murder and manslaughter and charges against other cops who stood by without doing anything to save the life of the arrested man were pending in the days following the crime. Damage to property and looting took place in cities across the U.S., resulting in curfews and orders to clear the streets.

In contrast to the threats of Trump and authorities in other cities has been the City of Schenectady, N.Y., where the police were marching without helmets with the protestors and Police Chief Eric Clifford took a knee in the street, in solidarity with the protestors, which brought at least one young woman to tears. Those demonstrations were peaceful, mainly because the protestors were given a clear signal that their anguish and suffering were acknowledged by those in power and they had hope that, in at least that city, something might be done to address the profound structural problem of racism in America. Still, Trump wants to set the military on the protestors, force being his answer to everything.

The president reportedly took to his White House bunker for about an hour this week, when protesters gathered there. He's sure he will be protected from reaction to his racist tweets by his law enforcement agencies and he's right. They will protect him. But he also has issued not-so-subtle requests from members of his base (often armed and wearing MAGA hats) to come to his defense. When he was asked by a reporter this week whether his tweets might stoke more racial unrest and lead to violence, Trump, according to Rolling Stone magazine, replied, “No no, not at all. MAGA says make America great again. These are people that love our country.”

There are some Republicans who disagree with the president on most issues. They call themselves “The Lincoln Project” and have produced and paid for hard-hitting commercials, the most recent of which noted the proliferation of Confederate battle flags among his MAGA supporters and they further noted that the Confederates were traitors to their country. And, they ask, inside of about a one-minute commercial, what does it mean that Trump embraces a group that proudly embraces the single-most traitorous act in American history that culminated in the blood-soaked Civil War? It's doubtful that the president will even attempt to rationalize his association with his boys and their (loaded) assault rifles.

Still, he tried to make them something they are not. Again, from Rolling Stone: “MAGA is make America great again. By the way, they love African American people, they love black people. MAGA loves the black people.” Trump, and they, have a strange way of showing that they love “the black people.”

When he heard that Freedom Riders were coming into Birmingham from out of state, including northern states, Bull Connor said, “As I have said on numerous occasions, we are not going to stand for this in Birmingham. And if necessary we will fill the jail full and we don't care whose toes we step on. I am saying now to these meddlers from out of our city the best thing for them to do is stay out if they don't want to get slapped in jail. Our people of Birmingham are a peaceful people and we never have any trouble here unless some people come into our city looking for trouble. And I've never seen anyone yet look for trouble who wasn't able to find it.” And, the rest is history.

Trump has yet to call out the dogs, but he seems willing to do so. When he once saw cops holding the heads of suspects they were placing in their squad cars, he told the cops that they were being a little too gentle, that it would be okay to rough them up a bit. Lest we forget, these are suspects, not convicted criminals. His personal history shows his disdain, if not contempt, for minority citizens. He and his father were sued for racial discrimination in rental properties in New York City. In the case of the Central Park Five, young men who were convicted of rape and assault of a white woman, he took out a full-page ad demanding their execution. They were later exonerated, when one other man admitted to the crime, but they did hard time. He never apologized for his savage demand. He never has apologized for anything, because he has been protected behind his gated communities. Even though he has accepted the laying on of hands by evangelical supporters and preachers, he reportedly has said that he has never asked God for forgiveness (likely because he thinks he's never done anything wrong).

There are endless reasons for black Americans to be angry, just as the anger has existed for hundreds of years, but there is one statistic that illustrates the suffering of our minority brothers and sisters: The wealth gap between black families and white families. According to the Brookings Institution, in 2016, a typical white family's net worth was $171,000, which is about ten times greater than that of a typical black family, at $17,150. Considering progress that has been made in some areas of national life, black families are left behind for no other reason than structural racism and white supremacy that have been built by government and other institutions into our everyday life.

Every time there has been a murder of black persons by law enforcement that has resulted in rioting and destruction of property, white America stands back in wonder and says, “Why are they doing this? We've made such progress. We've even had a black president.” The answer, of course, is: Read the history of your country, starting with the U.S. Constitution and the clause that says slaves are counted as three-fifths of a human. Therein lies the beginning of white privilege and white supremacy. Still, the majority of Americans believe that this is a country based on equality, on merit, and on liberty and justice for all. The last three words are the key to our troubles. “Justice for all” are just words, and until white America takes those words to heart, there will not be many moments of rest, while black Americans are oppressed and murdered with impunity by the authorities.