It's Good To Be A Rich, White Criminal in America

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith dropped federal charges against Donald Trump & proved that our corrupt system continued working perfectly to protect the rich, powerful, & white from accountability.

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith filed motions to drop all federal charges against Donald Trump earlier today proving yet again it’s always good to be a rich, white criminal in America.

Donald Trump, a convicted criminal who assaulted a woman and incited a violent insurrection against our free and fair election, will be rewarded for his numerous crimes by ascending to the White House again and becoming the most powerful person on Earth.

Trump’s business organization committed fraud, his charity committed fraud, and his university committed fraud. He was convicted by a jury of our peers in a hush-money scheme to influence the 2016 election. He lied about taking classified material and hiding it at Mar-a-Lago. He pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find” him 11,780 votes to win the state he lost in the 2020 election.

He lies as he breathes and surrounds himself with sexual abusers, miscreants, criminals, and amoral upstarts who will sell a grandmother on eBay for the sake of power and wealth. He has also promised to terminate the Constitution, be a dictator for a day, and praise bloodthirsty authoritarians around the world.

And, despite all of this, or, most likely because of this, a plurality of Americans decided to re-elect him as our Commander-in-Chief and make him the global representative and leader of the United States of America.

Upon reflection, it’s all quite fitting. Every single hallowed institution in this country that was praised and revered by those in the establishment class failed to hold Trump accountable despite his entire lifetime of naked, shameless, reckless criming.

People might not like hearing this, but the system and the establishment worked like they always have for people at the top. Why mess up a good thing? There are “second chances” for them and “tough love” for us. These are the same elders of our current political and economic class - both liberal and conservative - who yearn for "restoration" instead of reform. They need to sustain myths about the allegedly glorious, romanticized days of the past to rationalize upholding a system that has often betrayed and pummeled the rest of us who are people of color, immigrants, or poor.

Trump will be eating McDonald’s at the White House as more than 2 million individuals will be incarcerated in the United States. We account for 22% of the world’s prison population even though we only make up 4% of the world’s population. Nearly 80% of people of those in prison are poor. Low-level offenses make up about 25% of the daily jail population. If they helped incite a violent insurrection with Trump, they could’ve ended up in the White House but, alas, they were likely caught in impoverished zip codes with illicit drugs that are snorted copiously at DC parties attended by politicos without threat of arrest and prosecution.

As a father of three kids, I wonder what message this will send the young generation of Americans who have grown up in the Age of MAGA and Trump. When elders tell them to pay their taxes, follow the law, be respectful, speak the truth, respect your neighbors, stand up for the marginalized, fight for democracy, and try to be a moral and ethical citizen, they will most likely laugh and ask, “Why?” After all, Trump has done the opposite his entire life whose narcissism is only matched by his cruelty and vindictiveness. He was not only rewarded for his numerous sins, but has amassed a loyal cult willing to fight and die for him. Being decent, law-abiding and righteous is a path for suckers, losers, and martyrs in the United States of America where wealth, power, and whiteness still reign supreme.

How can we say the United States stands for law and order when we praise a man who openly flouts both?

Our current reality reminds me of Pakistan, my parent’s country of birth. I have visited my family in Karachi several times over the years and I’ve seen how people lose faith in their country, their government, and their systems as a result of corrupt, venal, and failed leadership that pillages the nation’s wealth and lives above the law. My family members often say the following: “We just want a leader who is the least corrupt.” Despite patriotism and love for the country, people realize they can only rely on themselves and must do what it takes to survive as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We’re already witnessing this in America as Black women, 92% of whom understood the assignment and voted for Kamala Harris, are checking out and investing in taking care of themselves and their communities.

Can you blame them?

The hard truth remains that our systems didn’t fail but behaved like they always have for those who are wealthy, powerful and privileged. Of course Trump would never be held accountable. Hell, even Nixon was pardoned and lived the rest of his life writing books, giving speeches, and making good money. Kissinger, a war criminal, lived to the ripe age of 100. George W. Bush, who presided over the disastrous War on Terror, is now praised as an eccentric senior who paints and gives candy to Michelle Obama.

This is America.

It’s a great country for criminal, old, white men.