Brandon Johnson's Race-mongering

Hi all,

A quick note here.

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me a video that he shot at a Chicago rally featuring Mayor Brandon Johnson.

I played it and it starts off with a bang: "Y'all look, white supremacy is real- I'm going to say that one more time." He then launches into what can only be described as a full-throated identity politics rant, blaming The Man for his city’s miseries and his own shortcomings as a leader.

You can see the video in full here:

This video will likely never been shown in mainstream media despite Johnson’s crass race-mongering. If it had been a member of the unprotected class — whites, Asians, Jews, etc. — it would be another story.

Aside from this double-standard that continues to divide our culture, this race-mongering ignores inconvenient facts, including the fact that the last four of seven Chicago mayors were black and all were Democrats. So, what white supremacy is Johnson talking about? I’m sure no one would call former mayor Rahm Emanuel, who came to Chicago from President Obama’s administration, a white supremacist. Well, except for maybe Johnson.

It should also be noted that Johnson did not face nearly the degree of racism - if any - that Harold Washington faced during the 1983 primary. Yet, it is Johnson who plays fast and loose with the race card at every opportunity while Washington — not a perfect mayor by any means — took the more disciplined, old-school path. Harold once described his mayoral style:

If you follow me around this city, it's love, love, love. I mean, there's no question about it. No one assumes I'm a boogeyman. They assume I'm an intelligent, decent, grandfatherly figure who understands this world and tries to deal with problems. How about that?

What is most striking (and depressing) about this video of Johnson is how mainstream it has become to use race as a power that excuses failure and/or pushes back at the critics. There seem to be no consequences these days for race-mongering and the citizens pay the highest price.

Eli