I’ve been known to say: just when you think things can’t get any worse, they do.  I know this isn’t a very optimistic outlook on life but it’s what I’m feeling right about now. What could be worse than having an unhinged and incompetent leader with an army of cowards behind him? Turns out, the answer is: having this type of leadership during a severe health and economic crisis.

What could be worse than the confluence of those tragedies? Turns out, the answer is: mayhem in our cities as a result of yet another police murder of an unarmed Black man. None of this is coincidence. Inept leadership has made the pandemic worse; sanctioned bigotry and hatred has emboldened racist behaviors. One would think awareness of the prevalence of mobile devices with cameras would lead to censoring one’s speech and monitoring one’s behavior. But that assumes a degree of rationality.

When I saw images of our cities burning and came to realize extremists and opportunists were taking advantage of peaceful demonstrations, my impulse was to run. Unfortunately, I have no place to go, nor do you.

Not long ago, I read a story about a couple who set sail for a three-month voyage in their own craft shortly before the virus-hit-the-fan, so to speak. Upon learning about the pandemic, they considered staying on their boat, but scrapped that idea when they discovered no ports would allow them to dock. Staying adrift in the ocean for three months was not tenable. Like the rest of us, they had nowhere to go but home.

So, here we are stuck in the mess. What to do? I don’t pretend to have any insights into how to end the centuries-old racial bigotry and hatred. While watching thousands of primarily-young demonstrators, I wondered, though, how many of those folks voted in the last election.

Electing a new leader will not solve racism but, if nothing else is crystal clear right now, it’s that having a crazy-man at the helm exacerbates our ills. Scratching a wound didn’t cause the wound but it sure makes it worse.

I remember taking a course called The Sociology of Racism when I was an undergraduate. The professor said if you’re white and you don’t think you’re a racist, you’re in serious denial. He put us through a series of activities that exposed our deeply-held racist beliefs. This was not a comfortable experience, but it made a long-lasting impression on me. Since that time, I’ve been aware of how my body tenses when I’m walking alone with no one around me and a Black man walks toward me or behind me.

The recent incident in New York’s Central Park (again, recorded) shows what happens when racist beliefs/feelings go unchecked. A Black man politely asked a White woman to leash her dog; she went ballistic. The woman called ‘911’ to say an African American male was threatening her life. What happened in that woman’s head is anybody’s guess. We’re living in a tinderbox right now. If we’re not minding our mind, our basest instincts, fears, and unexamined beliefs are exposed. We’re in danger of becoming the absolute worst versions of ourselves.

Although we can’t mandate introspection, we can, at least, do a better job of screening and training those in power: cops, politicians and business leaders.

I spent twelve years as a card-carrying member of teachers’ unions. I appreciated the protection the union afforded me. Without unions, educators would be even more screwed than they are. I did witness the dark side of unions, however. Ineffective teachers were protected more than they deserved.

Workers need protection against tyrannical, greedy and clueless bosses. Even so, union leaders can be corrupt and/or blind to the ills of protecting the guilty. In their desire to offer protection to all its members, unions inadvertently protect bad cops as well as bad teachers. The false choice between union or nonunion shops is not the answer. Enlightened union leadership is needed.

Although I fully support demonstrations and have certainly participated in my share of protests over the decades, I worry about gathering en masse during a pandemic. Never before have we had to contend with the danger of being infected with a deadly virus, along with the risk of injury and/or arrest, while exercising our first amendment rights.

Yale professor, Dr. John Dovidio, has coined the term “aversive racism” to describe the type of racism most prevalent in today’s society. Having grown up in a historically racist culture, most White Americans have unconscious racial bias. Instead of feelings of hatred, however, we have feelings of avoidance and discomfort. According to Dovidio, acknowledging one’s biases and remaining vigilant about how and when they affect behavior are needed.

Ultimately, we have to face down the woman or man in the mirror.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change.

—Michael Jackson