CHAPTER NINETEEN
VICTOR
“It’s time, Governor,” Renee Griffin, Victor’s press secretary announced.
“Ugh!” Victor grunted.
Renee smiled and shoved the list of talking points in his hand. “You’ll do fine,” she assured. “You always do. You’re handsome, and the people love you. Hell, half the time, they don’t even listen to what you’re saying. Folks just like looking at you.”
“Bullshit,” Victor scoffed.
“I gotta go out there and sugar coat the fact that the moron before me butchered the fucking budget so bad that I have to support a ridiculous tax and claim that it’s for their own good. These people can see right through this shit. Listen here, lady. I pay you to bullshit them, not me.”
Renee laughed and patted Victor on the shoulder. “Come on. We got this,” she said over her shoulder as she walked into the press room.
Renee walked up to the podium. After a few words at the microphone, she announced to the press that Victor would be taking their questions. Victor checked his tie and walked over the podium. Renee smiled and took position behind him. After a quick greeting, Victor allowed the first question.
“Governor Creed, how do you justify the Sweetened Beverage Tax? Government officials claim that a penny per ounce is supposed to dissuade consumers from purchasing sweetened beverages, but all it seems to be doing is sending shoppers to bordering states.”
As suspected, even with all the other shit going on in the world, the first question was about the beverage tax. It’s a damn shame that the county board of directors couldn’t come up with a better solution. In his opinion, if they trimmed a little fat and were less frivolous with spending, they would have the money for vital county services. In a perfect world, their question would’ve been directed at Tara Periwinkle, the county board president.
“It’s simple, Jerry,” Victor told the reporter. “Pop is bad. The county is broke. It’s an inherited problem. So, I have to allow the county to sort it out. The truth is, this tax will generate at least 200 million dollars a year that will go toward keeping vital public services from shutting down.”
“So, will cutbacks on government spending!” one reporter shouted.
The reporter was right. The budget had been blown to bits by excessive spending and bad management. Now, the taxpayers were expected to clean up the mess. Victor didn’t back the tax, but the outcome didn’t match his opinion. But he was no fool. Victor would bet his business that the tax was going to be repealed. For the county board president to try to convince the people that the tax was to prevent diabetes and childhood obesity, and not simply to generate revenue, showed a complete lack of insight to her constituents’ intelligence. Victor didn’t want to touch the subject at all.
“Agreed. Government spending should be audited. But auditing takes too long. We’re dangerously running the risk of having to close down our public health facilities.”
Victor brought his hands together and steepled his index fingers. As instructed by Renee, he leaned over on the podium. She had told him that the gesture went over well with constituents. This simple gesture was meant to make him seem more engaging.
“Governor Creed, how do you respond to the Commander in Chief blaming both sides for the unrest in Charlottesville?”
Victor’s brows knitted. He stood straight, contemplating his response. He knew that Renee wanted him to steer clear and disassociate himself from the stupid shit that the president often said. But Victor being Victor decided to engage.
“I believe our Commander in Chief should stifle his remarks and stop making all Republicans look ridiculous.”
Victor looked back at Renee. A rumble of laughter from the crowd didn’t stop her from giving him the eye. Victor shrugged and turned back to his audience.
“And let me say this: Over the last several years, the black community has been pushing back against the racism that has been a pustule on this country since its beginning, while white people pat us on the back for how progressive we are and how far we’ve come. However, since the 1960’s, black people have been saying that we still have a long way to go. There is still work to be done, and we’re not doing it.
Black people are rightfully tired of that work being left undone. And they will not let us ignore it anymore. And do you know what? Our collective response as white Americans has been a blatant example of precisely what the black community is protesting.
We tell the black community that they need to be peaceful and undisruptive if they want to be heard. Never mind that Martin Luther King’s marches blocked traffic or that social change in this country has almost never happened without public demonstrations that got big enough and loud enough so as not to be ignored. When people of color protest, we call it a riot and bring in riot gear. Peaceful protesters at Standing Rock were met with violence by with police in military gear. Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia were merely supervised by police in standard uniforms. And, when one the neo-Nazis killed a counter-protester, people ironically said that they shouldn’t have disrupted the demonstration.”
Victor paused to take a breath.
“Bear with me. I’m in speech delivering mode.” Victor chuckled, reaching for the glass of water that was placed aside for him.
He took a sip and held up one finger to ensure that the crowd remained quiet. He replaced the glass on the table beside the podium before he continued.
“But it is Black Lives Matter that is ‘too violent’ and ‘too disruptive’ and therefore, they don’t have a message worth hearing. When they can behave themselves, we’ll hear them out. The message has been undeniable: If people of color, particularly,black peoplewant to be heard, first they should be quiet.
When members of the black community kneel during the national anthem, we scream over the disrespect toward the flag. The black community can protest, we say, but they need to find another way to do it. We don’t like this way.
People, you’re not supposed to like it. It’s supposed to make you uncomfortable and draw your attention. That’s what protesting is. And guess what? It’s working. It has people all over America, even the world, talking. Now, it’s up tousto listen, understand, and fix it.
Instead, we are, as always, debating the means of protesting rather than the purpose. We call it unpatriotic even though protesting injustice is about as patriotic as you can get. We say that quietly kneeling is a slap in the face to veterans who fought for our freedom, conveniently ignoring the fact that our freedom includes the freedom to kneel.
