The funeral ceremonies for the murdered policemen in New York, with their snub of a leftish mayor, are an all too obvious attempt to counter the giant wave of indignation which swept through the nation in reply to police killings of black people. This wave, in which many especially young white Americans joined in, seemed to cause some white Americans of all ages to begin finally to grasp how ignorance, prejudice and discrimination against people of color have always been used to split working people and permit the immense growth of wealth and power by the upper one percent.
Their continued power was threatened by any such awakening and action. The emotions aroused by the wild act of a mentally-disturbed man – rooted in just such discrimination and in the almost unchecked proliferation of weapons – gave them a chance, with the willing assistance of much of the media, to squelch such protests and isolate the most active leaders, especially the African-Americans.
How clearly this recalls the tragedy of September 11th 2001, which similarly provided an opportunity for a giant offensive against everyone and anyone opposing the expansion of Pentagon-State Department-One Percent rule throughout the USA and the whole world. “With us or against us!” Then too, understandable emotions were misused to establish and strengthen power. And now, again on the national level, the racist elements of a militarized police are to regain acceptance and popularity. The planned goals are all too clear and all too alarming. The opposition to them must not be weakened but, in any way possible, increased!
Our most important fundraising appeal of the year
December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. So before you navigate away, we ask that you take just a second to support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation.
This year is a little different. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board.
We can only resist Trump’s agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
We’ve set an ambitious target for our year-end campaign — a goal of $205,000 to keep up our fight against authoritarianism in 2026. Please take a meaningful action in this fight: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout before December 31. If you have the means, please dig deep.