By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 10, 2024
“And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea” (Matthew 14:25)
On Friday September 27, I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina (NC), to spend the weekend with friends and family. I was also interested in the gubernatorial and presidential races that were taking place there since it is the home of Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, one of the most notorious politicians in the US. NC is also a pivotal state in the next presidential election.
Robinson is fighting to become the governor of the state. The Charlotte Observer wrote: “Robinson was the subject of a CNN report tying him to a series of vulgar, anti-Semitic, racist and sexually explicit posts on a pornographic website that included saying he was a black Nazi and would buy enslaved people if slavery came back”. (September 27). “Some people,” he said, “need to be slaves.”
He also demeaned US women. He said in a video: “Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It’s about killing the child because you [women] weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.” He referred to himself as a “perv”, admitting to “peeping on women in public gym showers when he was 14”. (London Guardian, September 24).
It is not surprising then that Donald Trump supports Robinson’s gubernatorial ambition. Robinson is a black man. Trump called him “Martin Luther King on steroids”. Half of Robinson’s campaign staff resigned on the day I arrived in Charlotte. He is expected to lose the gubernatorial election although Trump may win the state.
Trump canvassed in the state two days before I arrived. Some polls have him leading Kamala Harris by half a percentage point, while a recent CNN poll (September 30) shows them tied. CNN reports that NC could be key to “either Harris or Trump winning the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency”.
I did not feel the ill effects of Hurricane Helene although it devastated large parts of western NC. Some small towns, such as Marshall with a population of 800 people, were virtually “wiped off the map”. Zeb Smathers, Canton’s mayor, said: “Western North Carolina, hundreds of miles from the coast, is now in Hurricane Alley”. (The New York Times, September 30 and October 3).
Anyone who visited downtown Charlotte on Saturday was unaware of the destruction that was taking place in the mountain towns of NC. On Wednesday President Joe Biden visited the flooded areas. On Friday it was announced that over 100 people had died and more than 200 people were missing. The authorities continue their search for missing people.
It was dark last Sunday morning when an Uber took me to the airport. My driver, a Pakistani Muslim, had lived in NC for 15 years.
I asked him if he liked living in NC and if he was going to vote for Harris. He answered the first question in the affirmative; the second in the negative.
I asked him why he would not vote for Harris.
He said President Biden had totally lost his mind on Israel. “His policies on Israel are totally bad.” His family always voted Democratic—but they will vote for Trump this time around. There are nine votes in his family. “Muslims will not vote Democratic because the Jews are killing Muslims every day.”
“Many Muslims,” he said, “will not vote for Harris because she is a woman. Only a person’s qualifications should matter when it comes to getting a job.” He regretted that Harris’s gender might be a strike against her. The election of Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, may be a more progressive move by comparison.
The Uber driver was on to something. Israel’s incursion into Lebanon and the chaos that will follow will decrease Harris’s election chances. James Politi and Steff Chavez pointed out: “The surging hostilities in Lebanon are a particular blow to Harris because they make it harder for her to patch up relations with parts of the Democratic coalition—including Arab Americans and young voters—who have been especially critical of the administration’s handling of the war in Gaza and are threatening to stay out of the election. Even just a few thousand defections could make a difference in key battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin” (Financial Times, October 1). NC should have been included.
Harris’s chances look bleak in NC. As I departed Charlotte I took comfort that “the darkest hour of the night comes just before dawn.” I hope Harris triumphs over Trump and that the people who suffered from Helene’s ferocity will see brighter days after the darkness.
I hope Harris’s fortunes change for the better in NC. I also pray that there will be brighter days for those who withstood the waters of the storm.