Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 10-20-17

Editorials/Columns
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If there is one thing I think Donald Trump deserves credit for it's that he re-
mains consistent. Regardless of what's going on in the world around him, he has the un- canny ability to always find a way to play the part of the ulti- mate a**hole.
For most people it's hard to be a jerk 24/7. But, for some- one like Trump, it comes as easily as opening his mouth. He may not be good at much of anything else but, in that re- gard, he's a natural.
The latest example of Trump's boorish behavior came earlier this week when he called to offer his condo- lences to the wife of a special forces soldier, Sergeant La David Johnson, who was killed after his unit was am- bushed in Niger. In classic Trump fashion, instead of saying the kind of sensitive things that a normal person
would say to comfort a griev- ing widow in her time of sor- row, this callous Commander-In-Chief told the woman that her husband's death was something "he signed up for."
To call Trump's words in- appropriate would be a gross understatement. For a person of his political stature to tell someone the equivalent of "s**t happens," at the height of her emotional distress, is about as heartless as it gets.
I mean, comforting the fam- ily of a fallen soldier should be the one thing the elected leader of the free world should be able to pull off without a hitch.... Not Trump. Being the harbinger of misery we've come to know, he found a way to even screw up that delicate moment.
Of course, the inescapable irony is that, this is the same guy who has spent several
weeks blasting NFL players, who refused to stand for the National Anthem, by saying their actions disrespected the flag and the veterans of the armed forces. I guess, in Trump's twisted view of how things work, the same level of respect doesn't extend to those whose tears dampen that same flag when it's stretched across a coffin.
A few months back, when Trump was inquiring about whether or not he could par- don himself and his colleagues from any potential fallout from the Russia investigation and defending white supremacists, we wondered how bad things could actually get under this administration. Now it seems as though that question is being answered repeatedly on a daily basis.
And the worst part of it all is, it doesn't seem to matter how rancid and funky his act be- comes, there isn't a toilet big enough to flush away all of his mess.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can write to Mr. Barr at: Clarence Barr 43110-018, Oakdale F. C. I., P. O. BOX 5000, Oakdale, LA 71463.
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What Example Are We Setting For Our Children?
Viet Nam Vet, Master Barber, Firefighter Dies After Bout With PTSD, Agent Orange
James Cole was a long- time Master Barber and touched many lives as he grew his businesses in the Tampa Bay area. He was born to Madelyne and Robert L. Cole, Sr., in 1944 and gradu- ated from Middleton High School, Class of ’63, and was drafted into the Army in 1965, where he served 14 months in Viet Nam.
James grew up in the Jackson Heights community and has never shied away from trying to make a difference whenever he encountered an unfair situation. For years the Black youth used to pass the Jackson Heights Park and see white kids playing in the park and on the basketball courts and wondered why they could not play at that park.
One day they had had enough and he, along with his brother, Anthony and a num- ber of other youth from the Jackson Heights community decided to jump the fence and play basketball. This act caused an uproar and was in- strumental in desegregating the Jackson Heights Park in the early 1960s.
James was not afraid to step out and blaze a trail that had not been taken. Upon being honorably discharged he became one of Tampa's first Black firefighters. He was also one of the first Black students to attend Tampa Barber Col-
James Cole and his wife, Renet.
lege and went on to have a very successful career as a Barber until he retired in the late ’80s.
In the late 1980s, James was forced to seek treatment for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was attributed to his time in Viet Nam. He suffered for many years dealing with this undiag- nosed and untreated PTSD. He was blessed to work through those challenging times with the help of his wife, Renet, and other family mem- bers to get the treatment he so deserved and needed.
In fact, he was one of the first to enter and complete the newly developed PTSD Pro- gram at Bay Pines VA Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.
While growing up and re- siding in Tampa, James was a member of First Baptist Church of College Hill. After retiring and completing his treatment program, he and his wife relocated to St. Peters-
James Cole in Viet Nam.
burg, where they found a new Church home at Unity Temple of Truth Church.
In 2004, he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma Can- cer due to his exposure to Agent Orange (a herbicide/de- foliant used by the U. S. Mili- tary to kill the foliage in the Viet Nam jungles). As a result, he developed a tumor and was paralyzed from the chest down.
Prior to his paralysis, James loved and had a true passion for the game of golf, often travelling near and far to play a round. He truly enjoyed life right up until the Lord called him home. So, not only did he serve the Army honor- ably, he has given the ultimate sacrifice to his country.
James went on to join family members that prede- ceased him on Monday, Octo- ber 16, 2017. (See the Obituary in this issue – Smith Funeral Home – for Tampa and St. Pe- tersburg services.)
In the most improbable situation since Alice- in-Wonderland met the Mad Hatter, an anger-management workshop hosting mem-
bers of both Pinellas and Hillsborough County School Board members turned into a verbal free-for-all when two of the Hillsborough School Board members began trading curse word insults at one another.
The slugfest ended momentarily when one of the combatants abruptly removed herself from the ring to rethink then return later, more quiet but obviously still fuming.
Fast forward, the School Board tiff to an even more caustic combat wherein the President of the United States tried for the umpteenth time to bully one of America’s most renowned mili- tary heroes, saying, “When I punch back, I punch back haaard! Yaaah!”
Indeed, on both a domestic and national level, we are forced to wonder, what is happen- ing to our nation?
News correspondents are dumbfounded. They admit, at the beginning, the 45th presi- dent’s playground tough-guy antics were at best, humorous as many experts leaned back, crossed their ankles and waited for this new chief exec- utive to come around. As of yet, he has yet to come up for air.
And what’s worse is a flux of anger and ar- rogance that seems to have become more conta- gious than the common cold and perhaps, even more stylish in our society.
Therefore, certain School Board members find no fault in salting their comments with locker room epithets. Indeed, where does it stop? It stops with our children, of course. Consequently, our future generation finds no fault with developing a bully-attitude to face the world. After all, if School Board members and United States presidents can curse, then why not K-through 12?
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017