Whatever the outcome, the incident fits a pattern by now so familiar that it tends to elicit meager mainstream commentary. Many Americans will forget those episodes. That was a break from his predecessor, Jeff Sessions, for whom heedlessness of routine bigotry was his stock in trade. It would be nice to think that the exposure of day-in-day-out racism, documented ad nauseum on social media, would shame Americans into improved behavior. Failing that, there remains a role for the government — and the Justice Department, among others, should play its role.

Source: Washington Post March 12, 2019 00:00 UTC