Childish moment should deliver teachable moment for Murphy’s son
A strange incident occurred as now Gov. Phil Murphy completed taking his oath of office. Josh, 20, an elder son, drew his right hand from behind his back, then flashed a below-thewaist upside down Ok sign, consistent with the “Circle Game” but also a universal sign for white supremacists.
A similar event occurred in December when a Matawan police officer flashed a similar signal.
Matawan Police Dept. posted the photo on its website until criticism forced removal.
As for Josh Murphy, “Circle Game” or white supremacist gesture, delivering a hand sign that could be misconstrued, suggests a serious incident of immaturity.
I don’t know this young man and that lack of knowledge allows no verdict about his person, only this confusing action.
During these challenging times no room exists for ambiguous behavior, no ignorance or conscientious stupidity, both calamities once voiced by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
My parents grew up in the Deep South where signs distinguished ethnicities and delivered mental road maps for people regarding hotels, lunch counters and water fountains.
As post Civil War Jim Crow laws demanded segregation, blacks were kept in their place, color coded for back seats and balconies.
Even in Trenton, Princeton and points north, blacks had their places.
In the early 70s, Donald Trump engaged in discrimination as his management company coded applications that designated racial background.
Trump’s early New York City rental property days were remembered by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The former First Lady grumbled about Trump history during their September 2016 debate.
“Donald started his career, back in 1973, being sued by the Justice Department for racial discrimination — because he would not rent apartments in one of his developments to African-Americans, and he made sure that the people who worked for him understood that was the policy,” Clinton recalled.
Trump Management Inc. employees allegedly funneled blacks and Puerto Ricans away from predominantly white properties. Code markings on applications, including ‘C’ and “No. 9” for colored, alerted rental property overseers about applicants’ ethnicity.
Trump countered with a different recollection regarding reconciliation.
“Yes, when I was very young, I went into my father’s company — had a real estate company in Brooklyn and Queens,” Trump said. “And we, along with many, many other companies throughout the country — it was a federal lawsuit — were sued. We settled the suit with zero, with no admission of guilt.”
Not exactly, although Trump rarely admits guilt, falling back on derisive criticism propped by accusations of “fake news.”
Still, as Gov. Murphy voiced a need for inclusivity and movement toward a new direction of unity and purpose, his son’s childish action, clouded a first day, this new beginning.
In affairs of the heart, relationships, and leadership, progress demands trust.
The “Circle Game” exists as a game for children. Acts of white supremacy, including crosses burning hot against a Georgia or Mississippi darkness, remains an exhibited by fools who disrespect the very soul of this great nation.
Gov. Murphy tethered his dreams to the Kennedy family, even recited a Bobby Kennedy insight.
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped,” Murphy said.
Murphy stopped there although Kennedy’s next line delivers power.
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
Mr. Josh Murphy, lives just one year older than my son, which earns leeway. These represent tremendous teaching moments that shape character and determine destiny.
May God bless you, offer transformation into a man worthy of great praise and a wonderful sense of humanity.