Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden at a community “listening session” in Grace Lutheran Church, Kenosha, Wisconsin, September 3, 2020 (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden visits the family of Jacob Blake, shot seven times by a police officer on August 23, and calls for unity and healing in a visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

In sharp contrast with Donald Trump, who staged a photo opportunity in the city on Tuesday, Biden highlighted the issues of anti-racism protests in a community “listening session” with activists, elected officials, clergy members, business owners, and law enforcement officers. He repudiated Trump’s divisive approach and stoking of violence, regardless of “how angry you are”.

“There are certain things worth losing over, and this is something worth losing over if we have to,” Biden said. “But we’re not going to lose.”

“A Sense of Humanity”

Biden and his wife saw Blake’s family for 90 minutes. Blake’s mother led a prayer for the recovery of her son, seriously wounded by police as he entered his car — with three of his sons inside — after trying break up a domestic dispute.

Then, according to family attorney Benjamin Crump, Biden, Blake’s parents, and three of his sisters discussed police treatment of people of color, Biden’s Vice Presidential running mate Kamala Harris, and the nominee’s plans for race relations.

Jacob Blake called into the meeting from his hospital bed. “[He] shared about the pain he is enduring, and the vice president commiserated,” Crump said.

The attorney summarized, “It was very obvious that Vice President Biden cared, as he extended to Jacob Jr. a sense of humanity, treating him as a person worthy of consideration and prayer.”

Trump did not meet Blake’s family, instead making inflammatory comments about “looters” and “rioters”. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows lied that the White House had spoken with Blake’s “pastor” — they do not have one — about a conversation with Trump.

At the community event in Grace Lutheran Church, Biden listened as a Black lawyer discussed racism in the legal system. A white store owner praised the community spirit of Kenosha, even as she described the looting of her business. Porche Bennett, an organizer for Black Lives Activists of Kenosha, drew applause for her description of the challenges and bias faced by Black Americans in their daily lives.

After the meeting, Biden spoke of his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, as it was damaged by unrest in 1968 after the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King and then in 2009 as he waited at a train station to go to Barack Obama’s inauguration.

“Don’t tell me things can’t change,” he said.

Biden then spoke of the ongoing challenge in 2020: “I made a mistake: I thought you could defeat hate. It only hides….[Donald Trump’s messaging] legitimizes the dark side of human nature.”

He concluded, “This is not who we are.”

Trump Sneers, Mocks Coronavirus Measures

Trump continued his antagonistic rhetoric in a speech in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Thursday.

“Biden went there today,” he sneered and lied, “There was nobody there! He was a little late. I said, ‘listen, we ended that problem.’”

Trump mocked Biden wearing a mask during the Coronavirus pandemic: “[It] gives him a feeling of security. Did you ever see a man who likes a mask as much as him?”

As Trump spoke, the US Coronavirus death toll reached 186,797, with 1,053 fatalities in 24 hours. Cases are now 6,150,655, an increase of 36,609.

Meanwhile, Biden repeated his call for responsibility and peaceful protest for change: “If you loot or you burn, you should be held accountable. It just cannot be tolerated, across the board”.

At the church meeting, he said after listening to the participants,“I can’t understand what it’s like to walk out the door or send my son out the door or my daughter and worry about just because they’re Black they may not come back.”

The audience nodded in affirmation.