To place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast, that’s how the word – juxtapose — is defined.
There’s been a lot to juxtapose, recently. The chaotic scenes in cities. President Trump speaking at the White House, as people across the street in Lafayette Park — demonstrators apparently expressing themselves peacefully — suddenly were driven from the park. Driven away by police on foot and on horseback, and showered with chemical agents, as the President was describing himself as an ally of peaceful protestors.
When the air had cleared sufficiently, POTUS and his entourage ambled to what’s known as the Church of Presidents for a photo op, where POTUS held a Bible in his hand, as cameras were rolling.
Juxtapose that with California Congresswoman Karen Bass, saying, during an interview, that we’re experiencing a moral moment in our country. And with New York City’s top cop saying we have to see each other as human beings. And with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, saying that our fellow citizens are not the enemy.
And with the Camden, New Jersey police chief recounting how a citizen in his community called up to ask: Hey chief, do you want to hold a banner with me? The chief, marching with fellow citizens honoring the memory of George Floyd, held the banner.
That was a lot to juxtapose, along with this from an article in Business Insider: “Intelligence and law enforcement officials among America’s allies in Europe and the Middle East… are aghast at the heavy-handed tactics and rhetoric used by US police generally, and by the president specifically, to suppress demonstrations against police abuses of African-Americans.”
Maybe our allies are juxtaposing what they’re seeing unfolding, here, in America?