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| White Nationalists marching in Charlottesville |
Saturday’s events in Charlottesville, Va. have proved that America’s most intractable problem - race - is still with us. In all of its awful capacity to sear through the fabric of the nation, white supremacists, some of them from the Klu Klux Klan, came to this quiet, and historic college town, home of the University of Virginia, to protest the pending removal of a statue of Confederate leader, Gen. Robert E. Lee, from a city park.
The air was rife with the potential for violence as many of them descended on the town, and were met, even before the demonstration began, by counter protesters, many of them, young and equally white in number; and mostly local, some of them students.
Then the unthinkable happened, a car masked with blacked out windows, plowed through them, scattering their bodies, some flying through the air, as the horror unfounded.
It was as if the lens of history had played a rerun of the horrific images that were shown on television in the 1960’s, of black protestors being terrorized by snarling dogs, in Alabama, and having fire hoses turned on them. Now, it seems that racial violence has once again come to America’s eyes: the ghosts of the past recast, with images, that at that time, President John Kennedy called, “sickening.”
The air was rife with the potential for violence as many of them descended on the town, and were met, even before the demonstration began, by counter protesters, many of them, young and equally white in number; and mostly local, some of them students.
Then the unthinkable happened, a car masked with blacked out windows, plowed through them, scattering their bodies, some flying through the air, as the horror unfounded.
It was as if the lens of history had played a rerun of the horrific images that were shown on television in the 1960’s, of black protestors being terrorized by snarling dogs, in Alabama, and having fire hoses turned on them. Now, it seems that racial violence has once again come to America’s eyes: the ghosts of the past recast, with images, that at that time, President John Kennedy called, “sickening.”
The spectacle, and the carnage, were met with rage from all corners of the nation, but a local media person, Sandy Hausman, Bureau Chief of station WVTF, in an interview with NPR, refused to acknowledge the horror, preferring, instead, to genteelly dismiss the deadly clash, as merely “unpleasant.”
Her description, intentional or not, was redolent of Civil War matrons, who steadfastly refused to acknowledge the reality of the frequently violent nature of racial confrontation; and that in and of itself, is a large part of the problem, around the conversation of race in America.
Her description, intentional or not, was redolent of Civil War matrons, who steadfastly refused to acknowledge the reality of the frequently violent nature of racial confrontation; and that in and of itself, is a large part of the problem, around the conversation of race in America.
While no place is safe in America, from racial prejudice, the South, despite heroic efforts from both the private and public sphere, still bears the scars of its slaveholding past, and that legacy is still alive, as the events of the weekend showed us.
It must be admitted that many of the vigilantes and hatemongers have used the election of Donald Trump, as the reason to breakout out of the closet of prejudice. Recently, a friend from the South recalled an incident where someone had used the “N” word in a public forum, and when confronted, said, “My president has told me that it’s all right to say it.”
While Trump has not said that word, or explicitly given that impression, he has as both candidate and president, gleefully, mocked the handicapped, women politicians, news anchors, war heroes, and even bragged about grabbing the private parts of women.
Using this no holds barred approach, it is not far down the road to racial prejudice, and bigotry. The loss of life is a tragic coda to the rhetorical slurs that he has made.
Trump was also criticized for a slow response to the incident, and when he did, did not call out, or identify such people as David Duke, a Klan member, (who was present) or even the Klan itself, (which was there), among other groups present, is ironic, for he continually criticized President Obama, during terrorist attacks for not saying, “radical Muslim extremists.
The pattern seems to be set with this president, even as he dragged his feet to address previous anti-Semitic comments, even though his daughter is a Jewish convert married to a Jewish man, Jared Kushner.
This response was far less strident than what he has used against North Korea, or even that of his own supporters, such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, or GOP majority leader, Mitch McConnell. Many have asked themselves and administration officials, if the president cares less about racial conflict, than other issues.
Thomas Boessert, Homeland Security Advisor, defended the president’s remarks on the Sunday political chat shows, and later Trump did actually use the term “white supremacists,” but the stronger condemnation, seemed to only come after he received public criticism; even from his own party, like Cory Gardner of Colorado who said that the president needed to “call evil by its name.”
The 36 hour delay, while he was at one of his golf resorts, in Bridgewater, N.J. resulted in an email to pool reporters that were traveling with him, instead of a televised address, or a press conference, with national coverage.
Paradoxically, there was the following: “It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump. Not Barack Obama. This has been going on for a long, long time.”
The statement is atypical of Trump, who juxtaposes phrases and words that have no contextual meaning; but then, the final filip - a reference to Barack Obama, whom he seems obsessed by.
He added: "You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now."
Certainly, this blog would not be the first place to address, the pattern Trump has of implying that his words, (even those infamous tweets), are leading some to violence, intolerance and bigotry, as when he recently advocated violence towards prisoners as they are put in police cars.”don’t be too nice.” Words that many police chiefs took notice of, and regretted hearing as they tried mightily to not have police identified in their communities with unchecked violence.
His exploitation of the societal divisions that some Americans have retained, even after the social revolution of the 1960s, is more than a diversionary tactic, that some have called it. Trump has rallied a base of discontent, that has now come to the surface in an ugly and confrontational manner, that threatens tear us apart, instead of bringing us together.
It must be admitted that many of the vigilantes and hatemongers have used the election of Donald Trump, as the reason to breakout out of the closet of prejudice. Recently, a friend from the South recalled an incident where someone had used the “N” word in a public forum, and when confronted, said, “My president has told me that it’s all right to say it.”
While Trump has not said that word, or explicitly given that impression, he has as both candidate and president, gleefully, mocked the handicapped, women politicians, news anchors, war heroes, and even bragged about grabbing the private parts of women.
Using this no holds barred approach, it is not far down the road to racial prejudice, and bigotry. The loss of life is a tragic coda to the rhetorical slurs that he has made.
Trump was also criticized for a slow response to the incident, and when he did, did not call out, or identify such people as David Duke, a Klan member, (who was present) or even the Klan itself, (which was there), among other groups present, is ironic, for he continually criticized President Obama, during terrorist attacks for not saying, “radical Muslim extremists.
The pattern seems to be set with this president, even as he dragged his feet to address previous anti-Semitic comments, even though his daughter is a Jewish convert married to a Jewish man, Jared Kushner.
This response was far less strident than what he has used against North Korea, or even that of his own supporters, such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, or GOP majority leader, Mitch McConnell. Many have asked themselves and administration officials, if the president cares less about racial conflict, than other issues.
Thomas Boessert, Homeland Security Advisor, defended the president’s remarks on the Sunday political chat shows, and later Trump did actually use the term “white supremacists,” but the stronger condemnation, seemed to only come after he received public criticism; even from his own party, like Cory Gardner of Colorado who said that the president needed to “call evil by its name.”
The 36 hour delay, while he was at one of his golf resorts, in Bridgewater, N.J. resulted in an email to pool reporters that were traveling with him, instead of a televised address, or a press conference, with national coverage.
Paradoxically, there was the following: “It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump. Not Barack Obama. This has been going on for a long, long time.”
The statement is atypical of Trump, who juxtaposes phrases and words that have no contextual meaning; but then, the final filip - a reference to Barack Obama, whom he seems obsessed by.
On Tuesday he backtracked from his earlier, scripted statement to say, "I think there is blame on both sides," Trump said during a contentious back-and-forth with reporters in the lobby of his Midtown Manhattan building.
"What about the 'alt-left' that came charging at, as you say, the 'alt-right,' do they have any semblance of guilt?" Trump asked. "What about the fact they came charging with clubs in hands, swinging clubs, do they have any problem? I think they do."
"What about the 'alt-left' that came charging at, as you say, the 'alt-right,' do they have any semblance of guilt?" Trump asked. "What about the fact they came charging with clubs in hands, swinging clubs, do they have any problem? I think they do."
He added: "You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now."
Certainly, this blog would not be the first place to address, the pattern Trump has of implying that his words, (even those infamous tweets), are leading some to violence, intolerance and bigotry, as when he recently advocated violence towards prisoners as they are put in police cars.”don’t be too nice.” Words that many police chiefs took notice of, and regretted hearing as they tried mightily to not have police identified in their communities with unchecked violence.
His exploitation of the societal divisions that some Americans have retained, even after the social revolution of the 1960s, is more than a diversionary tactic, that some have called it. Trump has rallied a base of discontent, that has now come to the surface in an ugly and confrontational manner, that threatens tear us apart, instead of bringing us together.
Contrast this with Kennedy’s words: “We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution.”
Where do we go now, and how can the nation heal from the sickening image of innocent men and women, plowed down in a vicious hate-filled attack?
One way might be to recognize the weekend's events, and the actions of the driver of the car, James Alex Fields, as a terrorist attack, that resulted in 19 injuries, and one death.
Where do we go now, and how can the nation heal from the sickening image of innocent men and women, plowed down in a vicious hate-filled attack?
One way might be to recognize the weekend's events, and the actions of the driver of the car, James Alex Fields, as a terrorist attack, that resulted in 19 injuries, and one death.
As James Fishwick, a former U.S. attorney for the Western Division of Virginia, under the Obama administration noted, when actions are used to intimidate the populace, affect the course of government, then we have the legal basis for identification.
In the aftermath, the questions, that arise, from the appeals court that overturned the city’s request to move the protests to another area that could be better policed, to the lack of intervention for a troubled teen with overt Nazi sympathies, need to be examined on all levels, but mostly that of leadership on the highest level. And, for that, there remains a big question mark.
In the aftermath, the questions, that arise, from the appeals court that overturned the city’s request to move the protests to another area that could be better policed, to the lack of intervention for a troubled teen with overt Nazi sympathies, need to be examined on all levels, but mostly that of leadership on the highest level. And, for that, there remains a big question mark.
Updated on 16 August,, 2017 at 10:48 a.m. CSDT
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