On Sunday, we discussed the events of the weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. Nazis, white supremacists, the KKK, and everyday racists all gathered in Charlottesville for what amounted to a convention of angry white men (and some angry white women). There were counter-protesters. Chaos and violence ensued. Dozens are injured and three are dead. The Nazi psycho who plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters is in jail and he’s being charged with second-degree murder. Here are some assorted stories we should discuss.
Pro Publica says the cops didn’t do enough. To be clear – the ACLU and others believe that even Nazis have the right to organize, assemble and protest. As long as their protests are non-violent, there’s not a lot the governor, the mayor and the police can do. But all sides – the Nazis and the counter-protesters – are criticizing the National Guardsmen and the Charlottesville police for not doing enough to stem the violence or to keep a tighter lid on the mayhem.
The Mayor of Charlottesville. Michael Signer is Jewish and a Democrat, so the white supremacists already hated him. I’ll even believe that Mayor Signer is one of the big reasons why the Nazis gathered in Charlottesville. Mayor Signer went HAM on Trump during an interview with CNN on Sunday, saying that Trump is the reason why these Nazis feel emboldened, and that Trump hasn’t done or said enough to slap them down.
Trump’s many sides. While the only words coming directly from Trump’s mouth are about how there are “many sides” to Nazis versus everyone else, the Republican party came out in surprising force to condemn the white nationalists and neo-Nazis by name. The White House had to issue a new statement which explicitly condemned the white supremacists but of course it was just a WH statement, it wasn’t in the president’s words or anything.
Gorka & Bannon. Sebastian Gorka and Steve Bannon are coming under fire because of their obvious ties to white supremacist groups, hate speech and Nazi ideology. There are now #FireBannon and #FireGorka movements under way. You people keep acting like this is a normal presidency and that Donald Trump cares about what you think. Unless you’re a white supremacist or Vlad Putin, Trump does not care what you think.
Assorted tweets:
There is only one side. #charlottesville
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 12, 2017
When I asked senior WH official why Trump didn't condemn Cville Nazis, he said: "What about the leftist mob. Just as violent if not more so"
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) August 13, 2017
Alt-right-friendly @CoreyStewartVA, only declared GOP candidate running vs @timkaine in 2018, is making #Charlottesville a campaign issue pic.twitter.com/fw4XrFBhlO
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) August 13, 2017
.@brhodes: What we saw yesterday is Trump "surrendering the moral authority" of the office of the President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/Q3u3aD6QWo
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 13, 2017
Who took this photo? Should be nominated for a Pulitzer. A black police officer protecting a group of men who wish him harm. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/bONDFgr9ap
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) August 12, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
If these people were brown there would’ve been arrests, tear gas, riot gear and tanks rolling through. But there’s countless videos of cops casually chilling as people fight each other. So black twitter is doing police work. They’ve already identified two men that beat a young black man right outside a police station.
Again tell me how the system isn’t racist? The WH, judges, cops are all brimming with Nazis. They just wear new uniforms
Let’s see if the Justice Department does its job and actually investigates and prosecutes anyone for what happened. Oh that’s right, Jeff Sessions is too focused on destroying affirmative action, criminalizing drug users and locking more people up in the industrial prison complex.
I’m sure they will go through the pretense of investigating. But so far Twitter has done more police work than the actual police
I have confidence in the career staff in DOJ’s civil rights division, but I am extremely worried that Sessions will shut it down because he loves his neo-nazi fan boys.
Sessions can’t ignore the public pressure. He said today the attack meets the legal definition of terrorism and is being investigated by DOJ’s terrorism and civil rights divisions. I have to admit I am stunned. I never thought Sessions would have the guts to call this what it is: terrorism.
@Megan I thought about Sessions and how he would respond. I think this is the same part of him that made him recuse himself. At the end of the day, he is a politician. If you asked him if he is a bigot he would probably deny it and believe it. He would say he is interested in fairness and he used to have narrow minded ideas. Even for him, this is too far. Not many people want to be associated with Nazis no matter if they have racist tendencies themselves. He has no interest in jeopardizing his career over something so obvious.
Nicole, I couldn’t believe it when I read about how law enforcement did nothing. Supposedly some militia type group from somewhere in NY did the most as far as trying to break up fights. So different from Chicago a few years ago after the Laquan McDonald coverup blew up. I was downtown for a parade and the cops were just spoiling crack down on fights. It was highly unsettling, especially when the one cop standing near me told me (a white woman) I didn’t have to worry if “those people” showed up because they’d take care of them. And by “those people” he didn’t mean white terrorists. Horrifying.
Yup I mean I wasn’t shocked but maybe other white people will be after see the videos. Meanwhile NYC had massive peaceful protests and police were grabbing people from the crowd to arrest them
Charlottesville is small, progressive city. I think they wanted to avoid the heavy- handed police tactics we’ve seen in other cities. Obviously that was the wrong decision, but I don’t think they started with bad intentions.
Also, a Klan protest in July had just 50 marchers, so I don’t think the city was prepared for such a large turn out,
@Megan I don’t believe that because they had permits. That alone estimates numbers. I saw the prospective numbers on twitter for days. And anything involving Nazis says violence.
But even discounting all of that you’re a cop. You see people beating the crap out of each other with weapons. Your job is to arrest them. There are countless videos of cops chilling in the background while people have an all out brawl. There’s no excuse here
DeRay McKesson had a bonus ep of Pod Save the People and he interviewed a couple student activists who were there who confirmed that the cops did absolutely nothing. These two people credited the de-escalation of potentially violent events to the actions of civilians who attended. By their very detailed accounts, it was the protesters themselves who managed to keep this thing from turning into something worse than it already was.
And Nicole is absolutely right that if this were black people armed with assault rifles and military-grade shields and armor then the reaction from law enforcement would be markedly different.
I’m so angry. I CANNOT listen to one other asshole invoke BLM in comparison to this hatefulness. I just can’t take this anymore. I will be protesting this weekend here in Boston and wearing my BLM shirt with pride.
Kitten, I love DeRay, I need to check out that Pod. As for BLM, I just heard someone on NPR whine about how Obama didn’t denounce the “known hate group” BLM. I just can’t anymore, either.
@kitten Be safe. I agree so much with your post.
Be safe, Kitten! Thank you for standing up against hatred.
just 2 weeks ago #45 told the police officers to rough up people in their care. Therefore, why would the police prevent the white supremists from roughing up the peaceful protesters. Also, what I saw was the klans dressed up in riot gears, helmet, shields, and rifles strapped a crossed their body with sticks in hands ect, they were prepared for a war. The peaceful protesters did not stand a chance.
Charlottesville isn’t as progressive as it’s made out to be. I lived there for many years and I do believe its so called liberalism and progressive bent are grossly over stated. Perhaps it would be unfair for me to compare it to a town like ‘liberal bastion’ Northampton, Massachusetts, where I have also lived, but Charlottesville is not all that progressive.
The long shadow of slavery and the stratified society given by it loom over Charlottesville, today, like so many other Southern towns.
UVA and Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, are two big draws to town in terms of tourism, jobs, and population, and both were built by slave labor. Monticello, and make no mistake, is a living shrine to slavery, and all of its endless wrongs, yet the locals who are apologists for the slave owner Thomas Jefferson are very quick to credit him as being a liberal and enlightened kind of master. The historical output on Jefferson and Monticello continue to whitewash the plantation, run like all the rest as forced-labor camp, and its owner as the reluctant slave owner, when those who descend from his slave families understand that he raped slave women, and he also bought and sold slaves to indulge his habit of importing European food and drink, and he engaged in the control and punitive measures, such as whipping, typical of the day.
No such thing as the progressive or enlightened slave owner ever existed.
Charlottesville takes its progressive cues from Jefferson. In that, it isn’t. Though I think it could be.
UVA is only starting to speak about the slaves who built the college and were service staff, only because archaeologists discovered a slave burial ground on-site and the school was forced to address its slavery past in a more substantive way.
There is a restaurant there called The White Spot. It was established around the time of Brown v. The School Board. Coincidence? Though the locals will fight you if you insist that racism played a part in its naming and operations. The convoluted story behind the name supposedly has to do with an untiled spot on the floor. But the restaurant was established as a place to serve the then mostly all-white student body of the university. (I say mostly because UVA only opened its doors to an African American student in 1950 after they were sued. Blacks were admitted as undergraduates after 1955, around the time the White Spot got its name, and the school was finally desegregated in the 1960s social upheaval period.)
I think we need to go further than dismantling statues to really address the continuing celebration of individuals and institutions that trafficked in one or both of the twin original sins of this country.
For it was also Thomas Jefferson who helped craft Indian treaties and started the process of developing native lands of the so-called frontiers for the great white landowner expansion (thus, he was a founder of Indian genocide as well as encouraged the spread of slavery west).
The vice mayor of the town made a good start in taking down the 1920s era statue of Robert E. Lee. But that such a statue to yet another slave-owner stands proudly at town center tells you something about the progressive heart of the town. We need to go further and further back and reject the hagiographies and iconic legacies of the original architects and architecture of white supremacy in our country, of which Thomas Jefferson of Albemarle County was certainly an outstanding example.
All that said, my heart hurts for Charlottesville and I send all good thoughts and peace to the victims of the violence, their families, and to all the wonderful people fighting the progressive fight.
The ignorance demonstrated by this president is inexcusable.
As one of his supporters was overheard to say, “The biggest problem is that minorities demand too much.”
The good people of this nation are fighting to move forward together and this is what gives hope.
Peace.
– From a descendant of American natives, slaves, and slave owners.
As long as Bannon, Gorka & Miller are in the White House whispering sweet nothings in Bigly’s ear and Paul Ryan and crew do nothing, nothing will change for the better. The scariest thing about this is that the “violence on all sides” crack is going to empower these pieces of racist offal. Fasten your seat belts. I suspect we’ll be seeing more of this kind of thing across the country moving forward.
Donald Trump is trying his best not to completely disown the white supremacists that put him the in White House. That task is getting harder and harder.
Hey, a president has to protect his base, y’all. These are his ride-and-die 30% approval rating peeps. They are the ones who have been with him since the beginning. Loyalty matters, remember?
Trump’s remarks also help the racists position themselves as the victims. Yesterday they were whining about how they just want to express their political views, but the meanies on the left keep showing up to brawl.
Yeah, it’s so unbelievably gross. As I said yesterday I can’t deal with this “fake news” narrative that the left is calling for violence and actively tries to suppress free speech.
Exactly.
The White supremacists have already released a message to their followers applauding Trump for not calling them out by name, or denouncing them, stating instead that he blamed “all sides” so he is an even bigger hero to them. People expecting Trump to do the right thing in the face of evil will continue to be disappointed. He is a self-absorbed megalomaniac who cares about no one and nothing besides himself and his daughter-wife Ivanka. He wants to stay in power and will do so by any means necessary. His presidency is going to be a shameful part of our history.
He’s an idiot. A narcissist. A coward. A misogynist. He’s NOT a leader. Self proclaimed neo Nazis marched saluting his name waving swastikas and he won’t address it?!
In total honesty I’m shocked he hasn’t tried to mention “Hillary” or “witch hunt” yet.
Breitbart Bannon, Nazi medal wearing Gorka, and the mean monster Miller should be nowhere near the White House. Keeping them shows how clueless, racist, and naive Trump is. I hope Republicans wake up and kick these embarrassing hateful people out of the WH
I broke down in tears when I heard Trump’s comments. I am so disgusted with my nation.
Right there with you.
here is something to cheer you up:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/american-tourist-beaten-up-after-giving-nazi-salute-in-germany/news-story/7e703486d36718579179a7f038259f2a
I know it’s nothing in a grand scheme of things, but still.
With you, dear. I am in so much pain. I woke up and sat for my meditation practice this morning, and it felt like the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. My heart feels like cut glass. The light must prevail. It just has to.
I broke down in tears of relief at an actual leader when I saw McAuliffe’s words on the matter. Trump’s a KKK leader. Don’t look to him for anything except someone to steel your resolve.
I did too. My heart broke a little. I don’t want to scare my children but it is getting more difficult to put on a positive face.
To quite Malcolm X, “the chickens have come home to roost.” The Republican Party has courted racists, used race baiting and coded language for years to gin up their base to win elections. This is what happens when you stoke the flames and lose control. These domestic terrorists have lived in the shadows and now feel they can take their rightful place at the head of the table cause their President supports them. The U.S. needs to be ready cause it will be destroyed by the enemy within.
100%
Unless something is done, I fear Malcolm X’s other famous quote, “By any means necessary” may come to pass. But the ball-less Rethugs would rather pander to their teabaggers and those few thousand coal miners they suckered.
IslaLund – This is completely 100% truth
Since when do safe zones stifle discussion of ideas? And, what great ideas do these neo-Nazis have? I think that Nazism was ‘discussed’ as a world war.
They have no idea what is their idea. They just wanna believe that they are better cos they are white? Simply they are just some random aholes who are not living the high life and wanna blame it on everyone else. They need chaos cos they have miserable lives. Even Hitler was known to suffer from manic depression so i guess these white supremacists need shrinks.
It’s because they feel entitled and insecure. Insecurities and laziness turns to hate. It’s that basic. Being white is just something to latch onto as a mob.
In Nazi Germany, resentment over end of WWI (which they started, w/Austria-Hungary) was funneled into organized violence, flames fanned by longstanding European virus of anti-Semitism. They wanted to kill all the Jews, destroy England under Churchill, and take Russia for its land and resources. Damn near succeeded, too. When this stuff starts to get out and isn’t immediately checked, there is big trouble.
Yeah when they protest it’s them exercising their freedom to protest. But when liberals or minorities protest, they are troublemakers threatening the system / government / country.
Exactly. The hypocrisy kills me.
“Unless you’re a white supremacist or Vlad Putin, Trump does not care what you think.” true but the does not mean other GOP politicians feel the same. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER. call your representatives NON STOP to set them under pressure so they will be encouraged to impeach the imbecile who does not care who supports him plus of course is a white supremacist. let this nightmare be over soon!
The GOP is full of sh-t. They have been blowing the racist dog whistles since the 1960s and unleashed a whole level of racist garbage from the 80s forward. This is the same party that wants
to get rid of affirmative action
that doesn’t believe in gun control for white men and women.
who talked about “states rights”
who created the Willy Horton and welfare queen ads in the 80s, Consistently demonizing blacks and hispanics whenever they could.
who allowed the Muslim rumors and the birther bs to keep going
those teaparty dumbasses getting into Congress and not allowing anything to happen because those simpletons have no idea how the government works and don’t want to do anything to make it work.
I could go on and on but it make me too sad for words. The GOP and Dump are responsible for this. They have blood on their hands. They are trying to do this for a political “win” because they know Trump is deeply unpopular and they want to set themselves a part from him- even though they have championed him through silence the whole time. Their history proves that they are all talk and no action.
Well said. Their attempts to grab and retain power through any means necessary have caused this.
Another thing that scares me is that voter suppression is going to be rampant in the 2018 and 2020 elections. We need to fight that starting yesterday.
Check out ththe Brennan Center for Justice. They have been very aggressive in fighting voter suppression.
Thanks Megan, I will!
It was nice to see the immediate blowback for the gutless “violence on many sides” bullsh*t remark and the equally weak defense of “well, obviously he means the KKK etc”. But it was painfully obvious that it was little else than a nod and a wink to his fascist base , so they knew he was being forced to say it. Especially since he’s having his mouthpieces go on TV to dog whistle more. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of “but it is the left that is making everything violent, why doesn’t anyone talk about that??” by a long shot.
I know the ACLU is taking a lot of shots right now, but they shouldn’t be. They did what they were supposed to do, which is defend the right to assemble and the right to free speech. As Larry Flynt (of all people) said, “Free speech isn’t there to protect the thought you love the most, it’s there to protect the thought you hate the most” And he’s right. If it doesn’t work for these evil little cowards, it doesn’t work for anyone. We don’t get to pick and choose. Either we’re all heard or none of us are. Being selective about who gets to say what is what the bad guys are trying to do, so we need to drop the end justifies the means mentality or we’re no longer any different from them.
The blame for the violence and chaos lies squarely on the shoulders of the fascist morons who went into that rally hoping to incite racial violence and the police force in Charlottesville since you would have to be extremely foolish to think that the intention had been otherwise. The show of force wasn’t strong because it was a bunch of white boys. For whatever reason, it didn’t matter that they were suited up for violence. But being white takes you far.
More of us and more people in power need to step and repeat Terry McCauliffe’s words _you have no place here, no place in America. Over and over again until they are forced back into the shadows where they can be monitored but never taken for granted.
Great points about the ACLU…it is difficult to stomach what they do sometimes, but the problem is that if they start to pick and choose which speech deserves to be free and which doesn’t then they just get co-opted by whatever party/ideology is in power. They have to stand by the principles of free speech in order to protect them now, and in the unknown future.
I think the rise of Trump makes the ACLU’s work even more clear and vital.
I don’t like the ACLU and wish they would get less money because they take money from the NRA and fight ANY form of gun control of any kind. Selling guns at walmart to these bumpkins is throwing gas on the fire. ACLU is part of the enemy I think. America needs gun control…did you see how armed to the teeth these nazi protestors were???? Frightening that, that is A-OK in your country.
“If you’re not outraged by what’s happening, you are not paying attention”. Thought I would repeat what’s I saw on some TShirts wore by friends of the young woman was murdered by the white supremacist in CVille.
This is a tweet to #45 from David Duke, kkk. “Take a look in the mirror and remember who put you where you are…”. Enough said. The deplorables KKK says, “take our country back, aka MAGA. IT could not be clearer, #45 is one of them.
For a change for the better in this country for decent people, VOTE, VOTE, VOTE and be vigilant, keep your eyes open.
That photo of the black police officer protecting those parasites is amazing. What must be going through that young man’s mind at that moment.
That picture breaks my heart. I find it hard to look at, I’m filled with such sorrow and outrage at what is happening.
A white male professor and black female lawyer were just on TV discussing what happened in Charlottesville. He was saying KKK, neoNazi and white supremacy has to be stopped from spreading hate, and she said the hate groups would’ve been fine if the police were there to keep the other people under control. The police sure were there! 2 ended up dead. She was actually sticking up for the people who hate her. Crazy
She’s right though …. the police allowed both groups to mix and then were told to stand down. ????
@megsie “. . . she said the hate groups would’be been fine if the police were there to keep the OTHER people under control” (capitalized for effect). Why not state “keep BOTH sides under control”? There is a distinction there.
I think you may have misunderstood her: she isn’t standing up for people who hate her, but she was pointing out an ongoing dilemma of this whole thing: the more attention paid to it, the more police presence there is, the more media there are, the more important it becomes to both sides to make their point. I watched the footage – the anti-fascist group got as violent as quickly. I don’t know what the answer to this is. We want to protect free speech, but we also don’t want to widen the scope for something beyond speech. I just don’t know what the answer is.
We also have to consider the possibility of plants among the counterprotesters whose goal was to provoke a violent response. This has happened often in nonviolent protests. Experienced groups will have their own trained peacekeepers watching for that and intervening as needed to keep people on track, restraining the violent ones and handing them over to police. Nonviolent role-playing training workshops for participants are also common. There were signs that such had happened, considering that counterprotesters themselves were successfully de-fusing quite a few situations.
In a regional anti-war protest long ago, the only violent guy turned out to be a police plant… explaining why the police didn’t cuff him and he was freely walking around the police department when the real nonviolent protesters arrested arrived, who were so tightly cuffed in plastic handcuffs that one suffered nerve damage.
Tweeters need to out any violent alleged counterprotesters, as they are doing with the white supremacists. Maybe if Twitter can identify them then we can figure out who is just a normal idiot and who is actually a white supremacist plant.
I became suspicious when I heard that some counterprotesters had mace (just as the white supremacists did). I have never heard of anybody going to a nonviolent protest with mace, except those people dressed all in black and covering their faces who were violent at the inaugural protest and at Berkeley. My guess has always been that they are connected with the Trump people, possibly without realizing it (they could be naturally stupid anarchists with a leader who is connected with someone like Steve Bannon). They came armed with mace and fireworks and clearly planned to destroy property and beat up on people. But the real goal was to discredit the peaceful protest.
The only thing that surprised me this weekend was that people were actually surprised.
There is no doubt in my mind that there were countless people across the US and Western European countries who were watching this agreeing silently. I wonder how long it’s going to take them until they feel like it’s time to “come out”. If one more person tells me to calm down, I will lose it.
Charlottesville issued a permit for the Gen Lee protest. So maybe that was the first mistake.
I feel as though I’m being asked to choose between Antifa and Neo Nazis. I saw someone describe the Sat clashes as watching the Brownshirts and Reds in a street fight. Except it’s 2017 in America. Where are the reasonable moderates? The centrists? Have they been silenced by both extremes?
Charlottesville had to issue the permit. Anyone organizing a peaceful protest is entitled to a 1st amendment permit.
Exactly. No prior restraint on First Amendment Rights to Assembly or Free Speech unless the city can show a clear and present danger. Supreme Court has ruled that Nazis have the right to march through the streets, even through predominantly Jewish neighborhoods, displaying swastikas. However, they may have difficulty getting permits after this Saturday.
I have a serious question about this. As much as my (German) soul is tortured by images of swastika flags in the streets of a US city, I understand that the 1st Amendment comes with a price and it’s just a different view of what’s acceptable as opposed to what we find acceptable over here. However. Is it still a peaceful protest if protesters carry guns? Can it be assumed that a peaceful protester with absolutely no thought of violence would carry them as what, accessories? I don’t understand. A gun by its very nature symbolizes violence. As does the swastika, btw. Did they have to allow the guns?
Virginia is an open carry state. Everyone has the legal right to carry a gun that is not concealed (you need a permit for a concealed weapon). It would not have been a consideration in issuing the permit.
The permission to carry a gun translates to a large group of protesters decked out in what I can only describe as military gear? I guess my question is what is considered peaceful protest? I don’t think the absence of physical violence translates to peaceful but I guess that’s up for debate.
@littlemiss I’m sure there are plenty of right wing lawmakers in VA who think the presence of guns is what makes a march peaceful. Gun culture in VA is really creepy.
Re: the carriage and open display of guns, it may have been legal, but highlights the problems with bad laws that are so permissive about gun ownership. The Third Reich was lawful unto itself, if you look at the Nuremberg laws. Watch what Trump et al. are trying to do with the judiciary.
the city actually denied the permit for emancipation park where the general lee statue is located saying it was too small and they would be approved for a different, larger park. the organizer asked for an emergency injunction and the court had to rule that it was their 1st amendment rights to meet in the park they requested b/c they were specifically protesting the statue’s removal. that is what drove the tiki torch revolt friday night.
i obviously believe in our 1st amendemnt rights but the operative word is “peaceful”. fascism, white supremacy and nazism as concepts are antithetical to peace. not one “alt-right” in attendance was looking to spread peace and love. i highly doubt the ISIS members would not be granted a permit to protest a crime against a mosque.
This is absolutely correct. The city approved the protest in a nearby, much larger, park but were overruled by a judge. So a very small park, which is more of a side-street small square kind of park, which is located in a very dense *little* downtown area, was host of this mayhem. The setting is not to blame, but the tightness of the space most definitely played a part.
I was in beautiful, kind and progressive Charlottesville Saturday and this was absolutely unspeakable and indefensible. I respect the right to speech and peaceful protest, but the level of anger—explosive anger—coupled with so many illogical, unreasonable and uneducated minds led to absolute inhumanity and barbarism.
I can only wonder if no press coverage and everyone ignoring these idiots while they chant their filth would hasten their descent back to wherever they came from. I don’t know the answer, I really don’t. But one thing of which I’m certain, the cities that play willing or unwilling host to any kind of protest should be able to determine the location for the safety of all.
“I feel as though I’m being asked to choose between Antifa and Neo Nazis.”
No. That is not the choice. That is how the right is trying to portray it, but that isn’t accurate.
I also strongly dislike the Antifa, but that is not the ONLY group protesting against the alt-right demonstrators. Rational, normal people who are horrified by Nazis have also been protesting. You don’t have to be pro-antifa to be against the alt-right groups.
In Berkeley, for example, you’d have students peacefully protesting against Milo Yiannopoulos, and the Antifa groups would come in from out of town and start getting violent. Media would cover it as if the students were being violent, not this radical outside group.
It is the difference between the anarchists causing destruction on election day, and the tens of millions of women marching the following day without violence. Do not let the extremists be linked to our wagon.
No, you don’t have to choose. Violence and hate are wrong. But you must realize Antifa is not so huge in numbers to account for all the counter protesters that were there or even close. The Nazi are using them as an excuse when they are doing what they want to because that is who they are regardless.
Choose Heather Heyer, the innocent victim of terrorism.
Don’t expect the DOJ to do anything. AG Cornpone is on CBS right now and he still has his nose firmly jammed up trump’s ass, defending his pathetic statement, equivocating, dancing around questions.
and he’s a white supremecist himself and has legislated as such long before trump was in the picture…
Welcome to the party, Mayor. Now fire your police chief and anyone caught on camera standing by and waiting for orders to intervene when the fights broke out. Still can’t shake this horrible feeling. I’m so disgusted with so many, many, many things today it’s almost unbearable.
I also do not understand why this is not treated as a hate crime? The intention was clear, plus it was during a protest, so we have the political context?
I mean apart of white privilege, laws in that respect exist, no?
I am all for free speech. But I am completely uninterested in anything someone has to say if they are parading around in nazi uniforms and kkk garb. These people are disgusting. I have no patience for it. No one in the Republican Party should have patience for it either.
If I saw my son acting like that… I just don’t even know what I would do.
A serious question, do you regret your trump vote yet? And your husband’s Gary Johnson vote? Just wondering if and how anyone who voted trump can still support him.
But people in the Republican party have had endless patience for it, including elected officials. They are part of the problem.
If Trump finally admits he was wrong about not saying anything about white supremacy, it’s too little too late. He failed his job again
WaPo said it clearly:
https://twitter.com/postopinions/status/896783581749661697
That picture is worth more than a thousand words.
Nothing surprises me about the WH anymore. He’s horrible, they are all horrible, and a few GOP speaking out changes nothing. They knew who trump is and support him anyway.
Trump is absolutely responsible for encouraging more visibility among the fringe morons (Viking shields?! Really?! Dudes, wake up and turn the calendar over!) who never seem to go away completely. It’s primitive tribalism at its worst, without the redeeming stuff like cultural art. But to hold Trump “responsible” for the actual action is to diminish the responsibility of the actual perp. No one should be let off the hook for this disgraceful and depressing spectacle in 21st century America – but first and foremost, the man driving the car.
Up to now, the alt right continue to be composed of low-life morons who think they can bring back Erik the Red. But, as happened in the early 1930s in Germany, my fear is that one of these days the right guy is going to come along who sees the mistakes the far right is making, smooths out the rough edges, gets rid of the guys sporting hair like Marvel’s Thor, and is able to sell this to the people who are silently in agreement (as a poster above opined), but who can’t quite bring themselves to align with guys pretending it’s the eighth century. So far, that leader hasn’t appeared, for which we can thank our stars. Let’s hope he never does.
It is completely disgusting. The White House is full of Nazis and the GOP is too cowardly to stand up and do the right thing for the country.
I swear to God… when I think I can’t be shocked any further. I purposefully didn’t watch/read news over the weekend and what the f*ck do I wake up to? Horrifying images that depicted sickening behavior of bygone eras. To top it off? I’m in Texas… If anyone even hints at this event in a positive light or comments about the ‘violent left,’ I just might go to jail. Wait… That would make me… I’m staying home. I’m too pissed to see people.
I live in Charlottesville. This weekend was a mess, but I think The city was as prepared as possible. I think the cops had an impossible situation here- step back and look complacent, intervene and look like thugs. The national guard was here. The hospitals were ready. The blame rests on the violent asshat white supremacy groups, but it angers me that the Antifa basically gave them what they wanted- violence. I’m all for protesting these groups loudly and in large numbers, but they are looking for a fight and media coverage which is their fuel, their endgame.
Really, though, they want the illusion of being the victims, but they don’t really want a FIGHT. They are deep down horrible cowards. Why do you think they chose Charlottesville and not New Orleans (which also just removed numerous confederate statues) to protest? Can you imagine this happening in downtown New Orleans? That is way too much for these soft white boys with their big guns… Charlottesville was a great target. Besides the fact that Spencer and Kessler have ties with Charlottesville, add in the founding father/ Thomas Jefferson thing, and an affluent, liberal, mostly non-violent population in the city surrounded by a sympathetic rural community.
They say this is just the beginning. They say they are going to come back, although I can’t imagine they would ever be able to get a permit here again. I hate the fact that our town has become a target for these horrible people. I cannot wait for those wretched statues to come down for good, but even then I don’t think that will stop them.
Violence is not the answer. But really, how does one protest this shit at all without giving them what they want- which is the attention and media coverage which gives them a wider voice? Just not show up to their rallies? Ignore them? Beat them with baseball bats? I am at a loss. This weekend was not a victory for the side of good. We couldn’t even have a peaceful vigil last night here since the risk of the supremacists sticking around and joining in was too high.
They are going to Boston next -if they can get the permits. I doubt Southies will be as accommodating.
There are counter protests already being organized. They will not be well-received here.
Nonviolence and silence. I would rather people hold candles and say nothing as they march. Or better yet bring instruments, play music and sing hopeful songs. Not one violent moment. Hold signs but no violence.
The King of Lies and Fake News is 100% responsible for this, he ran his campaign on hatred and division and even now while he is in the WH, he is promoting hatred and division with his Muslim Ban, Transgender Ban, Refugee Ban, Affirmative Action lawsuits, ICE raids, Voter Suppression Commission, The Wall, deregulation of Civil Rights, legal immigration ban, constantly blaming Obama and taking credit for his work, and allowing WS like Bannon, Sessions, Gorka, Miller, and Chris Kobach in the WH to make these policies of exclusion.
The reporters on CNN are bewildered as to why The King of Lies and Fake News won’t condemn WS. Really? This is where the press fails us. It’s right in their face and they are refusing to acknowledge it. There are 5 reasons why The King of Lies and Fake News won’t condemn WS, and it’s not because of his base. Bannon, Stephen Miller, Sessions, Gorka, and Chris Kobach are the reason why The King of Lies and Fake News won’t condemn WS. The press is misleading us. The King of Lies and Fake News refusal to condemn WS has nothing to do with his base. Stephen Miller writes his speeches. Chris Kobach is launching the biggest voter suppression campaign in history so that when 2020 comes around(that’s if the GOP haven’t decided to postpone it), The King of Lies and Fake News will win every state. Sessions is creating policies to hurt minorities, which has increased due to The King of Lies and Fake News threatening his job. Bannon removed WS from the Terror Watch Program list and for some odd reason, the press won’t talk about it. Then there is Gorka, who isn’t hiding the fact that he is a WS. So the press need to be held responsible as well because they keep ignoring or trying to deny that there are WS in the WH.
The press says that the King of Lies and Fake News went off script when he said “many sides, many sides”, but he didn’t. Who are The King of Lies and Fake News speech writers? He has two, Jared and Stephen Miller. Jared wrote the “fire and fury” speech. Stephen Miller wrote the speeches that he read before Congress and in Poland. Who do you think wrote Saturday’s speech? Stephen Miller. This is also where the press fails us. Stephen Miller is a WS, so do you really think that he was going to give The King of Lies and Fake News a speech that was blaming his people? The press needs to stop saying that The King of Lies and Fake News went off script because if you know who wrote his speech, then it makes sense why he said “many sides, many sides” or why many people detected a dark tone to the Poland and Congress speeches.
Have you all seen the Twitter page that is finding out these joker’s actual names and calling them out on social media? As a result a couple of them have been fired from their day jobs. Funny and most deserved!
Yes I posted it yesterday.
http://twitter.com/yesyoureracist/status/896484066626863104
Also, SPLC is doing it .
http://twitter.com/splcenter/status/896467928702492673
So far, one guy from SF has been fired from his job. There may be others I haven’t heard about yet.
Wow, this is great. The photos of them in a group with their little torches are utterly nauseating.
@Jerusha
From Daily Fail:
“Cole White was identified as one of the alt-right protesters at the violent Unite the Right march on Twitter
After his employers Top Dog restaurant, in Berkeley, were alerted that White attended the rally, he was fired”
The irony of this pos getting fired from “Top Dog” is so enjoyable.
The King of Lies and Fake News had nothing to say during the weekend, yet today he is back on twitter verbally attacking people. This morning he was attacking the Democrats and now…
The CEO of Merck resigned from the WH council due to The King of Lies and Fake News response to Charlottesville and now The King of Lies and Fake News is on twitter attacking the man. This is why The King of Lies and Fake News is 100% responsible for what happened in Charlottesville.
It’s been how many days and The King of Lies and Fake News still hasn’t condemned WS. But it took about an hour for him to condemn Ken F for refusing to be complicit?
Ken F did the right thing. He isn’t running behind the King of Lies and Fake News like Niki H, McMaster, Sarah, John Kelly, Mattis, Tillerson, and Wary being complicit. Now if twitter would suspend The King of Lies and Fake News(someone suggested it be for a day) to send a message to him that he isn’t immune to the rules against bullies.
Several industry leaders recently have resigned from the manufacturing council. I don’t know how anyone who is a real leader could stand listening to drump’s idiocy and hatred and his demands for utter adoration.
3 leaders have resigned so far and Trump is repeatedly attacking the only black one.
There can be no human with ears or eyes that can pretend they don’t know that this guy is a f*cking racist. He has made this as plain for everyone to see as possible.
It’s time for people to start making some decisions. “Am I a Nazi or not?” It’s a binary choice. No other options.
Now the Russian bots are attacking Ken F.
I am unsure why people are not criticizing this CEO, however, for the high drug prices. He is the CEO of Merrick and they are hurting people horribly. Is it now that you can kill people with the high cost of drugs because people can’t afford to buy them but if you talk against Trump you are a hero – all the wrong you do forgotten? I feel that people need to call out Trump but as well call out all the others who are destroying the country. Once Trump is gone people like this CEO will be in charge and if you think that they will treat people in a honest way you are sadly mistaken. People like this CEO are destroying the country just like Trump but they get a pass. I don’t understand. In the hate for Trump the Americans are letting others get away with murder.
I don’t think most people have forgotten. Trump himself admitted in his tweet that drug prices are astronomically high but most people also noticed that Trump was perfectly fine to support Frazier and his misdeeds until Frazier took a stand against him. It really speaks to Trump’s character more so than Frazier’s.
And we can think what Frazier did in this specific incident was admirable and also believe that as a representative of Big Pharma he is still part of a pretty awful and irredeemably problematic systemic issue in our country: the lack of access to affordable medication. We have to start discussing these things in terms of greys instead of black and white. We can walk and chew gum; we can address multiple issues at the same time and still be consistent in our viewpoint.
This is an important issue. I agree but this is not the moment to address it. A woman lost her life and a family is in mourning. We have racists feeling empowered to hurt people.
Tangerine doesn’t care about drug prices or else he wouldn’t have appointed him in the first place. What has he done to combat It? Where is his platform on this issue? It is a deflection from what we are discussing nationally and internationally and that is the rise of white supremacy and Tange’s complicity.
Meanwhile, Nazi blog the Daily Stormer posted a fake ad for the Dodge used in the attack, with “Roadkill Nights” as the slogan.
And then published a hit piece on the murdered woman, Heather Heyer, calling her a “fat, childless slut”
But tell me again how Nazis=antifa.
This. Comparing Nazis and Antifa is as ridiculous and cynically ignorant as saying Trump and Hillary were both the same. Give me a break. One size is literally composed of Nazis!!!
Yet, Drump goes full throttle outrage towards Kenneth Frazier, Merck CEO who just resigned from drump’s manufacturing council in protest against dump’s weak alt rigt rally statement. Frazier is African American and drump responded that Merck (and thereby Frazier?) was a failure.
We are dealing with a half-wit (thank you Indian diplomat) who can only attack people on the pettiest, lowest level. He only has a sense of his own feelings and needs. He is infantile, perverse, evil, thumbsucking.
All the WH spokesmen scrambling to assuage drump’s statement, which obviously condoned his base base, were pathetic. It’s so difficult to fathom that a grown man elected to the presidency is so full of hate towards anyone who dares to not adore him. But that’s who he is.
What took Kenneth Frazier so long to resign. Don’t tell me he just found out over the weekend 45 was a lying 🤥 bigot.
What’s taking Kelly and McMaster so long to resign? Maybe Frazier thought he could bring integrity and valuable expertise to this WH. Geez.
It’s been proven that 45 cannot be controlled or reeled in by anyone in this administration. If they want to commit political suicide I won’t stop them but I won’t give them props for working with this monster, regardless of how well-intentioned they are.
He tweeted within 54 minutes about a person who resigned but still silent about Charlottesville. He’s supposed to speak while at the White House today. Princess Ivanka had better remind him to say something about the white supremacist and the Minneapolis Mosque bombing
He really does behave like an already awful person whose mental faculties are on the decline. Because what political operative in their right mind would go after an African-American CEO given the criticism said political operative is currently receiving and the events of this past weekend??? It’s just stupid.
But I really do think he’s hoping a right wing militia will come guns blazing to his defesnse to prevent his resignation/impeachment/indictment whatever. At this point, there’s no doubt he’s that unhinged.
Why was this guy only charged with 2nd degree murder? I don’t know much about law but it seems kind of light.
It’s much easier to “prove” 2nd degree murder than 1st degree–1st degree requires premeditation so there would have to be concrete evidence that he was planning ahead of time to drive his car into a crowd and kill someone. I think someone *can* be charged with both 1st and 2nd degree murder at the same time, so it’s possible a 1st degree charge will be added as more facts come out…
So far the WH has tried to clean up after The King of Lies and Fake News by sending out McMaster(who said the right things. but won’t put those words into action), Ivanka(who said the right thing but waited an entire day), Sessions(who did the wrong thing by defending The King of Lies and Fake News and Stephen Miller’s speech), Tom B(the same Tom who got tricked by someone impersonating Jared, also did the wrong thing by defending The King of Lies and Fake News and Miller’s speech and then blamed the counter-protesters, and said that The King of Lies and Fake News didn’t want to call out WS because he didn’t want to give them the power), Sarah H(who was so embarrassed that she released a statement without putting her name on it and did the wrong thing by blaming the counter-protesters), and Pence(doing the wrong thing by being the King of Lies and Fake News’ ever faithful puppet, offering 100% support for The King of Lies and Fake News and Miller’s speech).
The King of Lies and Fake News is set to comment on Charlottesville again. But it’s not going to make a difference if Stephen Miller is still writing the speeches and Sessions, Bannon, Gorka, Miller, and Kobach are still walking around the WH.
The King of Lies, Fake News & White Supremacy.
The King of Lies and Fake News failed again. He opened up his speech by talking about trade deals. This was supposed to be about Charlottesville, but once again, he just couldn’t help himself. He just had to sneak in something about himself. He did mention WS, KKK, and NN, but he waited until the middle of the speech. He should have said this at the beginning of his speech. Once again he did the wrong thing blaming the counter-protesters, in the first sentences of his speech and after he said “WS, KKK, and NN” he added “everyone” . The rest of the speech was very vague, it sounded more like he was telling the WS that he was protecting them. He didn’t say anything about removing the WS he has employed in the WH or distancing himself from the WS. He didn’t mention Obama’s name, so that’s one good thing that came out his speech.
As usual the press and Congress fails us, bringing out the “presidential” statement, therefore validating Stephen Miller’s hatred and leading us back down the wrong path. The press needs to stop, they are also to blame what happened in Charlottesville. There wasn’t anything presidential or nice about what he said today because he still tried to blame the counter-protesters.
He finally said something about Charlottesville and mentioned the hate groups involved. Of course, like usual, he began by mentioning how well the economy is doing and talk about the millions of new jobs
So, someone wrote a speech for him which he read off the TelePrompTer and read off the names that were on the TP. IMO, it was not delivered from his ❤️ he was shamed into condensing his pals. After 3 days it too damn long.
Which is why it’s so disturbing that anyone would call this speech presidential. This was about Charlottesville and he starts off by talking about the economy and trade deals. I wish the press would have cut him off then.
He also kept blaming the counter-protesters with the “everyone” and “everybody” references. It wasn’t everyone and everyone, it was WS. His entire speech should have made that very clear, but he waits until the middle of the speech to pseudo-condemn them.
Trump has nothing to do with how well the economy is doing and I wish he’d be called out on taking credit for it. The economy is still functioning well because of Obama, not Trump.
I think it starts in October for Trump. Him, his team, and supporters probably don’t know that he has nothing to do with economy quite yet
His response is too little, too late. This opinion piece in the WaPo gets trump right.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/08/14/trumps-horrible-and-predictable-response-to-white-supremacy-in-charlottesville/?undefined=&utm_term=.5ec075b7f455&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
Angela Merkel has denounced the events in Charlottesville quite clearly without any “both sides” nonsense.
http://twitter.com/greenhousenyt/status/897108744865230848
Thank God for Chancellor Merkel and her decency. She clearly is the leader of the free world.
They are now emboldened to make open threats. From the Daily Stormer.
http://twitter.com/danaschwartzzz/status/896554434985156608
I’m thinking he was waiting to see how the poll numbers were shaping up about this before he would say anything more. I bet he saw some internal # last night which did not look good for him. Now after three days he read a statement written for him calling out his hate group followers by name. I’m saying a little too late and not from his heart.
Just found out gallop poll, he’s 61% disapproval. The worse of any president so early, maybe ever. I knew he was waiting to see poll #’s before calling out his base by name for who they are white supremes thugs ect.
So much for The King of Lies and Fake News condemning hate groups. He is bragging about how he is going to pardon Joe Arpaio. When will this end?
trump is winking to his base with a possible pardon for joe arpaio.
http://twitter.com/demwrite/status/897169777503817728
I saw an amazing post on Twitter by @JuliusGoat, don’t know if it was original or if he borrowed it from somewhere else but it pretty much summed up my feelings.
Nothing has ever been taken from any of these men/people. Nothing. They are not oppressed. They are basically upset that finally after 100’s of years, people have recognized that lionizing the Confederacy and the generals who lead them in a war against the United States is not such a good idea. This is what they are upset about. This is what they consider stripping away their culture and heritage. These are the type of people that we are dealing with.
The whole thing would be funny if it wasn’t so sad and they weren’t so violent. And now they are emboldened because they have a President that co-signs this nonsense. Hell, a large number of people in this country have co-signed this nonsense. Their silence speaks volumes. What this country needs unequivocally is for every Congressman, every Senator, every State Senator, every Governor, every legislator, every CEO to condemn this and say this is not acceptable and this is not what this country is about in 2017. And yet….silence.
Finally. Someone at CNN wrote an article outlining 3 things that were wrong with the speech that The King of Lies and Fake News gave today. They listed: timing(he said this on Monday instead of on Saturday; lack of focus(he opened his speech by talking about the economy); and no remorse(he had the audacity to say “as I said on Saturday…”, failing to see what was wrong with the statement he gave on Saturday).
Another blog called him out for talking about the economy before Charlottesville.
The King of Lies and Fake News also verbally attacked Jim Acosta, calling him fake news. Then Jim called him out on his hypocrisy, telling him that he spreads fake news. The Russian bots when went crazy attacking Jim. I don’t understand why Jim keeps attending the press briefings. He knows by now that they aren’t going to get any truth from him or Sarah and it’s just going to turn into a circus. I don’t understand why the WH press reporters are so complicit. The King of Lies and Fake News and Sarah attack one of them and the rest of them just there and let it happen. If they really want to send a message to the King of Lies and Fake News, they should all refuse to attend the briefings.
Why is the press claiming that The King of Lies and Fake News poll numbers are even lower(it’s at 34%)? He was at 33% weeks ago and then CNN released another poll putting his numbers at 38% to make The King of Lies and Fake News feel better. Why do they keep rewriting history? When his numbers dip, they switch the polls. His approval rating was already low.
Things are getting worse. The DOJ are requesting information on anyone who visits who anti-Trump sites. Sessions lied. He isn’t investigating what happened in Charlottesville. He is using what happened in Charlottesville to go after anyone who isn’t praising The King of Lies and Fake News.
To show just how serious he is about WS, The King of Lies and Fake News is going to pardon Joe A. This is what happens when the press start calling him presidential for reading Stephen Miller’s speeches.
Finally, another press outlet called out the media for lowering the bar and praising the speech that the The King of Lies and Fake News read today.
The bots are very active and attacking Eboni W of FN because she called the supporters of The King of Lies and Fake News racist.
“Made additional remarks on Charlottesville and realize once again that the #Fake News Media will never be satisfied…truly bad people!”-Trump
After seeing this statement, what do all those people in the press who called his speech today “presidential” think? The King of Lies and Fake News thinks that he was making “additional” remarks on Charlottesville? So once again, he admits that he doesn’t find anything wrong with what he said on Saturday. Where did he go wrong today? Perhaps it was when he started off the speech by talking about the economy or trade deals? This was promoted as a press release on Charlottesville, and he and Miller alone made it about himself. Maybe it was how he continued to blame counter-protesters. Or maybe it was how he continued to insist that what he said on Saturday was acceptable. Maybe it was when he verbally attacked Jim Acosta, calling him fake news. The only bad person is The King of Lies and Fake News. When will enough be enough?
This speech could have done well had he not opened it up by talking about trade deals and the economy; announced that he was removing people like Miller, Bannon, Gorka, and Kobach from the WH, I understand that he can’t fire Sessions because of the Russian investigation but he needs to limit Sessions power because Sessions is creating policies to hurt minorities; stop blaming the counter-protesters; and flat out told the WS that they don’t have a friend in him.
The King of Lies and Fake News is still verbally attacking Ken F by indirectly tweeting insults about Merck. Then he wonders why some people in the press weren’t praising his speech. What a great way to convince that he was sincere about what he said today, go on twitter and continue to attack Ken F!
I lived for 16 years in Charlottesville. The subterranean influence of these stupid, violent people has always been there. They have their little KKK rallies in small communities near there. Do not be fooled by the progressive nature of Charlottesville. It is an enclave within a larger culture that is still fighting the Civil War. Virginia, like North Carolina, is a nursery for white supremacists once you get out of the university towns. Even Blacksburg has an openly visible white supremacist group. And the police DO NOTHING. They do absolutely NOTHING about this.