As I am sure many have heard, violence in Charlottesville, VA erupted on Sunday, August 13. However, it is not only this event that has made enormous headlines in the recent days. Donald Trump's unscripted response to this event has shocked, and appalled, many.
"You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that. But I'll say it right now." Later, he added, "I think there is blame on both sides and I have no doubt about it".
Trump has reminded Americans of the fact that he repeatedly denounced Neo-Nazis , white supremacists, and other groups, but many still can't help but question his words. Some say that in the grand scheme of things, should the President even suggest that someone other than the hateful groups involved were to blame? Others view Trump's statement as a defense of racism, bigotry, fascism, white supremacism, white nationalism, and other ideologies that are known to be widely opposed.
Our President's comments have outraged many people, but even then, some can't agree on the issue at hand. Overall, listeners find it concerning that our President was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan, when the KKK's official newspaper declared their support for him and his approach to presidency. To add, his declaration that both sides were to blame for this horrible event has also sparked conflict. The idea of moral equivalence that some interpreted in Trump's words disgusted them. How could people protesting against hate and injustice (leftists) be compared to the racist, discriminatory members of groups that sow hatred, disrespect, and chaos against people that are not white (rightists)? Shouldn't simply looking at the highly varied beliefs and ideas that the two stand for automatically determine who should be blamed? It has been reported that the right-wing groups acting in the havoc were happy after Trump's statement; they were glad that they were safe and had avoided the blame.While Trump says that both sides were very violent, others claim that the leftists were just performing self-defense. In a way, it could be said that they not only were defending themselves, but also the democracy, liberty, rights, and tolerance that America was founded on. Those that wholeheartedly side with the leftists in the situation support their claim by comparing the situation to that of the rising Nazi regime in the time preceding World War II. They call upon the theory that should the Nazis been acted upon at their early stages of rising to power, the horrifying events that followed may have never occurred. And the preferred method of doing this would be "fighting fire with fire", as some would call it, or simply "violence with violence". Since these groups are completely unwilling of making civil, peaceful compromises or communication, the only effective way to shut them down would be by force.
Meanwhile, those with slightly different views do not agree with the proposition of violence against hate groups. In the end, won't these actions just cause more violence, destruction, and chaos? After all, in the recent circumstances, 19 people were injured and 1 person died (this being an anti-hate protester). Supporters of this standpoint find that the alternative to protesters and violence could be police and officials exerting the force. In this way, dealing with hate groups could be more effective and cause less overall damage and disorganization.
This story that has been raging for days on the news causes me, and many others I'm sure, to wonder how this could be occurring in 2017 America. Such extreme, intolerant ideologies we look back on in horror, without acknowledging that the same behavior is being exhibited today. On top of that lies the fact that certain groups are not being directly and completely blamed for the occurrences. As I heard somewhere being said, we wonder how we, individually, would have reacted during the Holocaust, or during the Civil War, but I think it is important to decide where we stand now, as these alarming events continue to go on in our country.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you consider Trump's remarks to be a defense of racism, bigotry, etc. or is he just taking into account both sides and acknowledging the facts?
- Should violence and protesting against hate groups be a matter for the people, or for the police and law enforcement to handle?
- Could this eventually lead to something like the Nazi regime decades ago?
- Do you believe Trump in his condemnation of rightists, or do you think that he only halfheartedly believes what he is saying?
Links:
What had happened at the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, was indeed heart-wrenching and unacceptable (especially after previous historical events where millions of lives were taken). However, the three deaths and dozens more injured seemed as if it could have been prevented. According to Los Angeles Times, “Anti-racism activists are questioning why Charlottesville police, who had weeks to prepare for the permitted rally, seemed caught off guard or, in other cases, seemed to ignore violence the city had vowed to prevent. Video clips shared on social media show police standing by in some cases as brawls broke out the morning before the rally was officially set to begin Saturday.”
ReplyDeleteIf the poor efforts of policemen were not enough, there is also an ongoing investigation of a Massachusetts policeman who had commented “Hahahaha, love this” in a response to a post about the woman who was mowed into a group of people protesting the “Unite the Right” rally. Anyone who is serving the United States in the present day should not be allowed to get away with such intense hatred. Such hatred should not be ignored.
That brings me to the question; Should violence and protesting against hate groups be a matter for the people, or for the police and law enforcement to handle?
According to the First Amendment, “... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” If done peacefully, protesting is legal and is a right to those who line in the United States. However, since the protests were violent and brutal, government officials should have stepped in. The people involved in the rally relied on racism and inequality which threatened millions (probably billions) of lives. A policeman's duty is to protect the general public, which seemed to not have happened as well and as efficiently as it should have been.
Now that the police and law enforcement prove to not be able to handle the heat, the people must step in. The policemen and law enforcers should of course help, but if the people do not step in as well there will not be any progress. All lives matter, which is why everyone should take a stand against hate groups. Therefore, all people are involved in this matter.
I would first like to address how ashamed and abused I feel after seeing this video. After learning about rallies in Charlottesville, I was proud of Trump's initial reaction and for the first time, I felt like he was my president. I feel foolish that I thought a monster like him could be a real human. I feel like there is a hole in my chest and now I once again can not believe that he was elected president by not only horrible people like those who took part in the attacks, but also friends and family that fell for the same puppetry that I fell for. Although it may be my current emotions, I would hardly hesitate to call him a racist, a white supremacist, and a Nazi. I do consider Trump's actions to be a defense of bigotry and racism, because the facts are that the alt-right started that fighting when alt-left counter protestors decided that they would not listen to it. And for a man who is extremely interested in researching facts, think I think Freida Ghitis is correct in her article "Trump should come to Europe and see what the Nazis did" in which she stated that he he "simply doesn't have a good grasp of what those Nazi flags in Charlottesville, Virginia -- the swastika waving in the land of Thomas Jefferson -- truly represent." We've seen similar protests not too long ago, when South Carolina demanded that they would be allowed to fly the Confederate flag at the statehouse in early July. On social media, there were many fights with people defending the flag saying they "aren't honoring the confederates, they are honoring family that served in the war" which is the most terrible argument ever. In Germany, nobody waves the Nazi flag to honor family members because they are ashamed that Nazis are a part of their lineage, and those who truly want to honor family need to learn other ways to do so. What Nazis and white supremacists did was terrible, and Trump's defense of it is heartbreaking and terrifying to say the least. I think that in a case like this, people need to be called on to defend the true Americans who fought against Nazis and white supremacists. I agree with what Morgan said about how the police were not doing their work trying to shut this down. But I think that if they will not do anything, it is up to the American people to fight back on their own and defend was is truly right. Because I know that if something like this happened at Wolcott High School, you'd bet that I'd be a counter protestor. And if someone waved a Nazi flag or Confederate flag in my face, I would definitely fight back. However, I do not believe this is similar to the Nazi regime of the 20th century. Who is he going to enslave anyway? All non-terrorist Americans? I think that there are parallels to the holocaust, as Freida Ghitis mentioned, but I do not think that Trump is Hitler. I think that he was a republican an just like any other, when something inside him snapped and he distanced himself away from all true Americans, Republican, Democrats, or other. Lastly, I believe that Trump fully believes that there is blame on both sides. This is because if he only half heartedly believed that, he would not have defended Nazis and supremacists so that all Americans have "support;" he would have defended the counter protestors who fought for true patriotism. I'm curious to see what unfolds with this in the next few weeks.
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