I, like many Americans are appalled and saddened by the recent tragedy in Charlottesville, VA on 8-12-17. Here is a brief synopsis of what occurred:
Three people were killed in the aftermath of Saturday’s “Unite The Right” rally, a congregation of various groups comprising the so-called alt right. A 32-year-old woman was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters, and two Virginia state troopers on duty died when their helicopter crashed on the outskirts on Charlottesville.
My husband and I were attending our state fair when I saw the news. As I looked at passersby, I realized any one of them could have been this young woman who lost her life, or the state troopers who lost their lives as well.
This is from CNN: A quaint Virginia college town still wrestling with the legacy of slavery became the scene of deadly protests this weekend as white nationalists and other right-wing groups clashed with counter protesters over the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park.
Men carrying Confederate flags stood side by side with the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and rifle-toting militia members in Charlottesville at a rally dubbed “Unite the Right.” Chanting “You will not replace us,” they exchanged blows and volleys of pepper spray with protesters opposed to their presence.
As police dispersed the crowds, a car plowed into counter protesters, killing one person and injuring 19 others. At least 15 people were also injured in skirmishes.
Our coward of a president couldn’t even blame the group responsible for this tragedy. Here is his response: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,” Trump said during a short statement from his private golf club in New Jersey. “It has been going on for a long time in our country — not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. It has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America.” Donald Trump is the darling of the alt right movement. His hateful rhetoric has emboldened this segment of the population.
The President did not mention white nationalists and the alt-right movement in his remarks, and later called for a “study” of the “situation.”
Here is what I don’t understand. Why are these groups so angry? These alt-right groups carry Nazi and Confederate flags to their rallies. They wear Make America Great Again hats, which was Donald Trump’s slogan during his campaign. Their political group runs our country for the most part. We have a Republican president; both the senate and House of Representatives are controlled by Republicans. 33 of our 50 governors are Republicans, and 32 of our 50 state legislations are Republican controlled. How can they say things are so bad?
Our current administration is hell bent and succeeding in undoing most of the legislation put into place during the Obama administration, rolling back clean air, clean water initiatives put into place to protect our planet, working on repealing Obamacare.
You got what you wanted Republicans, did you really think the rest of us would just stand aside? People have a right to peacefully demonstrate in this country. Trust me the South is not going to rise again. You lost civil war. That was over in 1865.
My husband and I were talking the other day, and he believes that our citizens have just gotten too ignorant, and it’s going to take years for us to recover. Are we going to recover? We have a teenage son, and I hope like hell we can before it’s too late.
cornfedcontessa 
I saw the vid of the torch light parade and wondered when the book burning event was going to be held
Oh lordy,
I hope we can recover too…because I have a 7 yr old niece who just happens to be bi-racial and I don’t want her growing up to be afraid, just because she happens to be half-black.
Gosh this is awful. With Trump being such a hateful person I’m not surprised this is happening😔 Sad that he ever got in x
Ignorance is a huge factor. And exposure to a wide variety of people and cultures is also lacking.
We live in an upside down world.
I don’t get it. I grew up in an isolated white community, the only people of color we saw were the migrant workers each summer. In a school of over 700 pupils we had 4 Catholic children and no Jewish children. We did not grow up hating others because of race or religion. But, we did have a mandatory course in Problems of Democracy (Civics) and we understood our Constitution, our legislators, and how the government operated.
I think ,many of these folks really do not have a grasp of democracy.
This situation is downright scary.
It is, and I’m afraid it’s going to get worse.
What gets me is how some immigrants can be the biggest racists on the block. Ashamed to say I have relatives who emigrated thirty years ago, still can’t speak English, and are some of the biggest bigots I’ve ever met. Needless to say we don’t talk.
My issue is not with their inability to learn English, there are many different factors why one can’t learn a language. I do, however, have huge issues with them being bigots. The country they left behind is very white supremacist.
I’m not an angel, but I make sure that kids and adults don’t use racial slurs around me, by explaining to them why it’s so hurtful. Don’t know if it helps, but it’s a start.
Thanks for the comment.
AMEN! I do worry what kind of world my kids are going to live in!!
Me too!
In Australia, we watch in amazement, and I’m perplexed and confused….
We just want to leave, but retirement is a few years away.
I saw the news.
To us, it can not understand “white supremacy” of the United States.
We, if the Japanese go there, will we be “persecuted”?
I just want to make familiar with American.
Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
America is such a land of extremes. The hatred, racism and violence is extraordinary. The rise of fascism is startling. But it has always been there. I’m reading the Plot Against America by Philip Roth about the Lindberg fascism. Couple it with guns and poor education and you have a toxic mix
Oh my!
One thing Mr Trump did get right ‘ it’s been going on a long long time’ and he could have added all over the world and throughout history. We know which side he was on although he tried as do many politicians to stand on the fence and condemn.
On the 16th of August 1946 the great Calcutta killings took the lives of at least 4000 and left 100,000 homeless. The picture of the streets of Calcutta littered with corpses whilst the vultures roost on the broken buildings over the feast of flesh is grim. They’ve got no sensitivity those vultures.
Thanks for the comment.
It is hard to understand the hatred that drives the people who think the white race is superior. I don’t get it and probably never will. Great post.
Thanks.
We are clearly dealing with more than one factor, but the most common denominator seems to be a feeling of disenfranchisement mixed with preferring to let other people tell us why we feel that way, or are indeed living thusly. Combine that with the “modern Millennial” habit of agreeing that “truth” or “reality” is whatever any individual or group believes it is and you have a recipe for hate groups. We need to convince people that there is a marked difference in belief and PROVEN, substantiated, vetted historical FACT. And just because those facts are unpleasant does not make them untrue, or any of us immune from personal accountability.
The idea that correcting mistakes of the past disparages ancestries or personal reputation is wrong. People too often do things they believed at the time were right; such does not make those things right — the end does NOT justify the means. It’s time to grow up and realize wrong stays wrong when we don’t move to correct those wrongs. Going backward is not an option, and intelligent people acknowledge mistakes — whether their own, that of their ancestors, or our present governmental policies. Truth is about PERSONAL responsibility, not casting blame on others because it is easier to do than to fix than ourselves.
Thanks for the insightful comment .
The right and wrong of a situation will be viewed differently by different groups. Intelligence is by no means of any use since intelligent people exist on both sides of any argument. We are tribal by nature and such disputes will never end the only hope is that they are not resolved by violence. Generally might turns out to be right since it it can force its opinion.
I live, work, eat, sleep and play in the south. I have three daughters. One is African American and the other two are bi-racial. My older brother’s wife is Kenyan and my younger brother’s wife is Armenian. I come from a long line of devout Catholics and I am a law enforcement officer. My personal circle includes people from all walks of life including some straight, some gay and some bisexual folks.
This horrible disregard for human life and this blatant disrespect of human rights is appalling, scary and downright disgusting.
If this is part of tRump’s plan to make America great again we’re all in for some serious problems in the -not so distant- future!
Thanks for the insight.
What Mr Trump means by making America great is installing a right-wing government with all its associated policies. This maginalises the poor and the weak along with the unintelligent. It also narrows the definition of acceptable behaviour so to want an abortion is out and to take a gay partner is barely acceptable.
Ok…so are you saying you agree with “Mr Trump”?
Definitely not I believe the strong, healthy and successful should support the weak ,sickly and unsuccessful, but rather than call Mr Trump names and abuse him we should try to see where he is coming from and why.
His policies are Darwinian or survival of the fittest and they ran the planet for millions of years. Such policies still largely run human society since we often choose to ignore our moral responsibilities in favour of personal advancement.
One of the great problems of supporting the vulnerable and weak is the subtle cunning of human nature exploiting every avenue for gain and that is where the political argument rages.
Still can’t believe everything that’s happened recently 😞 it’s devastating and awful
Thanks for following my blog. And I agree 100%. But don’t give up hope. What goes around comes around, and the pendulum swings again!
Let’s hope so!
I heard about this tragedy on our world news in Melbourne, Australia. Seems like Donald Trump is undoing all the good initiatives Obama brought in and antagonising people country wide. I’m not saying Obama was perfect, but at least he knew when & how to speak in public.
Perhaps D.T. should give up making money and playing golf and get down to running the country, encouraging peace and goodwill in the community.
The U.S. seems to have so many shootings and violence, I wonder if stricter gun laws might help (as we have in Australia). We have the occasional shooting and have had a couple of terror attacks but nothing like the U.S.
It’s a sad world we live in. Regardless of country, race or religion, most of us just want to be happy and our families safe to live their lives as compassionate caring individuals.
Thanks for the great insight.
It seems unreal.. yet too real in another way… so sad 😦
Important to stand up for decent human values at such a time. The words from an Anglo-Saxon poem come to mind …
“Thought shall be the harder, heart the keener,
Courage the greater, as our might lessens.”
Will follow. Thanks for following mine.
Thanks for the comment.
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Thanks for the reblog!
Excellent points. I think their anger stems from fear. They know how good they have it and they’re afraid of losing it. What they don’t know is that we can ALL be strong, productive and happy. It’s a shame they do this.
I agree. Thanks for stopping by.
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