08-13-2017, 08:09 AM
This was my Facebook rant on all of this, which may be a little more coherent:
Quote:In my conversations on what happened in Charlottesville, I consistently blame the "carpetbagging bigots" of the alt-right/white nationalists for what occurred. There are some that will try to tell me that if "antifa" or whomever would just let them say their thing then nothing would have happened and so they should be blamed. Here is why I lay it entirely at the feet of the alt-right.
First, on Friday night we saw right-wing extremists violently attack peaceful counter-protesters at UVA with flaming tiki torches. Then, the next day, the same group also attacked local, peaceful counter-protesters. We cannot pretend that the white nationalists are only defending themselves. They are aggressors in this as much as the antifa group.
Second, Richard Spencer, David Duke, and all the rest of them were not there for the statues and parks. They were feeding off of the controversy that the situation brings. They preyed on Charlottesville, a nearby community that many of us have ties to, that is dealing with a situation already causing strife in their community. They preying on this strife and using it to garner sympathy for their cause and swell their ranks.
They bring people from all over the country with the full knowledge that they will bring a counter-group that will do the same. They have been fighting this war in many places and leaving communities wrecked in their wake. They don't care about our communities, they don't care about our local issues, they care about spreading their hateful message, gaining sympathy because of a group fighting against them and making it easier for them to do so.
This is why I blame the white nationalists. If they did not prey on the community, then none of this would have happened. We need to recognize and make clear that this is their tactic. We need to fight against this to keep them out of our communities, because they aren't going to be here to clean up after they leave.
