The white supremacist rallies held in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend mark a turning point for our country.
Just seven months ago, the United States bid farewell to our first black president and Donald Trump assumed the role of president. Throughout Trump’s campaign, he was championed with support from white nationalist David Duke and many from the alt-right—which he hardly rejected. It comes as little surprise, then, that these hateful extremists now feel emboldened to participate in activities such as those taking place just days ago.
Events for the agitated weekend began Friday night with the descent of a torch-bearing mob on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Chants such as “You will not replace us” and “One people, one nation, end immigration” were shouted amongst the crowd. The faction eventually surrounded a statue of Thomas Jefferson—the school’s founder and figurehead—where a group of student protesters were resisting the rally. Interestingly enough, it was the city’s planned removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee that triggered the incident. The Friday demonstration was only a precursor to what alt-right advocates called the “Unite the Right” rally that was held just 12 hours later.
If Friday was the powder keg, the Saturday confrontation was the spark that ignited the barrel. A sizeable group of counter-protestors gathered to oppose the white supremacist gathering, lining the streets of downtown Charlottesville. Protestors and counter-protestors clashed through fighting and spiteful rhetoric, with police eventually deploying tear gas on the crowds. The Nazi slogan “Blood and Soil” was shouted with pride by protestors. Most harrowing, a young counter-protester named Heather Heyer was killed as a white nationalist plowed his car through the crowd.
The events that took place in Charlottesville this weekend were broadcast across media outlets, from cable news all the way to videos posted on Twitter and Facebook Live. People everywhere witnessed the catastrophe with sickened hearts, calling for hatred and bigotry to end. It took President Trump hours of delayed response to acknowledge what happened, and even then his words were naïve and out of touch. He blamed the violence that took place “on many sides,” suggesting that counter-protesters were just as much at fault as the white nationalists perpetuating division.
Not once did the White House call these fearmongerers by their true name: terrorists. White terrorism is very much alive in our nation, and the fact that gun-wielding mobs of Nazi sympathizers do not receive this designation by those in government is shameful. Call them what they are. At every chance, we must call out hatred for what it is and denounce its danger.
This is not the time to be silent.