There will always be others who tell you what you’re doing is wrong. The way you speak, the way you express emotion, or just the way you think. It happens commonly when you do not agree with others’ views and opinions. It has always existed in this nation – even now more publicly with social media that enables us to express whatever thought we have in an instant. This weekend, if you hadn’t noticed from the news and posts, our country was completely divided.
It began with a statue of Robert E. Lee. If you don’t remember from history, Lee led the Confederate Army in a few victorious battles of the American Civil War. He married into a wealthy family and inherited some slaves, even though he did not believe in slavery. He believed that his God’s will would set the slaves free. The statue of Lee has become a symbol for racism in the eyes of most, as has the Confederate flag and many other pieces of history.
While there are multiple sides of opinion in the United States, we are always proud of what we are. We are proud that we can handle such adversary as the attacks of September 11, massacres, and bombings. The United States seemed to be able to recover from anything that has come our way. Somehow, instead of recovering, we now continue to drift apart from what reality and facts are, and we prefer to live off of harmful opinions that no one wants to compromise for the greater good.
This past weekend, we saw white supremacists violently protest for a statue, as they claim. In reality, they did not protest the removal of a statue but instead they protested because their white privilege has been threatened for too long. Yes, their ability to find jobs easily because they have a fair skin tone, their ability to get into ivy league schools because their dad knows someone, the way that they grew up with an easier life because their parents did not come from another country was being threatened.
They tried to remind us whose country this is, but unfortunately, it is not their country. If this is your country, you do not have to resort to violence on your own soil against your own people for it. If this is your country, you do not have to claim German Nazi Party beliefs to scare people. If you’re an American, why are you tattooing a swastika on your body? Why are you using other country’s hate symbols when your country fought against them? This is the United States of America. The Spanish have been here for hundreds of years, and we sure know that blacks have been here for hundreds more. There are immigrants becoming citizens every day. This is their country, the country of anyone who is a rightful citizen. To refute that, you are disrespecting the claims that this country has made since its founding, a country you are claiming to defend.
Charlottesville was a safe college town that has since become a nightmare for those that live there. The city has now become a symbol for violence for the coming generations to study in history books. For people who criticize minority groups for their protests, white supremacists really did not do a good job in defending themselves.
It started with them marching with tiki torches, and ended with a woman being run over and murdered. Protesters stepped out with guns and bulletproof vests, both not being signs that this was going to be a peaceful protest. Past protests have been criticized for being “violent” and “useless” when others were trying to fight health care and abortion reforms. Except, no one was purposely trying to hurt or kill anyone at these protesters, they just wanted their voices heard within reason. As for the Charlottesville protest, the statue will still come down, and arguments for removal of other historic monuments will arise. This being because they have incited a stronger violence than our stance on birth control did.
Our country has officially been dividing into “us” and “them”, something we have tried so hard to get rid of. While some us liked to avoid the conversation of our stance on racism, xenophobia, and bigotry, it is becoming harder to just ignore these situations. Our brains and hearts do not have the room to store something so wrong. White supremacist groups are nothing new. Somehow, they have become much more dangerous and threatening to the point that Americans feel unsafe and unsure of living out their normal lives. If certain populations of people have ever felt that oppression is a joke and “everyone is equal”, hopefully the violent rally of Charlottesville has opened your eyes and shown you that the people who participated are the oppressors. They’ve spent their weekend beating down people who are not like them, in the name of a statue of a person who fought a lost cause.
The white supremacists, the violent protestors, they do not defend our constitution. Instead, they hide wrongful, radical beliefs of what an American is. Unfortunately, it will be a long time until we all have the rightful definition of a true American, but if you know it, practice it every day. Do not hide yourself from protesters. An innocent woman was killed for spreading her belief of acceptance and a town is trying to recover from a hateful and unusual event. Violence does not educate people, it scares and threatens their well-being as rightful citizens. While it is frustrating to see and hear about these situations, taking action and practicing what is right will leave your legacy for others.