The racist douchebags who came from out of state (and the people like you and Trump who defend them) are a disgrace to the nation. The people who were defending their town and the right to remove the statue of a racist traitor with no historical ties to their community are just fine.
My opinion has nothing to do with the article. White supremacists organized to have a march for white supremacist causes. They brought guns and other weapons. Counter-protesters showed up to oppose white supremacism. An alleged white supremacist drove a car into a crowd and killed at least one, injuring several more.
Of course the white supremacists bear the vast majority of the blame. If they hadn’t marched for white supremacist causes, there wouldn’t have been any violence.
Yes, the cause makes it different. It doesn’t mean it’s okay to respond with violence (that actually helps the white supremacists), but it means that any violence that breaks out is inherently mostly the fault of the white supremacists. Because they’re white supremacists. There’s no “peaceful” white supremacism. It’s an inherently violent ideology. The very basis is violence and force against others.
By all means, though, continue to make excuses for white supremacists if that’s your thing.
You must not have been paying attention to the news for the past several years. Progressives have and are attacking freedom of speech practically every day. Were you calling out radical left violence when it occurred?
As in - “of course you made me beat you up - you’re a white supremacist!”.
What a great interpretation of the freedom of speech in the US.
As I already said, I hate Nazis. I don’t really hate “antifa” morons, I mostly pity them. And yet I would not go beat up either or advocate beating up either (although I would definitely advocate massive police presence and harsh police response to the violent offenders themselves - on both sides. As in, and I quote: “men in combat gear — some wearing bicycle and motorcycle helmets and carrying clubs and sticks and makeshift shields — had fought each other in the downtown streets”).
Because they have the right to their views, no matter how repellent they are. Neither side has the right to employ violence to oppose the other side’s views. You apparently disagree.
Bullshit, unless you’re talking about a tiny, tiny portion of liberals/progressives. Extremists on both sides have attacked freedom of speech, but it’s a problem of extremism, not the left or the right.
We’ve had this discussion before – I thought you’d agreed with me that such broad-brushing is both counterproductive and inaccurate.
No, but attack straw men if facing the truth is too tough for you.
Everyone is free to say what they want, and others are free to confront (without physical violence) and challenge them. The white supremacists were clearly ready for violence, and at one point surrounded and pressed in and physically accosted a group of anti-racist protesters. The white supremacists initiated the violence.
The white supremacists came ready for violence and initiated violence, and if the reports are true a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of anti-racists and killed one and injured many.
How can you spin all this so that the white supremacists don’t bear most of the blame?
And further, what’s the point? How does it help you or Trump if the white supremacists don’t bear most of the blame?
Read what you just wrote. Try to decipher it. Should people advocate punching you in the face for your bizarre point of view? Is that what people want? A civil war?
… and yet the Nazis are being portrayed here not as “a tiny, tiny portion of the Right” but as “the Right”.
Yes. Tell that to people on your political side in this thread.
By who? I’ve noticed several liberal posters specifically say they don’t blame the entirety of “the Right”.
And the leftist thugs did not “physically accost” the Nazis in the streets? Can you give me some cites that show the one-sidedness?
again - cite for that? Specifically, that the Nazis “initiated violence” while the “antifa” moron’s didn’t “initiate violence”?
It doesn’t. For some reason you think everything I post is supposed to “help me or Trump”? Does everything you post “help you or Democrats”?
I call bullshit on the “not Republicans” crap. These are Trump’s people. Trump ran as a Republican, and Republicans let him. They supported him during the campaign, and they voted for him.
It literally turned my stomach during the campaign watching Republicans do their ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink, tsk, tsk’ routine whenever Trump raised the birther issue, among so many other white supremacist dog whistles, in their quest for votes and control of government. Anything – anything! – to appoint the Mercers’ bought-and-paid-for pick to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch. Anything to reverse decades of progress in equal rights. Anything to destroy voters’ rights, foster misogyny and homophobia, reverse environmental protections, burn Obama’s legacy to the ground. All rooted in their discomfort with the black, brown and female. Discomfort with anyone different to them.
This is the Republican party today. With their support and defense of illegal Muslim bans, blind eyes turned to climate change, voter suppression efforts, willingness to use any and all tools to advance their selfish agenda, including co-opting these hate-filled losers with their Confederate flags and crazy open carry substitute-for-masculinity weaponry, this is who Republicans are. Listening to their pious, self-serving comments today, all I could hear was, “Nobody here but us chickens!” Gratuitous opportunists.
Fuck them all, right up the ass. I don’t know how anyone supports or votes for these craven, revolting dickheads. Get us to the goddamn midterms, so we can stop them hurting more and more people.
(Yes, there are decent Republicans. Many of them are leaving the party.)
And another thing. The whole point of white supremacist ideology is to oppress. People against white supremacist ideology are fighting to not oppress. If you can’t tell the difference between those two things, then I wonder how you manage to remember to breathe.
Read a fucking book, NOT that one!
SteveG1: “THIS is the “right wing” and the alt right. THIS is the “values” people.”
Please, for your sake and the sake of those who care for, seek help.
A lot of posters here are very biased.
The majority of blame needs to go to those who attack people violently. Lately that’s been progressives.
And you can say that about most of these despicable groups. Yet the broad brushes are out in full force.
I saw it on TV live. Maybe you weren’t watching. If you’re curious, the videos are very easy to find, but I have no illusion that making the effort to find cites would do anything to sway your opinion.
Bullshit.
So why are you continuing them?
And the TV did not show leftist thugs attacking the Nazis? Or maybe you just closed your eyes (since they really were doing the right thing, anyway)?
It showed much, much more violence initiated by white supremacists than the reverse.
Is this really shocking to you? Many of these assholes came with guns and in combat gear. One of them (allegedly) drove a car into a crowd and killed people. Of course they wanted violence!
It used to be that silly outfit wearing nazis and skinheads could be chuckled at because: what the fuck are they ever going to accomplish, seriously? Now they’re in the fucking White House. Festival/party/ridiculing type counter-protests are in the past.
This. Only one side came wearing shirts with Hitler quotes and carrying guns. Only one side ran people over.
So Stringbean, please shut the fuck up.
And now to that other piece of shit, okrahoma… about those keyboard warriors…
I was in the Army. I still know how to fight and how to shoot. If these assholes ever succeed in getting their “civil war” going, I will gladly join the “loyalists” side against them.
As far as Trump goes, he needs to be removed. Legally, in accordance with law, but as fast as possible. His weak excuses for the NAZIs, and his “both sides” shit, same as you are trying to pull, for the NAZIs makes me want to puke.
**You both make me sick. **
Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace, & corrosive to our values. - Hillary Clinton
We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. - Orrin Hatch
White supremacists aren’t patriots, they’re traitors- Americans must unite against hatred & bigotry - John McCain
What " WhiteNatjonalist" are doing in Charlottesville is homegrown terrorism that can’t be tolerated anymore that what Any extremist does - Chuck Grassley
The tragedy in Charlottesville this afternoon was domestic terrorism. We must all condemn hatred and white nationalism. - Rob Portman
I urge the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and prosecute this grotesque act of domestic terrorism. - Ted Cruz