Thoughts on Charlottesville
I've been watching the reaction to the Charlottesville mess and, given the media coverage, you'd have thought some left-wing, Bernie Sanders groupie had shot a Republican congressman. Everybody and their brother has weighed in on the confrontation.
Nazis. I saw a meme this week and it showed an iconic WWII photo of members of the 101st Airborne Division holding up a captured Nazi flag. And it said, "the only time an American should be holding a Nazi flag is if it has been captured in war."
I totally agree. Nazism is a disgusting and murderous ideology based on "nation and race".
However, right below that picture should have been a picture of the Antifa flag with essentially the same thoughts delivered. And let's not forget the racist BLM faction that was also a part of the Antifa group.
A few points to make:
1) The actions, or, in fact, the non-action of the police at the ostensible orders of the mayor to not keep the peace is both reprehensible and despicable. If I was the parents of that young woman killed by the Nazi, I'd be consulting a lawyer right now.
2) Let's kill the narrative that the "alt-right", aka the Nazis are anything to do with the vast preponderance of those who lean to the right politically. If the left wants to use the broad brush then it only stands to reason that they must accept the same brush being applied to them. The Nazis and Antifa are both are extremist groups. Violence is something both of them believe is justified to get their way. And both of them believe in totalitarian end-states for their particular version of the "ideal". As I mentioned, one is all about "nation and race" - the other is all about controlling what you think. Both need to use force to impose their ideology. Neither want you to enjoy liberty or choice.
3) As odious as the Nazi ideology is, it is no more odious than the Antifa agenda. What we're seeing is a repeat of Weimar Germany with the Red Faction and the Brown Shirts battling in the streets while the majority of the people look on and do nothing (to include, apparently, the police). And we all know how that ended.
4) Like him or not, what Trump said was a pretty inclusive condemnation of what happened there in Charlottesville. However, he'll never be able to satisfy either the left or the never-Trumpers, regardless of how specific he is in his condemnation. All sides, to include the side of law and order, were at fault in Charlottesville. And a woman died because of police dereliction.
5) As to Confederate statues - let each city or town decide. What we don't need are roving lawless gangs moving from place to place and pulling them down. If a city decides it wants them down, that's their decision to make and their problem to confront. If not, that too is a decision that should be respected. Seattle has a state of V. Lennin. It offends me because the ideology he founded killed over 100 million people. I'll not be trying to force Seattle to take it down, however. If they want to honor a murderous communist, that's their problem. I frankly think all of this is silly. What's next, the monuments a Vicksburg, Gettysburg and various other battlefields of the Civil War? The Jefferson memorial? Washington monument? You can't erase history. But you can learn from it.
Here's hoping Charlottesville was enough of a shock to both sides that future condemnations will include both sides in the confrontation. They're both unacceptable in terms of America and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
~McQ
Nazis. I saw a meme this week and it showed an iconic WWII photo of members of the 101st Airborne Division holding up a captured Nazi flag. And it said, "the only time an American should be holding a Nazi flag is if it has been captured in war."
I totally agree. Nazism is a disgusting and murderous ideology based on "nation and race".
However, right below that picture should have been a picture of the Antifa flag with essentially the same thoughts delivered. And let's not forget the racist BLM faction that was also a part of the Antifa group.
A few points to make:
1) The actions, or, in fact, the non-action of the police at the ostensible orders of the mayor to not keep the peace is both reprehensible and despicable. If I was the parents of that young woman killed by the Nazi, I'd be consulting a lawyer right now.
2) Let's kill the narrative that the "alt-right", aka the Nazis are anything to do with the vast preponderance of those who lean to the right politically. If the left wants to use the broad brush then it only stands to reason that they must accept the same brush being applied to them. The Nazis and Antifa are both are extremist groups. Violence is something both of them believe is justified to get their way. And both of them believe in totalitarian end-states for their particular version of the "ideal". As I mentioned, one is all about "nation and race" - the other is all about controlling what you think. Both need to use force to impose their ideology. Neither want you to enjoy liberty or choice.
3) As odious as the Nazi ideology is, it is no more odious than the Antifa agenda. What we're seeing is a repeat of Weimar Germany with the Red Faction and the Brown Shirts battling in the streets while the majority of the people look on and do nothing (to include, apparently, the police). And we all know how that ended.
4) Like him or not, what Trump said was a pretty inclusive condemnation of what happened there in Charlottesville. However, he'll never be able to satisfy either the left or the never-Trumpers, regardless of how specific he is in his condemnation. All sides, to include the side of law and order, were at fault in Charlottesville. And a woman died because of police dereliction.
5) As to Confederate statues - let each city or town decide. What we don't need are roving lawless gangs moving from place to place and pulling them down. If a city decides it wants them down, that's their decision to make and their problem to confront. If not, that too is a decision that should be respected. Seattle has a state of V. Lennin. It offends me because the ideology he founded killed over 100 million people. I'll not be trying to force Seattle to take it down, however. If they want to honor a murderous communist, that's their problem. I frankly think all of this is silly. What's next, the monuments a Vicksburg, Gettysburg and various other battlefields of the Civil War? The Jefferson memorial? Washington monument? You can't erase history. But you can learn from it.
Here's hoping Charlottesville was enough of a shock to both sides that future condemnations will include both sides in the confrontation. They're both unacceptable in terms of America and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
~McQ
UNbelievably, Trump actually came out and stated that the ALt-Left was present and violent in Charlottesville! The only thing he could have done to make it better would have been to name ANTIFA!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/politics/trump-charlottesville-delay/index.html