There's an old saying, "It takes two to tango." Here's another one, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything." So, let's talk objectively about what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia.
First, there's absolutely nothing wrong with White people, or any group of people, being proud of their race or ethnicity. Having confidence in one's own worth and abilities is a cornerstone for developing positive self-esteem and self-reliance. This paradigm, which is a good thing, is constructively taught by parents to their children throughout the world, among all cultures, ethnic groups, and tribes to inspire confidence, but not conceit. So, let's not hate White people (or anyone) for being prideful, and keep in mind, not all White people are racist, or evil. There are literally millions and million and millions of great, smart, kind, generous, and simply wonderful White people all across the planet. However, when being prideful leads to a false sense of worth and importance, for any race, that's wrong.
Second, if you go back and look at the video footage and pictures of what happened in Charlottesville you'll see the "ying and yang," or the protagonists (people expressing their First Amendment right of "free speech" for White pride, White Supremacy, KKK, etc.) and the antagonists (people expressing their First Amendment right of "free speech" protesting against White pride, White Supremacy, KKK, etc.).
Telling the truth is not an act of racism!
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QUESTION 1: If the antagonists had not been in Charlottesville confronting the protagonists would this have been a "media event" which also resulted in the correspondling death of an innocent woman?
RESPONSE: No, because, again, "It takes two to tango," and the antagonists were blatantly stupid to give the protagonists a dance partner.
QUESTION 2: Why give pseudo-importance or more attention to something or someone than it deserves, such as racist ideology, especially when it's contrary to the egalitarian principles you champion?
RESPONSE: I'm in Nebraska, and frankly, the only reason, the only reason "Charlottesville" has my attention is because the "media" made it so. If the "antagonists" and the media had not given the protagonists more attention than they deserve I would not have written this column, and you would not be reading it. Yes, we both wasted our time.
Again, it takes two to tango; if an antagonist infringes upon the "personal space" of a protagonist (or vice versa), well, confusion, chaos, and conflict are most likely. President Trump has been wrongly criticized for blaming "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville. Unfortunately, some "liberals" blame President Trump for allegedly supporting White supremacy groups, which makes as much sense as accusing former President Obama for spending too much time improving the social and economic status of Black people in the U.S. - which former President Obama clearly did NOT do.
Third, President Trump has been wrongly criticized for his observation that both liberals and conservatives, both democrats and republicans have acquiesced to the appropriate removal of statues that celebrate the confederacy (they lost, remember), but to completely ignore the hypocrisy of sustaining statues and currency of racist, slaving-owning U.S. Presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, etc.).
QUESTION 3: Isn't it blatant hypocrisy to defend the existence of statues and other commemorative symbols of the eight-(8) U.S. Presidents who actively owned slaves [George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James K. Polk, and Zachary Taylor], but to condemn statues of confederate leaders who actively engaged in the exact same practice? Well? Do you really think the slaves who were bought and sold and had their families divided, raped, castrated, and murdered would know the difference? Well?? Do you???
RESPONSE: For "you people" who are "concerned" about President Trump's alleged affinity to White supremacy groups, where was your disgust and condemnation of the previous White (and half-White) presidents of the U.S., all of whom refused or failed to establish a nation of fairness and justice for all, and instead championed the mediocrity of the status quo?
With regard to race relations, President Trump is truly a breath of fresh air, because like it or not, he's unfiltered and unabashedly refreshing; and yes, President Trump is right to do so.
Drain the swamp.
I welcome your feedback.
Trip Reynolds
trip.reynolds@yahoo.com
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Reynolds' Rap First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. |