Some articles/posts related to Charlottesville hatred and violence and my comments on them
1) Yes, What About the “Alt-Left”? What the counter-protesters Trump despises were actually doing in Charlottesville last weekend,
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/08/what_the_alt_left_was_actually_doing_in_charlottesville.html
This article has really shaken me up. It supports the lesser amount video evidence that the VICE News documentary had of the Friday event, what seems to me to have been:
a) Police ABSENCE at the statue site in UVa campus where counter-protesters were trying to block the protesters
b) The protesters using shoving kind-of force (as against beating up force) against the NON-ANTIFA/NON-ANARCHISTS peaceful counter-protesters who were trying to block them.
About the other point about the possibility of protesters badly beating up the peaceful counter-protesters, which did not happen on the Friday event as far as I know, had the self-defense Antifa/Anarchists not been there: That's a difficult thing to answer. But one thing seems to be clear to me that it was mob and power craze madness that had gripped some of the white nationalists and Neo-Nazis. Perhaps if they had defenseless and peaceful counter-protesters alone, the maniacal hatred of some of them (including one of their leaders - Christopher Cantwell) may have turned them into murderous beasts unleashing their power & fury on their defenseless opponents. I think that was clearly a possibility given the language that Cantwell was using with a reporter knowing fully well the whole thing is getting taped! So one can imagine how low they could go off-camera. And, one can't forget that Dylan Roof, the young man who mercilessly killed defenseless African-Americans in a church, came from a close by state of South Carolina!
I think what is clearly emerging from all these reports is that the Charlottesville police did not do enough to try to prevent the violence. Why that was the case may be shrouded in some mystery. I read somewhere about the Charlottesville police having lesser firepower than the white nationalists militia! That perhaps scared them! Perhaps the top political guys did not want a Ferguson like scene of too much armed machinery and power from the police.
It is the police that should have been between the protesters and counter-protesters and not any private militia! If they had requested for more manpower from Trump administration, I think they would have given them that.
2) Interview: How Corey Long Fought White Supremacy With Fire,
http://www.theroot.com/interview-how-corey-long-fought-white-supremacy-with-f-1797831277
This is a very interesting article. Ideally, the USA govt. should have a proper investigation of the Charlottesville incidents and give a report to the public on what happened and why the police WERE NOT ABLE to protect USA citizens in Charlottesville from being attacked by white nationalists or by the counter-protesters. The account of this person, Corey Long, should be corroborated with other sources, including reporters on the ground then, and white nationalists who are willing to come up to the govt. and give their side of the story.
Essentially, I think one cannot escape the fact that Charlottesville police were not able to maintain law and order, in the face of the well armed and well organized alt-right protests. How to avoid such failures in future such alt-right events in other parts of the USA is vital to learn from this Charlottesville law and order failure, and this learning should then be shared with police forces across the USA.
The next town that the alt-right has such a rally will become a vital test case now. From my detailed study of mainstream and social media reports of Charlottesville, I think these alt-right guys can be prevented from engaging in intimidation and violence, provided the police are prepared in terms of numbers, arms and a plan.
I think that even with USA President Trump not being clear in his condemnation of white supremacists and neo Nazis, USA can keep this evil at bay given the way so many leaders as well as USA common people have reacted with horror and anger against it. That's nice to see.
3) Here's a short Arnold Schwarzenegger Twitter video in this article - the article has some text of his words as well. He was raised in Austria (born in 1947) and so, after 'schooling' Trump in how to talk about this white supremacist and neo Nazi stuff, he talks directly to the neo Nazis about the losers the Nazis were. Arnold Schwarzenegger Schools Trump On How To Respond To Nazis; "Let me help you write your speech a little bit.", http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/arnold-schwarzenegger-trump-nazis_us_5996524ce4b0a2608a6b68ac.
4) Mitt Romney's Facebook post (on this matter): https://www.facebook.com/mittromney/posts/10154652303536121. For those who may not know, Mitt Romney is a leading USA Republican politician who was the 2012 Republican party nominee for president, which election he lost to Barrack Obama.
Its good to see so many Republican leaders speak forcefully on this issue. It would have been a lot worse if Republican leaders had stayed quiet on this.
On this FB post, I was reading some of the comments. It was shocking to see how many people were attacking Mitt Romney for this post.
I think Romney has got it right when he says that Charlottesville and Trump's remarks on it are a defining moment for Trump and for "America in the hearts of our children". Therefore, I am very happy to see Mitt Romney speak up on this matter.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/08/what_the_alt_left_was_actually_doing_in_charlottesville.html
This article has really shaken me up. It supports the lesser amount video evidence that the VICE News documentary had of the Friday event, what seems to me to have been:
a) Police ABSENCE at the statue site in UVa campus where counter-protesters were trying to block the protesters
b) The protesters using shoving kind-of force (as against beating up force) against the NON-ANTIFA/NON-ANARCHISTS peaceful counter-protesters who were trying to block them.
About the other point about the possibility of protesters badly beating up the peaceful counter-protesters, which did not happen on the Friday event as far as I know, had the self-defense Antifa/Anarchists not been there: That's a difficult thing to answer. But one thing seems to be clear to me that it was mob and power craze madness that had gripped some of the white nationalists and Neo-Nazis. Perhaps if they had defenseless and peaceful counter-protesters alone, the maniacal hatred of some of them (including one of their leaders - Christopher Cantwell) may have turned them into murderous beasts unleashing their power & fury on their defenseless opponents. I think that was clearly a possibility given the language that Cantwell was using with a reporter knowing fully well the whole thing is getting taped! So one can imagine how low they could go off-camera. And, one can't forget that Dylan Roof, the young man who mercilessly killed defenseless African-Americans in a church, came from a close by state of South Carolina!
I think what is clearly emerging from all these reports is that the Charlottesville police did not do enough to try to prevent the violence. Why that was the case may be shrouded in some mystery. I read somewhere about the Charlottesville police having lesser firepower than the white nationalists militia! That perhaps scared them! Perhaps the top political guys did not want a Ferguson like scene of too much armed machinery and power from the police.
It is the police that should have been between the protesters and counter-protesters and not any private militia! If they had requested for more manpower from Trump administration, I think they would have given them that.
2) Interview: How Corey Long Fought White Supremacy With Fire,
http://www.theroot.com/interview-how-corey-long-fought-white-supremacy-with-f-1797831277
This is a very interesting article. Ideally, the USA govt. should have a proper investigation of the Charlottesville incidents and give a report to the public on what happened and why the police WERE NOT ABLE to protect USA citizens in Charlottesville from being attacked by white nationalists or by the counter-protesters. The account of this person, Corey Long, should be corroborated with other sources, including reporters on the ground then, and white nationalists who are willing to come up to the govt. and give their side of the story.
Essentially, I think one cannot escape the fact that Charlottesville police were not able to maintain law and order, in the face of the well armed and well organized alt-right protests. How to avoid such failures in future such alt-right events in other parts of the USA is vital to learn from this Charlottesville law and order failure, and this learning should then be shared with police forces across the USA.
The next town that the alt-right has such a rally will become a vital test case now. From my detailed study of mainstream and social media reports of Charlottesville, I think these alt-right guys can be prevented from engaging in intimidation and violence, provided the police are prepared in terms of numbers, arms and a plan.
I think that even with USA President Trump not being clear in his condemnation of white supremacists and neo Nazis, USA can keep this evil at bay given the way so many leaders as well as USA common people have reacted with horror and anger against it. That's nice to see.
3) Here's a short Arnold Schwarzenegger Twitter video in this article - the article has some text of his words as well. He was raised in Austria (born in 1947) and so, after 'schooling' Trump in how to talk about this white supremacist and neo Nazi stuff, he talks directly to the neo Nazis about the losers the Nazis were. Arnold Schwarzenegger Schools Trump On How To Respond To Nazis; "Let me help you write your speech a little bit.", http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/arnold-schwarzenegger-trump-nazis_us_5996524ce4b0a2608a6b68ac.
4) Mitt Romney's Facebook post (on this matter): https://www.facebook.com/mittromney/posts/10154652303536121. For those who may not know, Mitt Romney is a leading USA Republican politician who was the 2012 Republican party nominee for president, which election he lost to Barrack Obama.
Its good to see so many Republican leaders speak forcefully on this issue. It would have been a lot worse if Republican leaders had stayed quiet on this.
On this FB post, I was reading some of the comments. It was shocking to see how many people were attacking Mitt Romney for this post.
I think Romney has got it right when he says that Charlottesville and Trump's remarks on it are a defining moment for Trump and for "America in the hearts of our children". Therefore, I am very happy to see Mitt Romney speak up on this matter.
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