Charlottesville, Va. was aflame this weekend after white supremacists and race protesters gathered to clash over local government plans to move a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E Lee.
The protests grew violent. One person died and many were injured when a white supremacist rammed his car into Antifa protesters. Two police officers died in a helicopter crash. Dozens more were injured in violent skirmishes. Neither side demonstrated peacefully.
Activists in D.C. set themselves aflame when President Trump denounced the violence as an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” A White House spokesperson later denounced white supremacy and Neo-Nazism specifically.
Democrats and Never-Trumper Republicans who hate every word that comes out of his mouth were unsatisfied. CNN called his remarks “incredibly unpresidential” (not a real word).
Michael Moore cited our country’s history of slavery and somehow blamed Trump for it all:
Trump's America: The last days of White rule. It's always a bitch to have to give up power you've held for 300 years https://t.co/2OKcWZc8bA
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) August 12, 2017
I can’t help but think this tweet deluge is partly an effort to get 15 seconds of recognition on IPMs (impeachment mongering networks) that lack both the credibility to report real news and the creativity to contrive believable fake news:
Mr. President – we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism. https://t.co/PaPNiPPAoW
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) August 12, 2017
Nothing patriotic about #Nazis,the #KKK or #WhiteSupremacists It's the direct opposite of what #America seeks to be. #Charlotesville
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 12, 2017
White supremacists aren't patriots, they're traitors- Americans must unite against hatred & bigotry #Charlottesville https://t.co/Zr1Jg9jBXu
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) August 12, 2017
How can @realDonaldTrump can show whose side he's on? He can start by publicly calling this what it is: white supremacy.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) August 13, 2017
The topic trended late into the night with others releasing similar statements.
Which leaves me with a question: where are all these people when radical Islamic terrorism strikes?
What happened this weekend in Charlottesville was unthinkable. Violence based on racial, religious, or other prejudices is disgusting, regardless of context. Still, we shouldn’t be picking favorites when it comes to terrorism. Such acts of violence are outrageous and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, no matter who they are.
But, radical Islam is no prettier than white supremacy.
Where was Maxine Waters this spring when ISIS member Salman Abedi blew up Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester, killing 22 and wounding 59 others? Did she immediately denounce radical Islamic terrorism and all that it stands for?
Of course she didn’t. That wouldn’t be politically incorrect. It’s also incredibly weak.
Where were they when Omar Mateen killed 49 at the Orlando Pulse Nightclub, who immediately said, “I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State?”
Omg. Shooting at pulse. We hid in the bathroom. And we can't find our friends.
— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) June 12, 2016
Pledging allegiance to ISIS while killing a few dozen people doesn’t leave much room for doubt. Despite what former President Barack Obama may say, it’s actually pretty clear that these horrific incidents were radical Islamic terrorism. There is no such thing as “wait and see.”
So to all you politicians losing your minds over Trump’s hesitance to isolate one group for all the violence in Charlottesville this weekend, take a walk down memory lane. You should have backed him before, when he was quick to call previous incidents of terrorism exactly as he saw them.
Trump is denouncing violence and hatred on both sides because that’s exactly where it is. Saying white supremacists are more hateful than other radical interest groups is moronic and ignorant. All are filled with hate and have no place in this country. They should be chased out of here with strong law enforcement in one hand and the Declaration of Independence in the other.
It’s past time for this country to get on the same page. Violence is violence, evil is evil. The people who once hesitated to label the aforementioned heinous acts are now the most vicious critics of Trump’s apparent reluctance to go on an aggressive offensive against white supremacists.
America is so much better than this. If we’re so afraid of insulting Muslims that we don’t call out factions of terrorism for what they are, if we’re so afraid of differing opinions that we begin to censor debate at universities, then we’re failing as a nation. I’m not ready to give up on the country that has brought the world the internet, SEAL Team 6, and Wedding Crashers. Not yet. Not even close.
So we as a nation must now decide. Do we give in to Obama’s idea of censorship and gloss over atrocities with inoffensive buzzwords like “lone wolves” and “fringe violence?”
No. It’s time to finally unite as one, and offend some evil terrorists by calling them exactly as they are.
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