Some sides are more equal than others...

There exists a sense of futility in trying to comprehend the profound lack of judgment displayed by our President following the awfulness of Charlottesville. His Presidential Twitter lay dormant for over two hours after a State of Emergency had been declared. A White Supremacist had killed one anti-fascist protester and injured nearly 20 more.  Many more had been injured in other violent brushbacks. The day (and previous night) had been filled with news coverage of the acrimonious high-profile confrontations outside University of Virginia. The Twitterverse was awash with eyewitness accounts and reactions. Even his wife had issued a positive "violence is bad" kinda Tweet!

After he finally weighed in with his oddly weak Presidential Tweet, he appeared for a Veterans Affairs announcement. He stirred the imagination and braced the soul with a full-throated, stout-hearted, roaring defense of American values in the face of Nazis, KKK-ers and White Supremicists. Except he didn't.

Instead, we were treated to a "well, both sides do it, so everyone should go back to your corners and cool off" statement. It is really worth watching if you haven't subjected yourself to it yet.

Egads! These events are terrible! Many sides! And don't forget the children who cannot play in public, with their parents! We need more affection! We need more "sacred bonds of loyalty"! And how about that unemployment rate?! Who's the greatest ever? Oh, and "cherish our history".

And then after some more words about the great and beautiful VA, he was gone again, refusing to answer questions about the role of the Alt-Right. As of 24+ hours later, he still hadn't condemned this portion of his base that constitutes Racism and Anti-Semitism. Instead, he leaves us with a Both Sides Are Bad false equivalency.

Except he really didn't. Let's face it, when we think of Nazis, the Klan and other White Supremicists, non-violence doesn't leap to mind. These thugs make their statements with extreme violence. When he compares them with protesters of this ideology, they win big time and they know it.

Also, "Cherish our history" is a dog-whistle for these same very fine folk who seek to prevent the removal of Confederacy statues. You know, people like David Duke, who previously proclaimed his dissatisfaction with the President yesterday - before the TV appearance -  in a chilling tweet. Today, emboldened with Trump's lack of condemnation, he compares his allies' actions yesterday to the Greeks at Thermopylae. And the rest of this sad bunch of miscreants are rapturous with the support they see from the President.

Nearly forgotten in all the mayhem was the inconsolable fact that a young woman was killed and five more critically injured when a White Supremacist decided to express his feelings by driving into them at an anti-Nazi rally. This is her:

"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

And this is a short piece from the Washington Post about her:

Heather Heyer

In the meantime, today the campaign to re-elect Donald Trump in 2020 released a 30-second ad. It excoriates his "enemies" like Democrats and the Media. It offers the usual malarky about how great things have become since Trump took office, and how Americans simply want him to be the best President he can be...  It is a curious item, apparently composed in a mood of rancorous, vituperative and divisive sentiment. It is certainly not a document that promotes the President's newly declared suggestion that we all come together as one nation.

Much has already been said about the need to remove this President and his Administration. There will be a time for that in the looming months ahead. What is a greater concern is what happens when he is gone. Someone described Trump as a Hood Ornament for a powerful car that will keep on running long after the symbolic ornament has been removed. It's the engine underneath that is the problem.

To help us focus on what we as citizens must do, let's take a look at what a couple of dudes had to say who were in the crucible of their times:

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and indifference of the good people. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and acts of the children of darkness, but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light."

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 27, 1965
Atlanta, Georgia

"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe..." 
 
--Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1986.

The center of the universe. As Americans, it always seems to be right here among us, although not in the way that Wiesel imagines. Americans carried this sense of center throughout World War II, when we fought Fascists, Nazis and Totalitarians. Here is a nice little piece of US government-produced anti-Fascist propaganda that appeared in theaters everywhere during the War:

It is amazing we have strayed so far in such a short time...

Also this, from our old friend Henry Rollins on the subject of White Privilege. Apparently, some minds are being lost, indeed: