Nazis, Klan Members, Alt-Right Supporters Rally In Virginia Over Removal Of Confederate Statue

Hatred and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Charlottesville Nazi Rally

A group protesting the removal of a Confederate statue from public property in Charlottesville, Virginia staged a rally last night and is holding a protest today that has attracted people with weapons as well as members of so-called militias and the Ku Klux Klan:

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A month after a Ku Klux Klan rally here ended with the police using tear gas on protesters, Charlottesville is bracing for a weekend of white nationalist demonstrations and counterprotests, and suddenly this tranquil college town feels like a city under siege.

Thousands of people — many from out of town — are expected to descend on the city to either protest or participate in a “Unite the Right” rally on Saturday convened by white nationalists who oppose a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, from a city park.

“People are angry, they’re scared, they’re hurt, they’re confused,” said the Rev. Seth Wispelwey of the local United Church of Christ. “White supremacists rallying in our town is an act of violence.”

Late Friday night, several hundred torch-bearing men and women marched on the main quadrangle of the University of Virginia’s grounds, shouting, “You will not replace us,” and “Jew will not replace us.” They walked around the Rotunda, the university’s signature building, and to a statue of Thomas Jefferson, where a group of counterprotesters were gathered, and a brawl ensued. At least one person was led away in handcuffs by the police.

In a Facebook post, Charlottesville’s mayor, Mike Signer, called it a “cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance.”

“I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus,” he added.

City officials and the police said they were prepared for possible unrest; the Virginia National Guard put out a statement saying it would “closely monitor the situation.” Mayor Mike Signer said in an interview on Friday that he had been consulting with fellow mayors, seeking advice on how to “be prepared to make sure people can assemble and express themselves freely.”

Religious leaders who are planning counterdemonstrations — including a sunrise prayer service featuring Cornel West, the Harvard professor and political activist — have been training in nonviolent protest.

The University of Virginia Medical Center has canceled all elective surgery — standard procedure in preparation for events that could lead to mass casualties. Around town, some businesses plan to close.

“This whole thing feels like the prep to a Wild West shootout where the businesses shutter and the women shoo their children upstairs,” said Phillip Fassieux, 36, as he munched on an egg bagel at Bodo’s, a few blocks from the Lee statue. “This isn’t the wild, wild West. This is modern-day Charlottesville, where we’re supposed to be better suited to engage with each other.”

With the university, founded by Jefferson in 1819, as its centerpiece, Charlottesville is a politically progressive city; nearly 80 percent of voters here cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential race.

But it is also a city steeped in Southern history, one that still wrestles with the legacy of slavery. According to Jalane Schmidt, a professor of religious studies at the university, 52 percent of the residents of Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County — 14,000 people in all — were enslaved during the Civil War. Jefferson, still revered here, was himself a slave owner.

Eugene Williams, 89, a former head of the local N.A.A.C.P., served sweet tea on the front porch of his house on Ridge Street one day this week and recalled the days when he was not allowed to dine at local restaurants. He favors keeping the Lee statue because he wants people to remember the Jim Crow era.

“This statue has a lesson to teach us,” he said.

The debate over the statue began about a year and a half ago, when an African-American high school student here started a petition to have it removed. Wes Bellamy, the city’s vice mayor and the only black member of the City Council, took up the cause, and the Council set up a commission. After public hearings, it recommended either that the statue be relocated to another park or that the city add historical context so that the monument could “transform in place.”

Instead, City Council members voted 3 to 2 in April to sell the statue. The next month, a judge issued an injunction, keeping the statue in place for six months.

“Charlottesville kind of made itself a target by deciding they wanted to remove this statue, and by stringing the whole thing out,” said Douglas Laycock, a University of Virginia law professor who is planning to give a talk on free speech Saturday as part of a “day of reflective conversation” organized by the university.

zLast night’s rally was, as noted, a preview of the rally that was intended to take place today and, as the morning broke, there were forces gathering, and counter-protesters also arriving in what seemed from observation on television at least to be far greater numbers. Even before the rally was set to begin at noon, though, there were interactions between the two groups that quickly devolved into a brief outburst of violence. As a result, the local, county, and state police that had come out in force to ensure the peace quickly stepped in and cleared the area around the Lee statue of both groups and it’s now unclear whether today’s planned protest will take place or not. The protesters, meanwhile, say that they will be in the Charlottesville area all weekend so the prospect for further clashes with counter-protesters or police later today, tonight, or tomorrow remains a distinct possibility.

This being 2017, there are numerous reporters in town covering the event and posting live updates on Twitter. Here are a few examples of what they’ve witnessed:

Additionally, we’ve heard from several politicians, including national Republicans such as House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, RNC Chairwoman Romma Romney McDaniel, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, Virginia elected officials such as Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, and Governor McAuliffe, and finally, after several hours of silence, the President of the United States:

The truth, of course, is that Donald Trump’s candidacy and Presidency have given some sense of legitimacy to what is now being called the “alt-right,” but which is in reality just the modern day manifestation of the same hatred and racism represented by the Confederacy itself, by the groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, and by the neo-Nazi and other far right groups that have long lived in the shadows of American politics. To a greater degree than ever before, these groups have become more assertive and more outspoken in the years since Trump broke onto the political scene, and especially since Steve Bannon, the co-founder of Breitbart News who has stated openly in the past that he started the site with the intent that it would become a voice for the “alt-right,” became one of Trump’s top advisers. Even if these people don’t speak for the President, and I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt there and accept his word that they don’t, the reality is that it has been his rhetoric that has given them a voice and his advisers who have welcomed them. Most recently, for example, controversial White House aide Sebastian Gorka has said that people should stop criticizing white supremacists so much:

Wednesday, Gorka appeared on Breitbart News Daily, the radio show of his former employer. Gorka responded to criticism stemming from a previous media appearance on MSNBC where he said “[t]here’s no such thing as a lone wolf” attack. The concept, according to Gorka, was “invented by the last administration to make Americans stupid.”

The idea of a “lone wolf attack,” Gorka says, is a ruse to point blame away from al Qaeda and ISIS when “[t]here has never been a serious attack or a serious plot that was unconnected from ISIS or al Qaeda.” Critics were quick to point to the example of Timothy McVeigh, who was not connected to ISIS or al Qaeda and killed 168 people when he bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

On Wednesday, Gorka lashed out at “at [New York Times reporter] Maggie Haberman and her acolytes in the fake news media, who immediately have a conniption fit” and brought up McVeigh. He added that “white men” and “white supremacists” are not “the problem.”

It’s this constant, “Oh, it’s the white man. It’s the white supremacists. That’s the problem.” No, it isn’t, Maggie Haberman. Go to Sinjar. Go to the Middle East, and tell me what the real problem is today. Go to Manchester.

Gorka noted that the Oklahoma City bombing was 22 years ago, which is true. But since 9/11, right-wing extremists — almost always white men and frequently white supremacists — have been far more deadly domestically than Muslim extremists. A study found that in the first 13.5 years after 9/11, Muslim extremists were responsible for 50 deaths in the United States. Meanwhile, “right-wing extremists averaged 337 attacks per year in the decade after 9/11, causing a total of 254 fatalities.”

This is the environment that is giving aid and comfort to the torch-wielding hate mob that has gathered in Charlottesville this weekend.

Update: There are now reports on Twitter and cable news that a car has hit counter-protesters in Charlottesville, but it’s still unclear if this was an accident or a deliberate act:

Update: President Trump spoke on the Charlottesville violence just moments ago:

Update: This photo speaks volumes:

FILED UNDER: Environment, Policing, Race and Politics, US Politics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. teve tory says:
  2. al-Ameda says:

    Eugene Williams, 89, a former head of the local N.A.A.C.P., served sweet tea on the front porch of his house on Ridge Street one day this week and recalled the days when he was not allowed to dine at local restaurants. He favors keeping the Lee statue because he wants people to remember the Jim Crow era.

    “This statue has a lesson to teach us,” he said.

    Today, Richmond is both the city of Robert E Lee and of Arthur Ashe. Personally, I prefer to remember and honor Arthur Ashe.

  3. Gustopher says:

    The Southern Strategy continues.

    Put party over country, and embrace the racists to get their votes, and you legitimize them so they show up in public. And the Republican Party has been embracing the racists for half a century, ever since the Democrats stopped.

    We can’t get rid of racists, but surely we can get them to slither back under their rocks.

  4. MarkedMan says:

    Note that the tweet on Trump’s official account decried “violence” but very carefully did not put he blame for that violence anywhere. Remember, his father was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally and Trump oversaw a rental operation that marked applicants for apartments with a big “C” for “Colored”. Trump is a racist, as are many, many of his followers. The Republican Party made an absolutely conscious and deliberate decision to cultivate racists with their Southern Strategy starting in 1964. As senior Republican leaders said then, the belief that the Republicans could bring the racists into the party only for their time in their voting booths was naive. Eventually these racists took over the party, as predicted. The Republicans now have a thuggish racist as their national leader and our president, to the disgrace of our country.

  5. Mister Bluster says:

    Which Donald Trump can we Trust?
    Today?
    “We must ALL be united & condemn all that hate stands for,” Trump wrote in a Twitter message. “There is no place for this kind of violence in America.” Reuters

    -OR-

    Every day before today:

    Trump suggested he wished he were closer to a protester being escorted from his rally so that he could “punch him in the face.”

    Still, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to blame Trump for their injuries—and, in one case, blaming him for their own actions. Matthew Heimbach, a white-supremacist leader accused of attacking a black woman at a Trump campaign rally in Kentucky last March, filed a defense answer to the plaintiffs’ complaint. last month laying the responsibility at Trump’s feet. “Defendant herein acted pursuant to the directives and requests of Donald J. Trump and Donald J. Trump for President Inc. and any liability must be shifted to one or both of them,” the answer reads. “Through out the course of the campaign, Trump defendants urged Trump supporters to assist in the removal of so called ‘demonstrators’ and ‘protesters.’” (A month before the Kentucky rally, Trump had promised to pay the legal fees for supporters “who knock the crap out of” protesters. Days later, at another rally, he suggested he wished he were closer to a protester being escorted from his rally so that he could “punch him in the face.”) Vanity Fair

  6. MarkedMan says:

    I just watched the video of the car. There is no way this was an accident. If it turns out to be a racist, will the Republicans denounce him as a terrorist? Assuming he has Christian beliefs will they call out his fellow Christians for not turning him in? Of course not. The modern Republican Party leadership has no absolute standards or morals. They will do anything to promote their side and tear down their “opposition”.

    If it turns out it was a counter protester who thought they were going after the alt-right groups, well, I have no hesitation in branding them a terrorist. And if they espoused these violent views to their families or friends or fellow church or mosque members, than they should be ashamed of themselves if they did not report him.

  7. MarkedMan says:

    @Mister Bluster: Mr. Bluster I think you are misreading his tweet. He, or his spokesperson, very carefully condemned the violence but didn’t lay any blame for the violence. You can bet his racist supporters are noting this omission. It was a “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” to them.

  8. de stijl says:

    Has Breitbart called this a false flag operation yet?

  9. mwh191 says:

    @MarkedMan: Yes, exactly what trump did. And in his televised address he blamed the violence “on many sides, on many sides”. Of course trump is unable to blame his base, unable to hold his base accountable.

  10. Daryl's other brother, Daryll says:

    Trumps people.
    Un-flippin’-believable.

  11. MarkedMan says:

    @mwh191: Do you have a link to that address?

  12. teve tory says:

    Donald J. Trump‏Verified account
    @realDonaldTrump
    Follow
    More
    Am in Bedminster for meetings & press conference on V.A. & all that we have done, and are doing, to make it better-but Charlottesville sad!

    11:00 AM – 12 Aug 2017

    .

    Kaili Joy Gray‏Verified account
    @KailiJoy
    Following
    More
    Kaili Joy Gray Retweeted Donald J. Trump

    Are you fucking kidding me?

    11:02 AM – 12 Aug 2017

    Trump is such a dumbass loser.

  13. teve tory says:

    During a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday, former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke said the event is in line with President Trump’s “promises.”

    “This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back,” Duke said. “We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in. That’s why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he’s going to take our country back.”

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/david-duke-charlottesville-rally-trump-promises

  14. KM says:

    They’re reporting at least one death, multiple injuries.

  15. george says:

    @al-Ameda:

    Honor Ashe, but its a good idea to remember Lee. Forgetting the past makes it easier to repeat its mistakes. Lee sounds like a particularly good one to remember, because from what I heard many aspects of his life were honorable, and its a good reminder how much of what is evil is done by otherwise good people with one or two tragic flaws.

    However, arguably a statue isn’t the best way to remember but not honor.

  16. de stijl says:

    Why won’t Obama say “radical Islamic terrorism?”

    Remember when that was a thing?

  17. Scott says:

    Back in 2009, DHS issued a report on the dangers to the country of right wing extremism. The outrage from the right (including Fox News) caused that report to be suppressed. Now we are reaping the results of that political correctness.

    https://fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf

    I wonder what all the denouncers of flag burning are thinking as they see radical right wing anti-Americans wave the Nazi and Confederate flags.

    Perhaps we need to reinstitute Reconstruction.

  18. DrDaveT says:

    @george:

    Forgetting the past makes it easier to repeat its mistakes.

    I’m tired of the straw man that asserts, tacitly or explicitly, that “honoring the past with statues” and “forgetting the past” are the only alternatives on the table.

    By all means, remember Robert E. Lee. Teach his story in our schools. Talk about both the good and the bad, the way we do about Thomas Jefferson or Patrick Henry. Have exhibits about him in our museums and historic houses. But stop honoring him as a hero, anywhere.

  19. Scott says:

    @de stijl: I’m waiting for my tweet from Ted Cruz so I can throw that back into his ferret face.

  20. MarkedMan says:

    mwh191 was on target. Here’s Trump’s quote saying the blame in on all sides:

    “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides.”

    This is the leader of the Republican Party, and our nation, much to our shame and dishonor. Never in my life did I think we would see a Nazi/Klan sympathizer as president. And the Republican Leadership continues to carry water for him. Disgraceful.

  21. Mikey says:

    @MarkedMan: He’ll take to the Twitter in minutes with the strongest words against a terrorist attack somewhere else (as long as the perpetrators were Muslim), but here in America it’s all watered-down weasel words.

    It’s obvious why, he doesn’t want to alienate his base. David Duke reminded him who put him where he is.

    “On many side. On many sides.” Only one side murdered someone today, Mr. Trump, and it was YOUR SIDE.

  22. george says:

    @DrDaveT:

    By all means, remember Robert E. Lee. Teach his story in our schools. Talk about both the good and the bad, the way we do about Thomas Jefferson or Patrick Henry. Have exhibits about him in our museums and historic houses. But stop honoring him as a hero, anywhere.

    So how is that different than my saying “However, arguably a statue isn’t the best way to remember but not honor” ?

    Even more interesting, what led you to conclude I suggested keeping the statue?

  23. HarvardLaw92 says:

    @Mikey:

    Agreed. He broke it, he owns it.

    The vehicle appears to have had Ohio plates.

  24. george says:

    @de stijl:

    I’m willing to bet that most people who criticized Obama for not saying “radical Islamic terrorist” have no problem justifying Trump not saying “Nazi white supremacist.”

    Conversely, I’m also willing to be most people who justified Obama’s careful phrasing are criticizing Trump for his careful phrasing.

    But most of all I think its just politicians being politicians. That Obama was a million times better President than Trump doesn’t change that basic, political core.

  25. MarkedMan says:

    Equating Trump ‘s weasel words with Obama’s careful phrasing is a poor comparison. What the racist Republicans want when they insist on “Islamic Terrorism” would be the equivalent if we were calling for what happened in Charlotte to be called “Southern White Terrorism” rather than the more accurate “dirtbag nazi racist terrorism”. And although the media accurately and correctly points out when a terrorist is committing atrocities in the name of Islam you rarely see it mentioned that the Klan starts every meeting with a Christian prayer, or that the Olympic bomber was sheltered for years by his fellow christians because he acted in the name of his Christian god.

  26. Mister Bluster says:

    @MarkedMan:..Mr. Bluster I think you are misreading his tweet.

    I posted Pud’s message as it was reported by Reuters.
    The answer to Which Donald Trump can we Trust? can always be: Not even when he is sleeping.

  27. DrDaveT says:

    @george:

    Even more interesting, what led you to conclude I suggested keeping the statue?

    I didn’t — I was actually agreeing with you, and reacting to the meme I’ve heard frequently before and that you had brought up. Looking at what I wrote, I can see how it reads as if I were assigning that meme to you. Sorry about that; I’ll try to be more careful in the future.

  28. Hal_10000 says:

    Heartbreaking. I lived in Charlottesville for six years. Went to grad school at UVa. It is a truly wonderful city. It enrages that these alt-right white supremacist cesspools have decided to congregate there. I am an absolute supporter of free speech, so they have a right to march and chant their slogans. In fact, I want them to reveal their bigotry for all to see. But that right extends to counter-protesters too. Let them hear how their view is tiny, backward and barbaric.

    And whoever drove into that crowd is a terrorist.

  29. An Interested Party says:

    Somebody tell us again about how Confederate worship is about culture, heritage, and history and not about racism and treason…oh, and don’t forget, whatever Trump says is in jest and shouldn’t be taken seriously…the $hit that comes out of his mouth is only meant to rile up his political enemies, so don’t take the bait…or at least that was what we were told on other threads around here…

  30. Senyordave says:

    You’d think with all the times Trump has labeled people as haters he could have actually called a bunch of white supremacists haters. But I guess you have to stick with your base.

  31. dmichael says:

    @george: I tire of the comments from those who haven’t examined history, especially the American Civil War. R.E. Lee was a cruel slave owner (redundant?) and violated his oath to support the United States and then took up arms against it. He was dishonorable, a traitor and committed sedition. The fact that he made some risky decisions that paid off during the War only means that he caused more deaths including those of his troops of whom he caused more deaths as a percentage than ANY other general on either side of the War. Let the statute stand with a plaque containing these facts.

  32. Paul Hooson says:

    The Mayor of Charlottesville, who incidentally is Jewish, and the Vice Mayor, who is African American, were more than fair by allowing all sides to peacefully protest. However, the far right responded with racists tweets, antisemitie and racist chants in the streets, mob violence and even a murderous episode with a car plowing into counterprotesters.

    I’m Jewish, but personally disappointed at the examples of antisemitism like this, although in the spirit of the 1st Amendment, the Mayor and city officials did give these people every opportunity to peacefully express their views, but they resorted to racism and violence instead.

  33. An Interested Party says:

    You’d think with all the times Trump has labeled people as haters he could have actually called a bunch of white supremacists haters.

    Considering he can’t even condemn Putin, it shouldn’t be surprising that he won’t specifically condemn racists…

    We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides — on many sides.

    What a pathetic excuse for a human being, much less a president…

  34. Stormy Dragon says:

    Condolences to the family of the young woman killed today, and best regards to all of those injured, in Charlottesville, Virginia. So sad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2017

    Jesus Christ, will someone please sit Trump down and tell him that “so sad” verbal tick makes him sound like a moron?

  35. mike shupp says:

    @al-Ameda:

    Hmmm. I’m pondering an alternate reality where the mayor and city council left the Confederate statues as they were but spent say 250 thousand to add an equally imposing statue of some prominent resident — Sally Hemmings, for example — , with a couple of days of ceremonies to commemorate something like “Reflections on History in Charlottesville.” (Oddly enough, this is exactly what Richmond did, putting up a statue of Arthur Ashe.)

    It strikes me that had the city pursued that course, it would have answered the objections of liberals protesting the glorification of the Confederacy, without yielding ground to the — now completely predictable — alt-right yahoos. In fact, had a batch of angry white men with flags and guns appeared to protest a statue commemorating a Negro or Asian historical figure, it would have been obvious to even the most moronic Republican voter that conservatives were stepping over some sort of moral boundary, rather than liberals.

    As it is, we’re getting another far-from-therapeutic dose of “Both Sides Do It!”.

  36. teve tory says:

    these people are…what’s the word….oh yeah, deplorable!

  37. Stormy Dragon says:

    @mike shupp:

    I’d like to see something like what several countries did after the soviet unions collapsed:

    Memento Park
    Fallen Monument Park
    Grūtas Park

    Move all the confederate statues to single spot where they can be presented in an accurate historical context.

  38. teve tory says:

    Apparently the Red Wings and Fred Perry are super unhappy that the alt-right dipshits are wearing their clothes as uniforms, and the Red Wings are even considering legal action.

    It’s much easier to fix that, guys. Have the CEO go on tv and announce a $1 million gift to Black Lives Matter, the United Negro College Fund, or HBCUs. The nazi deplorables will have burned all your gear by nightfall.

  39. george says:

    @An Interested Party:

    Its definitely about racism, since that was why they wanted to separate.

    Its also about treason, because they lost. If they’d won then it’d be about independence. What makes their attempt at independence bad (when many are good), is the reason for their attempt (see above: racism).

  40. Yank says:

    This would be really sad anywhere, but this especially hits me hard since I am a UVA alumni.

    On the bright side, I have said it before this is the last hoorah for this type of people. The days of getting ahead just by virtue of being a white male is coming to an end. There will be more days like this, but we have to remember we are winning this war.

  41. teve tory says:

    Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit, got temporarily suspended from Twitter last year for saying about liberal protesters on the street, “Run Them Down.”

    Here in Florida they’re trying to make it legal to ‘accidentally’ run over protesters.

    ‘Common-Sense Legislation’ Would Shield Drivers Who Run Over Protesters

    The modern GOP: Stupid people with shitty values.

  42. MarkedMan says:

    I know there are many Republicans who will insist on turning a blind eye to Trump’s obvious and odious Klan and Nazi sympathies. But the Nazis themselves see it clearly:

    “Trump comments were good,” wrote the Daily Stormer, a leading American neo-Nazi website associated with the so-called “alt-right” movement. “He didn’t attack us. He just said the nation should come together. Nothing specific against us,” it said.

    “He said he loves us all,” the site continued. “No condemnation at all.”

    The Stormer also noted that, following his press conference, Trump dodged a question about white nationalists supporting him. “When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room,” it said. “Really, really good. God bless him.”

  43. CSK says:

    The guy who mowed down all those people is James Alex Fields, 20, of Maumee, Ohio.

  44. CSK says:

    @MarkedMan:

    The Daily Stormer gave Trump its official endorsement during the campaign.

  45. MarkedMan says:

    And, just to tie it off for any Republican that is still trying to deny that the leader of their party is a Klan sympathizer:

    Journalist Ken Schwencke tweeted that after repeated inquiries as to whether the president would denounce white supremacists, the only response from the White House was that “on background, the president condemns all acts of violence.”

  46. CSK says:

    @MarkedMan:

    Trump also received the support of the Klan newspaper, The Crusader.

  47. Just 'nutha ig'nint cracker says:

    “You’d think with all the times Trump has labeled people as haters he could have actually called a bunch of white supremacists haters.”

    Nope, I wouldn’t think that at all. Sorry. It just wouldn’t occur to me that he could do that.

  48. An Interested Party says:

    @george: Indeed, I am aware of all of that…unfortunately, quite a few people in this country don’t see it that way…

  49. Gustopher says:

    How about replacing the statue with a statue of slaves on the auction block, or white and colored water fountains? Or put one on each side…

    Lots of ways to celebrate the history.

  50. Guarneri says:

    You guys have truly lost your minds.

  51. HarvardLaw92 says:

    Just noticed that this clown is a registered Republican.

    I can’t say that I’m surprised.

  52. Kylopod says:

    I’ve been following the so-called white nationalist movement for years, including reading a hefty book about their attempts to penetrate the mainstream (Leonard Zeskind’s Blood and Politics, from 2009). But until the rise of Trump, I never would have imagined we’d get to this point, of a presidential administration giving open and frank support to these people.

  53. Matt says:

    @Guarneri: Oh please elaborate on what you mean.

  54. Lit3Bolt says:

    @Guarneri:

    Nazi Punks F*** Off

  55. Lit3Bolt says:

    Congrats, Alt-righters.

    You’ve just ensured that all confederate statues and memorials will be melted down into slag.

    Please, continue to whine and yelp about your “heritage,” like the beaten, whipped, impotent curs that you emulate and worship.

  56. Mister Bluster says:

    @Yank:..On the bright side, I have said it before this is the last hoorah for this type of people.

    Back in the 60’s when I was in college and active in the civil rights movement I was sure all the white power bigots would either see the error of their ways or die off in 10 or 20 years.
    Fifty years later I am not so naive.
    In 2015, the number of KKK chapters in the US grew from 72 to 190.

  57. Kylopod says:

    @Mister Bluster: A word of warning: The Sun is a Murdoch-owned tabloid, and some of the information is very unreliable. For info on hate groups, it’s better to consult the SPLC or ADL.

  58. Kylopod says:

    @Lit3Bolt: It’s funny, I just happened to be listening to “Holiday in Cambodia” before I saw your message. I wonder how many people got the reference.

  59. Mister Bluster says:

    @Kylopod:..and some of the information is very unreliable

    So those were not real KKK members in those photos?
    Maybe that was all staged in Area 51 like the moon landing.

  60. mike shupp says:

    @CSK:

    …and, according to conservatives, ” I saw a video that says the murdering driver was a dem operative that drove into the antifa group” (Okay, according to ONE conservative at a nominally non-political website I grequent.)

    Impressive isn’t it, only 20 years old and already the kid has a high paid political job that really matters! America is so just so damned great!

  61. Kylopod says:

    @Mister Bluster:

    So those were not real KKK members in those photos?
    Maybe that was all staged in Area 51 like the moon landing.

    What do pictures have anything to do with this? You quoted from the article a specific stat about the growth in KKK chapters in 2015.

    And note that I’m not saying this info is necessarily false–just that the fact that The Sun said it doesn’t make it true.

    This is a paper that once published a completely bogus story about Japanese people being sold sheep under the pretense they were poodles.

  62. Mister Bluster says:

    THE YEAR IN HATE AND EXTREMISM
    Klan chapters grew from 72 in 2014 to 190 last year,..
    SPLC

  63. Kylopod says:

    @Mister Bluster: That’s better. Now how hard was that?

  64. Mikey says:

    @mike shupp:

    …and, according to conservatives, ” I saw a video that says the murdering driver was a dem operative that drove into the antifa group”

    They’re spreading this fake news based on an already-debunked assertion the car’s previous owner was driving it, even though the car’s previous owner was 600 miles away in Michigan, at a wedding, with several dozen people who can confirm his presence.

  65. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @george:

    because from what I heard many aspects of his life were honorable,

    Lee has been romanticized out of existence. What ever ‘honor’ he had was reserved for white people.

  66. CSK says:

    @mike shupp: @Mikey:

    Well, last night I read on Lucianne.com that Fields was a total innocent who was merely trying to escape the vicious mob that tried to drag him from his car and beat him to death, and that’s why he drove down a long street, rammed them, backed up, and rammed them again.

    Oh, and the part of the video that shows the mob surrounding the car before the ramming is being suppressed by the authorities, who are trying to frame Fields because he’s a white guy.

    Again, I didn’t make this up. I wish I had.

  67. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Senyordave:

    he could have actually called a bunch of white supremacists haters.

    But they aren’t haters, they love him.

  68. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @MarkedMan:

    “on background, the president condemns all acts of violence.”

    Except for acts of violence at his rallies, he celebrates those.

  69. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Guarneri: You however never had one.

  70. Franklin says:

    What can I say about this? My everyday experiences suggest that there aren’t many people like this, and then this sort of evidence smacks me in the face. The picture with the black officer is sickening. It truly makes me sad (sorry to use Trump’s favorite word, but I think I mean it in a different sense).

  71. Bob The Arqubusier says:

    Let’s recap what happened:

    –A group of (largely despicable) group of people decide to Peacably Assemble to express their political opinions, apply for and obtain a permit to do so.

    –Another group decides that that ain’t happening. If they can’t keep them from Assembling, they’ll make damned sure it isn’t Peacable. They arrange their own “counter-protest,” not bothering to get the permits needed.

    –When the violence breaks out, the authorities step in and separate the groups, the Antifa fascists march off and demonstrate their fury, marching through un-closed streets and blocking traffic, obstructing non-participants and depriving them of their rights to freely move about the city.

    –My mother taught me that I should not walk in the street, only using crosswalks, to avoid getting hit by a car. Apparently these Antifa fascists weren’t blessed with mothers as wise as I am, as they walked right down the street — and got hit by a car.

    Here’s the Antifa fascists hypocrisy in full display: they routinely denounce their opponents as subhuman, lacking in empathy and compassion and respect for humanity, evil, cruel, and vicious — and then march right down the street in the middle of traffic, literally betting their lives that their opponents possess the qualities that they deny they have. If they sincerely believed that their opponents were the monsters they portray them as, then they’d expect to be run down when they give them the opportunity.

    The actions of that driver — if it turns out to have been deliberate, and while that looks likely has not yet been proven — were as predictable as they were despicable.

  72. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….
    gasp…. wheeze… Did you break your brain farting that out?

  73. Mikey says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier: You’re utter garbage.

  74. Bob The Arqubusier says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: Don’t you have some traffic to go play in?

  75. HarvardLaw92 says:

    @Mikey:

    You’re too kind.

  76. Bob The Arqubusier says:

    @Mikey: You’re utter garbage.

    So, it’s OK to dehumanize someone when they really aren’t human?

    Hey, Mikey, if you can get past the ad hominem attacks (which are technically forbidden here, but never enforced), why don’t you point out what facts I cited were wrong.

    C’mon, Mikey. If these protesters (the ones who got the permit, not the Antifa fascists) were as horrible human beings as you say they are, then you would have expected at least one of them to run their car through the people playing politics in traffic.

    So, were you lying when you said that those people were as horrible as you said they were, or are you so stupid that you didn’t foresee “utter garbage” people acting like utter garbage? That people with no sense of decency and humanity and compassion, and filled with hatred and ignorance, and incredibly dangerous and violent, would actually act like that?

    Are you stupid or a liar, Mikey? Seems like a pretty simple choice.

  77. Daryl's other brother, Daryll says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier:
    The one in which J-E-N-O-S, an oppressed white male and an eternal victim of everything but his own abject failures, defends Nazi’s, racism, and murder in the name of those things.

  78. HarvardLaw92 says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier:

    So, to paraphrase here, you’re arguing that we can expect these white supremacist Trumpkins to behave as they did – that it is indeed predictable – so we should take preemptive action against them before they engage?

  79. teve tory says:

    If we had a pie filter here I wouldn’t even have to scroll past Bob the Deplorable comments.

    #FirstWorldProblems

  80. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier: Let me ask what else you mommy taught you Bob:

    Did she teach you not to run over pedestrians?
    Did she teach you that everyone has the right to free speech?
    Did she teach you that killing one’s political opponents is wrong?
    Did she teach you to not excuse egregious violence with obfuscation and victim blaming?
    Did she teach you to stand up against white supremacists/Nazis where ever they turn up?

    Because my mommy taught me all those things. She taught me something else too. She taught me to not say stupid things. Apparently your mommy missed a few lessons.

  81. Mikey says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier:

    So, it’s OK to dehumanize someone when they really aren’t human?

    OK, then. You’re a garbage human, defending and justifying and excusing the murderous terrorism of other garbage humans.

    I’ll tell you what I did expect: I did expect you to show up here and do that.

  82. KM says:

    @Bob The Arqubusier:

    –My mother taught me that I should not walk in the street, only using crosswalks, to avoid getting hit by a car. Apparently these Antifa fascists weren’t blessed with mothers as wise as I am, as they walked right down the street — and got hit by a car.

    I love how soulless asshats like you try this little bit of “wisdom” to justify your horrible beliefs when in every jurisdiction in this country PEDESTRIANS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. No, you do not get to mow down people because they are in your way, loser – that’s vehicular homicide. You need to be in control of the vehicle, yield to foot traffic and not take your car into dangerous or restricted situations. This was not a highway forbidden to pedestrians, it was a plain old city street where they have priority. Some kind of freaky logic makes you people think you can just go wherever you want and to hell with what’s in your way, especially if it’s people you hate. Sorry, roads don’t work like that so what little justification you think you have, you really really don’t.

    If some antifa nutcase decided to drive through the Nazis, you’d be screaming left and right. Instead, you support the American terrorists who’ve adopted ISIS-style attacks to kill their fellow citizens. Mikey was being kind – garbage is far too polite to describe your sick argument.

  83. teve tory says:
  84. Mister Bluster says:

    @Kylopod:..I am so glad you approve. Please forward me your eMail address and I will send you future posts for your offical stamp of acceptance.
    Get over yourself.

  85. teve tory says:

    3:46 PM:

    Trump comments were good. He didn’t attack us. He just said the nation should come together. Nothing specific against us.

    He said that we need to study why people are so angry, and implied that there was hate… on both sides!

    So he implied the antifa are haters.

    There was virtually no counter-signaling of us at all.

    He said he loves us all.

    Also refused to answer a question about White Nationalists supporting him.

    No condemnation at all.

    When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room.

    Really, really good.

    God bless him.

    https://www.dailystormer.com/unitetheright-charlottesville-live-updates/

  86. Tyrell says:

    @DrDaveT: Jefferson: well, he is under attack now. His statue has been defaced several times and instructors at UVA ( his alma mater !) have been asked not to quote Jefferson.
    Washington has also been attacked.
    Before long it will be Madison, Grant, Sheridan, the Roosevelts, Truman, Henry Ford, Edison, Webster, Marshall.

  87. Daryl's other brother, Daryll says:

    @Tyrell:
    UVA was not Jeffersons alms mater. He founded it.
    You seem upset by all this…yet you voted for it.

  88. Tyrell says:

    The various actions that took place can be examined and summarized.
    The police were behind from the start. They were undermanned, under equipped, and not organized.
    The “demonstrators”, and I am talking about both slides hear, came armed for bear. That should have sent signals right early on.
    The police should have surrounded and separated the “White superemists” group out and given them about 20 minutes to say there piece and then escort them out of town. The other groups (BLM et al) should have been stopped and turned around. No way should they have been within 4 miles of each other.
    What is shameful is that this was probably moving in weekend at UVA, as it was at many colleges. They did not need a bunch of yahoos and lunatics coming in and taking over.
    I saw several instances of the police being pelted and assaulted with water balloons (which may have contained infectious materials), rocks, sticks, and other dangerous objects. Video should be able to identify perpetrators and the unsubs. Since many crossed state lines they have violated federal laws and now the F.B.I. and US Marshalls can hunt them down for the animals that they truly are.
    Some will talk about freedom of speech and that the Bill of Rights gives these groups the freedom to demonstrate and spill there ville infective slanders (Westboro Church). This is true, but they’re are limits and responsibilities connected to speech and expression.They’re right to speech and assembly does not include throwing stuff, pushing, fighting, or disobeying police. Some of these judges perhaps next time they should come out and help the police on the lines: see what it is like out there. “You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater” Many of those people did not show any responsibility.
    But many others were responsible and I did see some video feeds of them carrying on meaningful and logical conversations with each other; shaking hands and getting along.
    For the last few years this is what we have witnessed time and again at Ferguson, Baltimore, Charlotte, Berkeley, and some other places. In many instances the police are held back, which later proves to be a big misteak; as the violence, looting, and fires always start up.
    These events seam to start out peaceful, but then as the darkness arrives the anarchists and insurrectionists are sent in and cannibalize the event. The peaceful law abiding people leave. I talked to a policeman and news reporter who were right there on the streets in Charlotte a while back during that mess. They said everything was peaceful at first until the outsiders arrived.
    I have watched some of the main line news reports today, but most is a lot of commentary and opinions, not much news today. So I will let things settle a few days and then check out my other news sources.
    I would like to here some more opinions about the issue of freedom of speech and how it figures in these types of fiascoes.

  89. Kylopod says:

    @Mister Bluster: This isn’t about me, it’s about the fact that you quoted from a frikkin’ tabloid.

    Don’t for a second think my complaint is made any less valid by the fact that the info turned out to be true. I already said I wasn’t saying it was necessarily false. The National Enquirer was right about John Edwards, and they’ve been right about other stuff, but that does not make them a credible source. Another Murdoch operation, Fox News, features plenty of legitimate news stories. Occasionally they’ve even revealed information damaging to the GOP (it was Fox reporters who proved the Montana candidate was lying in his account of the tussle with a reporter). None of that changes the general truth that they are a pro-GOP propaganda network.

    Even this particular article from which you got the stat is incredibly sensationalistic–it reminds me of the segments Geraldo used to do in the ’90s on hate groups. This is the headline: “KLANDID CAMERA: Shocking photos from inside the Ku Klux Klan Show, a KKK wedding and a bizarre initiation ceremony involving a blindfold and a noose.” That isn’t serious reporting, it’s an attempt to draw in readers through lurid imagery.

    By going to the SPLC you were doing exactly what I asked you to do in the first place: finding a more credible source to corroborate this data. There’s no reason to get snippy about it.

  90. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Kylopod:

    There’s no reason to get snippy about it.

    Yeah there was.

  91. Mister Bluster says:

    @Kylopod:.. This isn’t about me (of course not)…you were doing exactly what I asked you to do in the first place: (wait a minute)

    Snip Snip

    (Too bad the thumbs are blind or you could go after the 6 up voters
    who endorsed my post and make a day of it.)

  92. Mister Bluster says:

    …or maybe you should attempt to purge the 3 wise down voters registering their disapproal of this condescending post:

    Kylopod says:
    Sunday, August 13, 2017 at 04:35
    @Mister Bluster: That’s better. Now how hard was that?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 3

  93. Kylopod says:

    @Mister Bluster: You’re right. That comment was condescending, and I apologize. But I stand by my general point about quoting from a tabloid.

  94. Mister Bluster says:

    Apology accepted.

  95. mike shupp says:

    @Mikey:

    So there was about 00.01% of truth in that conservative account, rather than absolutely 00.00%. I’m stunned.