Virginia: Governor Declares State of Emergency Following Violent Clashes At “Unite The Right” Protest
President Trump has condemned the violence.
Virginia’s governor Terry McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency after violent clashes erupted between “Unite the Right,” who were in Charlottesville to protest the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue, and counter-protesters.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
The governor of Virginia declared a state of emergency Saturday after violent clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville.
Police ordered crowds to disperse as chaotic and violent scenes erupted around the city. Groups clashed in fist fights, with batons and threw newspaper boxes at each other. Some carried sticks and shields, and wore helmets.
The planned demonstration by a white supremacist group was protesting the removal of a statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville.
. . . . Police declared an unlawful assembly in the city. and Gov. Terry McAuliffe decried the violence. “The acts and rhetoric in #Charlottesville over past 24 hours are unacceptable & must stop,” the governor tweeted. “A right to speech is not a right to violence.”
Governor McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency to aid state response to violence at Alt-Right rally in Charlottesville
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) August 12, 2017
The rally, scheduled to begin at noon, was cancelled this morning.
The Wall Street Journal continues:
Jason Kessler, the leader of a white supremacist group and organizer of the demonstration, said the rally was cancelled around 11:30 a.m. when the Charlottesville Police “declared an unlawful assembly and forced us to leave.”
“Our speakers, including Richard Spencer, were Maced by protesters on the way into the park and the police did nothing to stop them,” said Mr. Kessler, 33-years-old and the president of “Unity and Security for America.”
He had dubbed the demonstration “Unite the Right” and has been working with the American Civil Liberties Union to gain access to the park.
. . . . Men dressed in militia uniforms were carrying shields and openly carrying long guns, the Associated Press reported.
Officials had been preparing for the rally for months. Police instituted road closures around downtown, and many businesses in the popular open-air shopping mall opted to close for the day.Both local hospitals said they had taken precautions to prepare for an influx of patients and had extra staff on call.
Scene near Emancipation Park #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/xmEP3Y9i7N
— Tim Dodson (@Tim_Dodson) August 12, 2017
Folks said counter protesters were hit by a vehicle as they turned the corner. Medics are here. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/qQAIRy7YSN
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
ABC News has more details:
The state of Virginia shortly after declared the gathering unlawful and ordered both rallygoers and counterprotesters to “disperse immediately.”
The Virginia State Police posted videos on Facebook of officers breaking up the Unite the Right gathering and counterprotest . . .
One video shows an officer in announcing to milling crowds: “This gathering has been declared as to be an unlawful assembly; in the name of the Commonwealth, you are commanded to immediately disperse; if you do not disperse immediately you will be arrested.” Another video shows some of the crowd.
You can view the Virginia State Police’s Facebook page here.
The counter-protesters were organized; Cornel West spoke at last night’s counter-protest prayer service.
ABC News continues:
A mass prayer service was held at St. Paul’s Memorial Church on University Avenue that was organized in response to the rally, according to The Daily Progress, a local paper.
Dr. Cornel West, a prominent leftist philosopher and political activist, spoke at the prayer service, calling the “Unite the Right” rally the “biggest gathering of a hate-driven right wing in the history of this country in the last 30 to 35 years,” the Daily Progress reported.
So far, one person has been arrested and several have been injured. A car also plowed into a group of protesters on the street, but Fox News is now reporting that it’s not clear at this time that the driver was not trying to get away from the crowd that was throwing “projectiles.”
Video of car hitting anti-racist protestors. Let there be no confusion: this was deliberate terrorism. My prayers with victims. Stay home. pic.twitter.com/MUOZs71Pf4
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) August 12, 2017
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told Fox News that three vehicles had collided and multiple injuries, ranging from life-threatening to minor, had been reported. Geller added that the car seen backing away with a smashed hood in the above video had been located.
No arrests had been reported in connection with the incident and authorities said they had not determined whether the crash was intentional.
. . . . As of early afternoon, a single arrest has been reported. Local reports said a car has rammed into a group of counter-protesters, injuring an unknown amount of people. An Associated Press reporter said they witnessed at least one person on the ground receiving medical treatment.
. . . . The Virginia State Police tweeted that officers had made arrests following the unlawful assembly declaration. The Virginia National Guard has also been deployed.
Local police estimated that at least 6,000 people are in attendance. Among those expected to attend are Confederate heritage groups, KKK members, militia groups and “alt-right” activists, who generally espouse a mix of racism, white nationalism and populism.
Watch the report:
Charlottesville’s mayor was quick to blame President Trump for the planned protest.
Fox News continues:
Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer said he was disappointed that the white nationalists had come to his town and blamed President Donald Trump for inflaming racial prejudices with his campaign last year.
“I’m not going to make any bones about it. I place the blame for a lot of what you’re seeing in American today right at the doorstep of the White House and the people around the president.”
President Trump and Vice President Pence have both tweeted their condemnation of the violence that has taken place in Virginia.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/896420822780444672
I stand with @POTUS against hate & violence. U.S is greatest when we join together & oppose those seeking to divide us. #Charlottesville https://t.co/p76Y9xQCPL
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) August 12, 2017
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Comments
Had this been a Black Lives Matter march, the Governor would have been all for it.
In the Charlottsville rally, the violence was caused by the opposing “protesters”.
When Black Lives Matter holds a rally, they don’t need any opponents to start the violence. They do a great job of rioting. assaulting, looting and burning all by themselves.
And the police are ordered to let them have their fun.
Ahhh, the Left quick to fault Trump and the so called alt Right.
I guess the throwing of urine and poop by the so called Left is not provoking however.
Removing our history… hmm, remember when the Left was appalled at Isis for blowing up antiquities.
Not so much..
It’s looking like the driver was a nationalist who targeted the type of people the media favor. So expect wall to wall coverage, for days. The protesters against the nationalists will be getting all kinds of favorable press. Someone should teach the nationalist kooks how the culture works. The y just buried their cause, that is if it were really about the Civil War statues. I’m doubting it.
And the media swarm will be using Trump’s name in nearly every sentence.
White nationalists are alt-left, not alt-right. If you look closely at that crowd, there were no ‘CNN is ISIS’ signs, or MAGA hats, or pepe banners. This was Dem on Dem violence, neo-nazis vs. “antifa”.
Yup, the media will run with this as “right-wing violence” in an attempt to discredit real conservatives, it’s what they do, it fits their Narrative. Remember, Hitler was not of the right wing, he was a national socialist, the same as the alt-left people in this hate rally were.
I recommend just ignoring the news for the next few days, or weeks, or maybe forever, which is what I do.
You are indulging in a happy delusion. The Alt-Right named itself, and it has a set of principles. They are expressly anti-conservative, but not leftists.
rdmdawg: MAGA hats
There were Make America Great Again hats, as well as Confederate, white supremacist, and Nazi flags. Definitely right-wing. The car attacker reportedly had Pepe, a crowned figure of Trump, and references to Nazism on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Neo-nazis and white supremacists are celebrating Trump’s remarks about the Charlottesville riots
You can be “right-wing” and anti-conservative.
You DO understand this, right? I mean, Nixon was “right”, but a Progressive.
Ragspierre: You can be “right-wing” and anti-conservative.
Quite correct. The demonstrators are reactionaries, and far to the right of conventional conservatism.
Depends on your definitions of “right” and “left”, as well as “conservative”, “liberal”, etc. These things shift. I think people generally treat “conservative” and “right” as synonyms, so since they are not conservative (as that term is used today, to mean what used to be called “liberal”) they are also not on the right.
Put it this way: were Hitler and Mussolini, both avowed socialists, of the right or the left? In my lexicon they were of the left, exactly as much as their chief rivals, and the idea that they were of the right was pure propaganda by those rivals. Remember that those same rivals also accused Trotsky of being on the right.
Milhouse: Depends on your definitions of “right” and “left”, as well as “conservative”, “liberal”, etc.
We use the conventional definitions. The left advocates greater equality. The right advocates hierarchies. Conservatives advocate stability in traditional institutions, including traditional hierarchies. Liberals balance liberty and equality.
As history shows, authoritarianism can exist on the left or the right, and extremism can exist on the left or the right, extremism based on the belief that the ends justify the means.
Milhouse: These things shift.
The basic definitions have been relatively stable over time, but the center has been moving left since the Renaissance.
Milhouse: I think people generally treat “conservative” and “right” as synonyms
That isn’t consistent with standard usage. The Nazis are conventionally placed on the political right, but were hardly conservative.
Milhouse: Hitler and Mussolini, both avowed socialists, of the right or the left?
They both received their majority support from the right. Conservatives made common cause with fascists, hoping their more extreme policies would be constrained by standing institutions.
“Granted that the nineteenth century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the twentieth century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the “right”, a Fascist century.” — Benito Mussolini
Milhouse: In my lexicon they were of the left, exactly as much as their chief rivals, and the idea that they were of the right was pure propaganda by those rivals.
The vast majority of scholarship, then and now, and the vast majority of laypersons, then and now, placed Nazism on the reactionary right.
While extreme leftists, such as communists, advocate perfect equality; extreme rightists advocate perfect inequality, with the entire nation united under a single dictatorial leader, with all other nations subservient, and violence and war being the prime expression of national will.
http://zachriel.blogspot.com/2005/07/liberal-v-conservative.html
But this is more nuanced, Milhouse. These guys are “rightist” in the sense they are not Collectivists of the statist band, and yet they would use the state to impose racial norms. They advocate decidedly nationalist ideas, which are Collectivist but most people don’t understand that. They are decidedly racist, which is against all conservative ideals.
So it’s hard to say they are right or left, though it is easy to say they are NOT conservative.
Ragspierre: These guys are “rightist” in the sense they are not Collectivists of the statist band, and yet they would use the state to impose racial norms.
They are on the political right because they advocate for a hierarchical society. They are not conservatives because they would tear up modern society to achieve their goals. There are statists on the political left and on the political right.
Ragspierre: They are decidedly racist, which is against all conservative ideals.
That is clearly not a correct application of the definition of conservative; for instance, segregationists in the 1960s were universally described as conservatives.
I believe it to be more of a circle with Democratic Consitutional Republics and Democratic Welfare Republics are about at the 4 And 8 oclock position and can somewhat Coexist.
Similar to difference between us and Canada. .
The Radical Right and Left are at the 11 and 1 oclock positions.
They share the ” Ends justify the means ” and irrational propensity of violence.
They are closer than they think.
If you look closely at that crowd, there were no ‘CNN is ISIS’ signs, or MAGA hats, or pepe banners.
Byron York says that “reportedly”, there were many MAGA hats. I don’t know whose reporting he’s quoting, though.
But he also says Duke spoke; does that mean the rally actually got started?
Milhouse: Byron York says that “reportedly”, there were many MAGA hats.
It’s not such a stretch to think some harrumphing veteran trading his VFW hat for a MAGA hat for the rally.
Not in the feeds I saw. Calling bullshit on Byron.
Suddenly the media is interested in violence at protests eh.
It’s such a sad, tragic time. I grieve for America.
It seems as though for many that when confronted by that which they find unpalatable their only response is to flee, as we hear rather frequently of the “snowflakes” on college campuses. On the other hand, there are many who respond to the unpleasant and disagreeable with fight. (Here, I’m thinking of “fight” in terms of inflicting pain, whether physical or mental/emotional).
I don’t know how we’re going to find our way out of this, because the nation cannot continue to tear at itself and endure. I know I’ve prayed for the United States more than ever these past ten years or so. Outside of sharing a few of my minuscule ideas that is about the best I can do, given my circumstance.
It’s a sad thing that the world is imperfect, and that things fall apart over time. But seen another way, the current troubles are an opportunity to fix the poisonous problems that have lurked under the surface of society. The media did their best to hide them, but they were real.
No, not that it’s an imperfect world. It’s that so many leaders, so many people have deceived themselves into thinking that we could continue on this antagonistic path without penalty. Many hearts and minds need to examined and a decision made to seize the opportunity to find a “fix.” President Trump says it far better than I in his remarks today concerning this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqx5PQXDpwA
America’s founding documents make it clear that antagonism is not something to be eradicated or punished. The American social/political system is inherently noisy, and I don’t expect—or want—that to change anytime soon.
This is not to say that law enforcement should tolerate the physical attacks by “counter-protesters”. But declaring a State of Emergency is a bit theatrical. It should be ordinary police work.
Debate is one thing, even at times if it is heated. The hurling of epithets, the defamation of an individual’s character, and the expression of anger for its own sake I find unwelcome and counterproductive. I cite the activity of any number of blogs as an example, whatever their political affiliation.
Name-calling. For what purpose? Isn’t more about oneupmanship than the issue? Or, asking questions. I don’t know how many times I asked them only to be met by insinuations and accusations from persons who don’t even know me. How is any sort of decent discussion (I presume that on at least some of the blogs this is an objective) to occur when preceded with this?
All across this nation we’re showing the signs of increased tension and stress, such that there seems to be so much beneath the surface anger with a hair-trigger to set it off. Not good. Not good at all.
A few people in America want the Martin Luther King Jr. monument taken down. By the media’s definition, that makes anyone who opposes that a “black nationalist.”
How do we know all these people are “white supremacists?” Are some of them white people who love history? So sick of all this.
You haven’t gotten the memo? Any white person, specifically any young white man who does not drop to his knees and take responsibility for every act of racism, bigotry and rape in history is a white supremacist.
The left created this, we need to make them own it. You can’t divide people and create groups, some of whom are perpetual victims and perpetual oppressors without expecting some sort of push back. When you tell a group of young white men they are future rapists who are responsible for every ill in the world and must be constantly punished for the past and future, does anyone really expect them to roll over and take it?
Absolutely, Sanddog. My family is not all white, so I cannot condone white supremacism. Yet I also condemn pretending that American history was something other than what it was, or that the Confederacy was only an aberration. Further, the Left has demanded identity politics after identity politics. Did they think some kind of backlash would not happen?
Before all the hand-wringing begins, let’s take a good look at what happened here.
A group decided to protest the removal of a statue honoring a man who was an ardent supporter of states’ rights. They are also going to tie in their displeasure at what they perceive to be an orchestrated move to turn their demographic into a secondary class of citizen. Note that they, on the whole, are not arguing that any other demographic be treated as a lesser class, only that they should not be treated as less than others. This group is not intent upon causing any damage or destruction of property or physical harm to anyone else. Sounds pretty benign, doesn’t it? It is no worse that the myriad of BLM, Occupy [whatever] or Antifa protests that have been allowed to occur across the country in recent years. And, considerably better than most.
Yet, these groups are denied their right to peacefully assemble in the public square, largely due to the threats of violence from those opposing them. They are subjected to physical attack, which seems to be allowed by local law enforcement, as they honor the request of the local and state authorities to cancel their planned assembly in the face of unwarranted threats of physical violence. And, somehow, all of the chaos caused by other people and groups, opposed to the peaceful exercise of a very basic right by this group, is now being blamed upon this group, rather than on those who perpetrated it. We have truly stepped through the looking glass, where everything is reversed.
The answer to all of this is incredibly simple. Equal treatment under the law. Government has a RESPONSIBILITY to protect the rights and liberties of ALL people. When they refuse to provide that protection then the populous is left with no choice but to provide its own protection of those enumerated rights. And, the day, where the majority of people in this country feel this is necessary, is rapidly approaching. God help us if it finally arrives. Perhaps our politicians should start taking a longer view.
And remember- the left and Democrats now, like in 1860, are all in favor of state rights. Sanctuary cities, sanctuary staes, and CALEXIT are all Democrat initiatives.
Not true. Richard Spencer was a scheduled speaker, which tells us all we need to know about them and what they believe. They are every bit as bad as the thugs who clashed with them.
I’m guessing a lot of them are. But then again I know a lot of people who marched in Soros organized events and even the past women’s march. The are not all deranged, hate filled, Marxists who want nothing more than the destruction of this nation. Not all people who show up to Black Lives Matter events want to kill whitey and murder cops.
It’s very easy for people who don’t live, eat and breathe politics to get caught up in movements without fully understanding the machinations behind the movements. Someone who is sick and tired of the left trying to hold historical white figures accountable to 2017 standards probably doesn’t give a shit about Spencer, they just see a place to make their voice heard. Not wanting to change a flag or remove a statue of a historical figure doesn’t make you a racist and I’m sick and tired of some on the right accusing people in the south of being racists because they don’t want to see their history ripped down constantly. A statue of Robert E Lee deprives NO ONE of their life, liberty or property in the year 2017. Get the hell over it and stop playing the left’s game.
Sanddog: It’s very easy for people who don’t live, eat and breathe politics to get caught up in movements without fully understanding the machinations behind the movements.
That’s an important point. Most protests are made up of a diverse collection of people, with varying views. In this case, though, the torches and anti-Jew chants should have warned people off, or perhaps the invitation to white supremacists should have been a clear signal of the intent of the organizers; but as you point out, people are generally ignorant.
Sanddog: A statue of Robert E Lee deprives NO ONE of their life, liberty or property
Nor does removing the statue.
Generalize much?
There were a number of groups represented at this scheduled assembly. Not all of them were “white supremacists” nor “racial purists”. I( believe that Spencer’s group was the organizer of this event. If true, that would be an excellent reason for him to be a scheduled speaker. It is very dangerous to advocate violence against others based solely upon their expressed beliefs. Harmful physical actions can be countered with violence, if in response to the violation of certain laws.
However, our Constitution allows anyone to speak freely, on ideological issues. What happened here was that this particular group was denied their Constitutional right to peacefully assemble and to speak in the public square. It was likely that the majority of those participating in the legal assembly were there to push back against perceived discrimination against their particular demographic, Caucasians. This does not make them bad people. Only if they use or attempt to use violence or threats of violence against others do they become criminals and dangerous.
I am guessing, from the videos and reports coming in, that this was not anyone targeting anyone, just an angry driver trying to get away from idiots throwing “projectiles” (other reports said rocks). The crowds were ORDERED to disburse; Gov. McAuliffe, in one of his coherent moments, TOLD VIRGINIANS TO NOT GO TO THE PROTEST. He even said that people were coming in from out of state to cause trouble – and, he added, these people would NOT be those who were there on Friday evening, but were coming to cause this type of violent outbreak (he didn’t say leftists or white supremacists, just “reports”)……
This is bad. Kessler, who apparently lives in Charlottesville, is indeed a white supremacist, and those who follow him provoke. However, the so-called counter-protesters WERE AND ARE THE PROBLEM, IMHO. Kessler had a permit; his protest was countered by an ILLEGAL mob provoking them – and, sadly, the rest was all too predictable….these types WILL fight back, and WILL be the ones recorded, appearing to be the instigators and real problem.
IMHO, if those so-called “anti-fa” leftists had stayed home, as the Gov said, and the protest was allowed to happen, as the permit stated, this would have been NOTHING. But that isn’t the left’s way; what was it that Rahm Emanuel said? “Never let a good crisis go to waste” right? And Alinksky, what did he say, again? “Pick the target; freeze it; personalize it; then polarize it” aka Rule 13….right?!
Disgusting…………. Like many of the left’s agenda items over the last few years, the MSM and propaganda pushers will use this one for a LONG time…………..
I am certain the Far Left thought they could push the Supremacists around, but this has all the historical earmarks of Commies and Nazis slugging it out in Germany…. hint to the Left… your opponents can dish it back. I am certain the media will try and drag everyone not in their political corner as the cause… and in so doing just toss more fuel on these embers.
The ACLU is claiming that the governor of VA, Cauliflower, ordered the police to stand down. Looks like he wanted a riot.
Boy, all that racial healing during the Obama years sure faded fast.
“I wouldn’t advise them to be silent”.
“If we can’t discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have serious problems”
—————–
glorious leader obummer after DJT’s election.
I have no sympathy with white supremacists. If some actual history buffs object to the removal of Gen. Lee’s statue, they should make those objections separately from the KKK types. (I object to removing history, as a matter of fact. It happened.)
I have no sympathy with antifa thugs either.
But since the police did shut down the white supremacist gathering because of violence, why were the antifa counter-protesters still out in the street? Shouldn’t the police have cleared that street long before the car arrived? So, people the police despise can be forced to disperse, but people the leftist leaders of Charlottesville approve of can demonstrate all afternoon without a permit?
There are reports that the “White Supremacists” had permit, then had it revoked, got it reinstated and then revoked on the spot after assembling. Did the “Antifascists” have a parallel permit? Have to strip away propaganda to see what happened. At least there should be a paper trail of permits and decisions.
This was bound to happen.
When you normalize violence, violence is going to bite your arse too, so don’t be surprised.
What the media will never say, in fact they will hide it, is that the this is normal behavior for antifa, blm, etc.
They will make it a big deal only because they think they can blame the right.
Yes, exactly. The Nazis must be opposed whenever they rally, but so must BLM, Antifa, and the rest of them. They deserve each other, and there’s nothing to pick and choose between them, and yet one set of thugs is celebrated while the other is universally condemned.
The philosophical merits of the people involved in this skirmish are unimportant. To dwell on them is merely mental masturbation and a distraction. The only important thing about this incident is that a group of people scheduled an assembly, which had every indication of being peaceful, and was denied that assembly by a group engaged in criminal activity, including unlawful physical attacks. And, the news media would paint the picture that the group lawfully assembling was somehow entirely to blame for this. This is the true danger here. Both the fact that some people are apparently free to engage in physical violence, without legal justification, to inhibit the right of free speech and that the media, and the government(s), support such actions.
Why should they be opposed? Aside from the probably false assumption that all attendees were Nazis, they were peaceably assembled, as per our constitutional rights and a valid permit, while Antifa and like-minded agitators were there to suppress their rights and freedoms through criminal intimidation, force, and violence. Indeed,they were suppressing EVERYONE’S rights and freedoms. The statues are already slated to come down, so the “Nazis” have already lost. Who fights against an opponent who has already lost? It’s a classic case of punching down by crybullies.
So, odds that Soros-paid agitators were there to organize things and make sure it took a violent turn?
Milhouse, do white supremacists not have the right to protest when given a permit to do so and does the government not have the obligation to protect them from counter-protesters who seek to disrupt the protest, using violence to do so?
Of course they have freedom of speech. Most of us conservatives are unhappy that the media will point at a group of nazis and KKK types, standing around and being obnoxious and waving white supremacists flags and say “Look at those Republicans!”
McCauliffe’s actions were horrific from the start and brought about conditions most likely to lead to violence.
https://twitter.com/barnes_law/status/896520500339331076
Oops
Of course they have the right to assemble, just as BLM and the antifa and the SEIU do, but they do not have the right to violence, which both sides appear to have come prepared for and intending to use. Which side actually struck the first blow is neither clear nor particularly relevant. And more importantly, no matter what happens to them they do not deserve the sympathy of decent people. When a Nazi or a communist is beaten, even if he’s completely innocent that time a decent person’s reaction is quiet satisfaction. When they beat each other, it’s like any fight between rival criminal gangs; so long as they’re fighting each other decent people are the winners.
It looks to me like a coordinated effort between the media and McAuliffe to shut down the alt-right by (a) blaming violence directed at them by the left on them, and (b) slandering them by calling them “white supremacists”, thereby inventing a pretext on which to pull their previously granted permit without a hearing.
It’s no slander. They are white supremacists, and therefore deserve everything they get, even if on this occasion they didn’t start the violence, which we have no reason to believe.
When I first heard about this in the middle of last week, I also assumed that the gathering was not “white supremacists.” I investigated and discovered that in this case it was being correctly reported. This was an explicitly white nationalist rally.
Wow, this was not handled well. First the white supremecists were allowed to rally, then after they had started to gather they were told it was ilegal and to go away. The state police were held back until the two sides had already started fighting. The mayor used this as an opportunity to bash trump, and the governor laid the blame soley on the white supremecists, and failed to acknowledge the role the counter protesters played in this. The mishandling of this situation may very well lead to more violence from both sides in the future.
This is how we get Weimar 2.0
Milhouse: “Not true. Spencer was scheduled to speak”
Ah, a clairvoyant assertion of racist intent. Unsupported by evidence. Can you tell us what was in Spencer’s speech? Can you read my thoughts too?
This kind of demonization by association is beneath you. It’s anti free speech, it’s anti Liberty and it’s anti American. You should be ashamed of yourself.
It doesn’t matter what he was planning to say. The fact that he was invited to speak in the first place tells us all we need to know. Richard Spencer is a white supremacist, and no organization that isn’t white supremacist would ever invite him to speak at its event.
Footnote:
It seems that the city tried to revoke the original permit and was overruled. Free speech and all that.
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wvir/documents/kessler-v-cville-expedited-motion.pdf
I can’t read your thoughts, but I’ve read your words.
Here are my take-aways…
1. there is no such thing as a so-called Alt-Right. There is an Alt-Right.
2. thee Alt-Right is anti-conservative (hence the name).
3. whatever-the-fluck you are, you are dangerously deranged.
4. references to Mueller’s children as a resort beyond the law, broken plate-glass windows of business who “bully” you shows the forgoing.
I support Spencer’s right to speak, and yours too. It gives sane people valuable information.
Use your words, Der Donald.
You have no trouble whatsoever being very explicit about people or organizations you deplore.
Time to name names here. And, sure, name them all. All sides. Make it clear you don’t have any links whatsoever to any of them.
Because you’ve never done that.
A good little leftist chimes in.
My lefty friends are worried that Nazis will be walking the streets.
But the whole idea of freedom of speech and assembly is that the most hateful ideas, including nazis, should be able to safely march down a street.
The same way BLM should be able to safely march down a street, even if they’re hateful. The same way islamists should be able to safely march down a street, even if they’re hateful.
This isn’t a war of ideas people – the details of who thinks what doesn’t matter here. This is a war about freedom of expression, and we’re losing.
Get the right-wing folks riled up about #BLM, and they’re sympathetic with restricting the 1A.
Get the left-wing folks riled up about nazis, and they’re sympathetic with restricting the 1A.
In the meantime, your happy dappy government gets handed the tools to restrict the 1A against whomever they want to.