Charlottesville

Originally posted Aug. 17, 2017, on "The Leftovers" at WordPress.com

 Edited on 04-29-2018: Grammatically
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Today is one of those kinds of days where I sat down to write something and what I had originally planned to write about was immediately taken over by something of far more importance.

I can't really focus. I can't think of much else. I have to put down my thoughts and take a stance on the recent events in Charlottesville.

I know, everyone has an opinion. Especially on this particular subject, and if you don't like mine then make sure to not click any buttons labeled like, follow, subscribe, or share.

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It has been a few days since the, "Unite The Right" rally and its events have ended.

It started on August 11th and ended a day later.

The rally's origins were centered around Charlottesville's decision to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park (formerly Lee Park).

Looking at the rally's events, many will forget how or why it began but, its violent ending will be remembered by far more, for a long time.

I wasn't aware of the rally until news of the violence started to get out. I immediately thought about how horrible it was knowing someone died while defending their beliefs on American soil. Much like how I would have the same reaction when a member of the armed forces dies in service.

Heather D. Heyer, the young woman who was killed in the attack, should be remembered in the same manner.

There are a lot of things to explore within the beginnings of the rally and the aftermath of what transpired. It is a lot to digest and figure out how I should feel about these events.

An old acquaintance of mine posted his account of the events on Facebook.

He was in Charlottesville and the "Leftists" were throwing urine and spitting on him and others. He also said the rally was permitted as a peaceful protest and the counter-protesters did not have a permit. The rally's intentions were to have an open debate on the merits of their arguments alone.

Then, he openly expressed his fear of whites becoming less in numbers and in power. He states the media would not show or report on the violence from "The Left" either.

My first reaction to his accounts was, "Oh, I didn't know he was like this.".

I don't think of him as a racist or white supremacist, but he is clearly a white nationalist or, at the least, holds beliefs identical to white nationalists.

I shouldn't be shocked, but I am.

I am a white man living in Alabama, I should be more shocked at the fact I don't know more people with these kinds of beliefs and willing follow others with this ideology.

This acquaintance is intelligent, independent, and multi-talented.

I once gave him the key to my apartment while I was at work because he needed a place to stay for a couple of days.

Every time I've crossed paths with him, he is somewhere new doing something different. I admired him for constantly chasing his dreams, failing, and still choosing to pursue them, even when he didn't have anything to center him.

He is a musician and singer, he was recently in California pursuing a career in acting. He even made it onto a TV show as an extra.

He somehow found himself in a group heading to Charlottesville to participate in the, "Unite the Right" rally.

His ultimate goal sounded like he wanted the entire group this past weekend to initiate a civil open debate.

Fair enough, but you won't be getting one anytime soon.

This group who petitioned for the "Unite The Right" rally and open debate, failed on so many levels.

In his previous statements, "The Leftists" were throwing bottles of urine and spitting on "The Right".

I'll take their word for it, ANTIFA was also at the "Unite The Right" rally and I'm more than willing to classify them as extremists who are willing to violently respond to violence. As far as I can tell, it is ANTIFA's modus operandi.

It is disgusting someone would throw bottles of urine or spit on others.

This is, an act of violence, and punishable by law.

For those victims, whoever they may be, I hope you get justice.

This being said, don't forget these victims are alive today. They have someone else's urine on them but, they can go home, wash it off, and never forget they were able to do so unlike many others.

If anyone needs more perspective, know they were not subjected to this.

WARNING: The link leads to video footage of the vehicular attack conducted during the rally. It is extreme, disturbing, violent, and NSFW. Viewer discretion is highly advised.

The next part to discuss who was or was not permitted to protest at the rally.

The permit for "Unite the Right" was granted after initially being declined due to the original site being too small. They were granted a permit after the location was moved.

The President of the United States of America, along with others, has stated the violent "Leftists" were not granted permits.

This is untrue.

Here is the story reporting on Mr. Jason Kessler's permit for the, "Unite the Right" rally.
Here is the story reporting on the permits for the counter-protests.

I find it embarrassing I have to say this but, we're living in the day and age of information. You can look this kind of stuff up 90% of the time on your own.

I also shouldn't have to state the following;

Do not to show up for a rally where the original petitioner is on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list as an extremist and then claim you were there, "peacefully".

Mr. Jason Kessler clearly has one agenda. Hate-speech, violence, and inciteful behavior is the primary driving force behind enacting it.

I noticed the permits are clearly in direct conflict with each other.

I don't know how the city of Charlottesville could have circumvented the issue without infringing upon the First Amendment.

The final claims needing to be addressed is the media's portrayal of events.

The media has mentioned several instances of violence from both "The Left" and "The Right".

Photos by Al Jazeera.

There is an extra link leading to the photos, but it's internal.

The LA Times investigation and accounts from different points of view.

Regardless of who threw the first punch, the whole rally was a mess, made right here in America. It seems we're really good at making a lot of messes lately.

I'm not going to argue over who has the higher moral ground or who deserved it more. The message was said as clearly and precisely as it needed to be said by Virginia's governor, Terry McAuliffe.

"You pretend that you are patriots, but you are anything but a patriot. We are stronger than you. You have made our Commonwealth stronger. You will not succeed. There is no place for you here. Go home."

If only the message had gotten to, the "Unite The Right" group earlier.