Charlottesville, VA is a progressive town that voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in 2016. To the ire of of KKK members in the area, the city has made an effort to remove statues and other commemorations of the Confederacy in recent months. Most significantly, Charlottesville is planning to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee.

Here’s What Happened in Charlottesville

The night before their “Unite the Right” rally, hundreds of white supremacists marched on the University of Virginia campus carrying torches and chanting “blood and soil” and “you will not replace us.”

Sidenote: On a lighter note, it turns out these torches that the white supremacists used were actual Tiki torches. Normally reserved for suburban dads trying to make their backyard luau more authentic, Tiki torches were touted around by an angry mob demanding that everyone else pay attention to them. The best part of this story? Tiki Brand Products issued an apology after the mob scene, saying the company is “deeply saddened and disappointed” that their Tiki torches were used for a KKK scare-a-thon with a mob looking like it walked straight out of Dr. Frankenstein’s hometown.

As members of the white nationalist alt-right gather in front of Jefferson statue, counter protesters chant #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/fGmdv7tQwJ

— Tim Dodson (@Tim_Dodson) August 12, 2017

To review: In 2017, a self-proclaimed hate group terrorized a college campus with torches and openly threatening chants the night before their planned rally. During the subsequent hatefest, white supremacists brawled with counter protesters the next day while police stood idly by. As a result, tensions mounted and a member of that hate group mowed over 19 counter protesters with a car, killing a young woman who was calling for kindness and love. Even after she died, the U.S. president refused to denounce the KKK sympathizers or even say the group’s name.

This is where we are in American history. This moment is important because our reaction to it is going to dictate where we go next.

Why Trump’s response to white supremecists matters

→ Trump is explicitly anti-American

While vacationing for 17 days in New Jersey, Trump took the time to calm an anxious nation with a measured response that – just kidding, y’all know I’m just messing with you. This is what Trump actually said on Saturday: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”

There aren’t “sides” in this situation. White supremacy ideology isn’t up for debate. The counter protesters injured in the attack were peaceful. The police officers were on the sidelines. There’s only one side that spouting hatred, bigotry and violence. It’s the white nationalists with which Trump has a history of refusing to criticize or even acknowledge.  

Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacists – or even mention them by name – is the most disgraceful thing he has done in this presidency. And that’s saying a lot, considering the high bar he’s set for himself in degrading the nation’s highest office.

Refusing to condemn white supremacists, even after one of their own slaughters political opponents, speaks volumes about Trump’s political affiliations and, frankly, his own lack of humanity.

Why would Trump refuse to condemn?

Consider for a moment why Trump would be unwilling to say a negative thing about the white nationalist movement.

They’re his current base. And they’re in the White House.

Here’s what former KKK leader David Duke said during the “Unite the Right” rally before the car attack: “We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believe in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump.  Because he said we’re going to take our country back. And that’s what we gotta do.”

→ White supremacists nationwide are emboldened by Trump

If the president of the United States refuses to say it, then its people will. The car attack in Charlottesville was a domestic terror attack. There are no nuances here. This is stone-cold domestic terrorism. But it was committed by a racist white man, so naturally Trump is unwilling to lay blame here.

And if you may recall, this isn’t the first time even this year emboldened white supremacists publically killed those who opposed them.

Last May, a white supremacist stepped aboard the MAX train in Portland, Oregon, and began yelling racial and anti-Muslim epithets at two African-American girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab. When two male bystanders stepped in to defend the teenagers, the man stabbed them both to death after they intervened.

Once arrested, the killer was recorded saying: “I’m a patriot, and I hope everyone I stabbed dies …  That’s what liberalism gets you.”

→ Participating in peaceful protests shouldn’t be deadly

Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old woman who was protesting the white supremacist rally, was killed when a 20-year-old man deliberately drove his car into a peaceful protest. By virtually all accounts, Heyer stood for everything that fear-mongering Nazis despise. According to friends a family, she was a strong advocate for the disenfranchised and felt compelled to act in the face of injustice.

Exercising your constitutional right to protest should not threaten your life. This doesn’t happen in America. In America, you aren’t butchered in the streets because of your political beliefs. We may not have the support of our leader to change that, but a majority of Americans can certainly do it.

What You Can Do

→ React loudly. React now.

Condemn bigotry, hate and intolerance when you see it. Or else it’ll become normalized. There’s so many things involving this president that are part of the ‘new normal,’ from a barrage of lies, inflammatory rhetoric and empty threats. This used to be abnormal for a president. Now it’s part of our political reality. But unfettered displays of hate can never become commonplace. This is not normal. And it’s going to take a majority of us to have the courage to constantly call our bigotry for what it is.

Pressure your local representatives to make public statements criticizing the president for not condemning white supremacy and the events in Charlottesville. Be sure to thank your representatives if they’ve publicly spoken against these hate groups.

On Twitter, #FireBannon is calling for the removal of Steve Bannon from the White House. Remember that guy? White supremacist with a face you can only look at a few seconds at a time before the gag reflex kicks in. Is it any wonder that the president is sympathetic to the Nazis when one of them is his advisers?

Support your local newspaper when they print editorials condemning white supremacy and the president’s weak response to the car attack. As per usual, the media is going to be a huge target for the Trump administration as this story makes it way through the news cycle.

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