Written August 2017...
Okay...I had to see what all the hubbub is about regarding the “Unite the Right” rally in Washington DC this weekend.
Okay...I had to see what all the hubbub is about regarding the “Unite the Right” rally in Washington DC this weekend.
It seems the terms “White Nationalist”, “The Alt Right”, “Neo-Nazis” and other “white hate groups” are in the news on a regular basis since President Trump was elected.
Although I have regularly seen headlines about these groups, I have to admit - I have never watched, listened to, or read any of their material. Why would I? Why would anyone listen to hatred spewed about skin color, ethnicity, sex, or some other irrelevant physical characteristic?
I love to discuss and debate religion, politics, economics, foreign policy, and occasionally sports - but to debate race, sex, and other physical characteristics is silly and childish.
For example, it turns my stomach when I read a New York Times reporter tweet, “Are white people genetically predisposed to burn faster in the sun, thus logically being only fit to live underground like groveling goblins," Or when I hear a president of the United States refer to African Americans as “mongrels” (President Obama).
When will people stop looking at the color of a person’s skin, instead of the content of their character?!
Let me get back to the “Far Right”, “Alt Right”, “Neo-Nazis” and the “Unite the Right” rally.
The news, particularly CNN, hyped this rally; therefore, I expected a...umm...rally. Not only a rally, but a hate filled, I hate you, you hate me, we need to kill everyone who doesn’t look like us...type of rally. I was prepared for a mob of hate filled malcontents with bald heads, tattoos, swastikas, giving the finger to the people who didn’t look like them.
What I watched was different - very different!
There wasn’t a riot. There wasn’t a mob. There were a handful of calm unassuming people, dressed in casual business attire, strolling down several streets on their way to Lafayette Square Park.
This intimate get-together of five or six “extremists” was far different than the mob scene promised by the mainstream media.
To put this “mob” in perspective - the morning coffee break I attend with co-workers is larger, and more rambunctious than this insignificant gathering.
Who knows? Maybe there were thousands of other “Alt Right” keeping a low profile, hiding in the bushes, waiting to verbally pounce on the fine people of Washington DC. On the other hand, it is more likely CNN and the mainstream media engaged in hate-filled hyperbole for ratings and political purposes?
Of course, I don’t want to minimize the evil that lurks in the hearts and minds of these purported evil men. They could be harmful and dangerous and dismember people whose biggest crime is not being of European descent.
As I continued to watch CNN, I observe these despicable, hateful people waiting for signs of their loathsome behavior, but I never materialized. They simply walked quietly down the street on their way to the park
One of them was wrapped in the US flag. I might have heard him make an innocuous comment in response to someone berating him - but it was harmless.
As they walked, this small band of alleged inconsequential “White Supremacists” (if that was in facto what they believed) were escorted by the police. My initial assumption was the police were protecting the onlookers from these “Neo-Nazis.” However, the people who lined the streets were far more threatening than the “Nazis.” They threw cans and bottles at the “supremacists” and shouted vile epithets. It then hit me, the police were there to protect the “Alt Right” from a mob of protestors!
The puzzle pieces began to come together. Although I’ve never heard an “Alt Right” speech, I have heard Antifa claim they have an obligation to shut down the “Alt Right”. Further, they believe using violence and destroying property is an acceptable approach to shut down people they disagree with.
They claim to initiate violence and hatred to avoid an escalation of violence. CNN reports this approach as if it’s reasonable and justifiable.
What happened to the old adage “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Honestly, my gut reaction was to be more appalled by the behavior of those protesting the “rally” rather than the “rally’s” participants. But, to be fair, this was my gut response before “The Far Right” gave their speeches.
Based on the CNN reporting, I expected their speeches to be filled with disgusting hate filled vitriol about the evils of “brown, yellow, black, and non-traditional sexually oriented people”.
When the handful of “Far Right” individuals finally made it to the park, it was awkward.
Nobody was there! The area around the podium was as empty as a Hillary Clinton campaign rally! There were more reporters than “Alt Right” speakers or supporters.
The reporters, the “Alt Right” speakers, and their supporters didn’t have enough people for a pickup game of basketball.
There they stood, in an empty park, near a little stage, with a microphone placed near the edge. The speeches didn’t start immediately. Everyone just mulled around awkwardly.
Maybe they were waiting for an audience to show up. After all, what’s the fun of a hate filled speech without a cheering section?
The awkwardness continued. A few little uncomfortable conversations between reporters and “The Alt Right” sprung up to kill time until the main hate-filled speeches began.
At this time, the “White Supremest” leader arrived. Then again, maybe he was already there and he blended in with the other unremarkable “Nazis”. His name is Jason Kessler. He was just a regular Joe (or Jason) as far as I could tell.
He didn’t say anything controversial while talking to the press. His comments were a sprinkle of “We want everyone to have free speech”, a dash of “We don’t want anyone discriminated against”, and a pinch of “We want everyone to be treated equally.”
Granted, he could be a master manipulator. Maybe away from the camera he passes out signed copies of Mein Kampf. But what I heard he say was a cookie cutter political speech. In fact, he didn’t say anything I haven’t heard from politicians on both sides of the isle over the past 35 years I’ve followed politics.
He certainly didn’t call any Americans “deplorable” like Hillary Clinton. He didn’t say he has never been “proud of America” like Michelle Obama.
After about 30 minutes, the “speeches” started. I use the term “speeches” loosely because there was nobody there to listen to them. It was more like a few soliloquies. They were filled with the same old stuff I heard during the interviews.
One or two of the speakers added a complaint or two about the confederate statues being taken down. A speech by Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton, CNN, MSNBC, The View, and network TV are filled with much more hate than anything I heard on this day
Now let me be clear.
This tiny little gathering of “The Far Right” might be very dangerous, but I didn’t see it. Because it was not there to be seen.
Their “Far Right” speeches might have been filled with hate, but I didn’t hear it. Because it was not there to be heard.
In other words, I didn’t see or hear any hate, but they might be the most hateful people to ever walk the Earth...and I’m just naive. But I’m not naive.
I saw nothing disturbing. I heard nothing disturbing. Because there was nothing disturbing.
The only offensive thing that day was CNN. They hyped the hate and wasted two hours of Americans lives only to find that CNN lied to Americans about a non-existing threat by irrelevant people who have less of a following than the WNBA.
On a positive note, they reaffirmed my trust in Americans. America does not have a “Neo-Nazis”, “racism”, “sexism”, or “hate” problem.
America has a mainstream media problem They promote and stoke hate to sell more advertising dollars. They truly value money more than honesty, integrity, and the well-being of America.
America is a melting pot that welcomes more people from around the world than any country in the history of the world. We live in harmony together everyday.
America should be proud of ourselves - the mainstream media should be ashamed of themselves.
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