The Alt-right, Nazi's and KKK are just a small portion of Trumps backing unless you think they number in the millions. I would doubt they are even close to 500,000 strong. They just happen to be the dumb asses out there clashing with the Antifa. Rarely do you see a rally of them that is more than a few hundred strong. 62% of Trump voters were over 45 years of age, 65% of trump voters ear over $50,000 a year. That is his base, voters that were fed up with "the swamp" and bit on what he said. I don't see a small fringe group as a base, just something for the news to focus on.
I'm 100% in favor of First Amendment protections on speech and the right to assemble. Not all speech is protected however, as you point out with the incitement to riot and destruction of public property. Not all people who use unprotected speech do so from the Right but all should be similarly prevented from using prohibited speech before things get out of hand. It's a very fine line to walk and it requires rigorous attention to detail and pre-event planning to do correctly. I'm not second-guessing the authorities in Charlotte at this point because I think when you err in enforcing issues like these it is better to err on the side of Liberty than on the side of Oppression.
The term "his base" is always a colloquialism for someones higher profile supporters, not so much numbers. Considering the term "alt-right" wasn't even a thing until they threw their support loudly behind Donald Trump, I'd characterize them as his high profile supporters. My point was simply that for those of you trump supporters who don't like being called racists, his higher profile supporters (I call them his base) walking with Nazis on National TV doesn't help your cause. Do you disagree with that? I would be upset with these "alt-right" folks and the president's response to them if I was a non-racist trump supporter myself. (but I don't have that problem because I think he's a stupid fucking reality TV clown who I wouldn't vote for as wal mart manager let alone president )
I generally refer to the largest group of supporters as someones base, as the base is where support comes from, you don't see many upside down pyramids staying up for long. I don't remember ever hearing that the most vocal supporter is the base but maybe I haven't been paying attention to that. Next point, I am not a Trump supporter, also not a Clinton supporter. I agree that any politician having racists associated with you is never good, it doesn't help this country in the right direction in any way. But thinking that a few hundred people are indicative of the way over 60 million think is also a step in the wrong direction.
I am totally second-guessing the authorities in Charlottesville. Not for allowing or not allowing the rally, but for how the confrontation was handled. So as to that type of enforcing, I think they erred in several ways. The Nazi tards had a legal permit for the rally. Authorities knew anti-rally protesters were going to be there, and not in the best of moods. There were barricades with police behind them. It started to get ugly. The Nazis were told to disband and leave, which they agreed to do. However, they walked right into the path of protesters, and it escalated into physical violence on both sides in a nano second. Police stayed behind the barricades ("stood down"), and let them have at each other instead creating a strong line to keep them separated before they could become physically engaged. They didn't do that. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
I believe in the freedom of speech. That's not where the problem lies. The problem lies in the social construct. In short, the spirit of tolerance must include a ruthless and merciless intolerance toward intolerance of any shape or form, lest the society be overrun by intolerant fools. This is where any white supremacy idiocy fails. [And that's where Nazism failed too.] Also, this is where the current GOP fails. HARD.
There's a big difference between extreme leftists and neo-Nazis. Right now in this country, both sides are fringe groups acting violently and killing small numbers of people. But we also have to look at what they would do if they became mainstream. I'm not really sure what would happen if these extreme leftists became mainstream; I know how bad it gets when countries go communist but these extreme leftists aren't communists. OTOH the neo-Nazis explicitly endorse an ideology that in less than a decade committed genocide on over 10 million people and started the deadliest war in history. A war that they lost, meaning the genocide would have continued and spread had they won. We have to remember that's what we're fighting against.
This is simple, Trump is all about pushing the label of Trump. So people who are supportive of Trump even the white nationalist get a slapped on the wrist from him because even though he isn't racist or a white nationalists, he does like the positive support. He really only directly attacks people who directly attack him. People attack his policies all the time and he doesn't give a shit, but anything that tarnishes the brand of Trump will receive a angry twitter post or be fired. While Trump is not responsible violence in Charlottesville, he is somewhat responsible for the rise of the alt right for not denouncing them outright. This is similar to how Antifa/ Black Lives Matter rose during the Obama administration. Both groups responsible for the violence in Charlottesville. They are fringe elements of the right and left and need to be called out by both sides. We need to stop legitimizing these fools and put our foot down. Call them out and laugh at them for their ridiculous ideologies in their face, make them feel bad for what they believe in. If we don't, the right is going to believe that everyone to the left are communists and the left will believe everyone to the right of them are nazis and it will be the Weimar Republic 2.0. Finally, Fuck these Nazis/white nationalist and fuck Antifa asshats. Screw their identity politics and their violent behavior. Also, Trump have the balls to call out these violent white nationalists immediately. They are the scum of the earth. While I did appreciate your speech on Monday, that speech should have been given the day of the incident. Sorry for the rant but this shit makes me sick to my stomach. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Doesn't matter if your cause is just when you advocate killing innocent people. No matter how you try to justify it,killing is killing. so to me they are pretty much equals as radicals who only care about their side with no intentions of compromise or conversation. Just violence against the other.
Explain to me the difference between a white man with a gun and a sign that say kill the black man and a black man with a gun and a sign that says kill the white man
And now the Tweeter-in-Charge invents Alt-left [that did not exist until now.] Tell me now. This man is NOT racist? This man is NOT White-supremacist? How? He endorses the very values that undermine the fabric of this society even as we speak. And the Republican party? Are they NOT racists? Are they NOT White-supremacists? Where is their denouncement of this Tweeter-in-Charge? http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/politics/trump-charlottesville-delay/index.html
The Allies killed innocent people to win WWII. So killing is not always killing. As of now, that situation doesn't apply, so I don't advocate violence against neo-Nazis or anyone fringe group. Extremists on both sides are radicals who only care about their side with no intentions of compromise or conversation, I agree there. However one side is much more dangerous than the other. I'm much more concerned about a vicious tiger than a vicious stray cat. The neo-Nazis are the tiger. All else equal there is none. But all else is not equal, so your point is moot.
I don't understand how any sane person could find any equivalence between Jefferson Davis and George Washington. If anyone thinks Steve Bannon is on his way out, this little scripted insanity should change your pov. Trump showed us exactly who he is and whom he represents so when he starts his war with NoKor, Him and his Nazi/Alt-right/KKK supporters can go fight in it. Any Black or person of color that is in Trump's sphere should exit immediately. I'm talking to Uncle Ben Carson, Omarosa and that idiot Negro on CNN that is always licking Trump's nutz. Stop being the slave that loves his master to the end.. Trump is a ally of the alt-right, a friend of the KKK and a supporter of White Nationalism. There really shouldn't be any doubt of this any longer. Those that don't see it either refuse to or support it. #MAWA
Sounds a lot like its ok if it's open season on the opposing belief or anyone caught in the wake to me. Soon as enough people have that view we will be at all out war thanks to the 2 extremists sides.both sides are using the same logic you used here to justify their violence. They just disagree on who the tiger is. Matching violence with violence never leads to peace. It just strengthens the extremes as they pull recruits from the middle,driven to a side by the harm they suffered by the opposite side.
Again, as long as one side doesn't fight back, its all good. That's just a shortcut to getting wiped out. This is 21st century America so enjoy it while it lasts..
Just like you I don't want violence, and I don't sympathize with extremists on either side. My concern is that the President showed he sympathizes with the neo-Nazis, which gives them a great deal of power. To counter that we must have unified nonviolent opposition by the rest of the country, and politicians from both parties must curtail Trump's power and remove him from office if necessary.
I'll say it again. The problem with neo-Nazis isn't the violence they just committed. You can find equally bad shows of violence from the left. The problem is that they explicitly stand for an agenda that the last time it was enacted resulted in more deaths* than any agenda in human history. *Deaths from the Holocaust and military/civilian casualties in WWII.
