To the Editor:
On Tuesday, August 15, our President declared that, as far as he saw it, “both sides shared equal blame” regarding the violence in Charlottesville, Va., and that there were “a lot of good people on both sides.”
To evaluate and assess how wrong (in so many ways) that statement was, let’s look at the big picture, and start at the beginning, on July 4, 1776, the ratification of our Declaration Of Independence from England. And I quote: “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The American Civil War was fought not over “states rights” but confederate states rights to continue the institution of slavery, which had been mostly abolished by global civilized societies by 1858. This confrontation cost over 640,000 Union casualties, by warring actions of the Confederate States Of America, for which now, some have evolved into hate groups and white supremacists, I would venture to guess that 640,000 deaths would be considered pretty violent.
Fast-forward to 1954, (forgive the glossing over of the Jim Crow era, laws and legacy for the sake of brevity) the Supreme Court ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, outlawing segregation in public schools.
Consider that in Charlottesville, one side under the guise of “protesting” the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee. 1) That statue, and others representing “Confederate War Heroes,” represent: treason, oppression, segregation, and violence against citizens of the United States of America (let’s not forget it was the Confederate States of America that fired the first volley at Fort Sumter). 2) The extensive history of violence perpetrated by white supremacists, including but not limited to, the murders of Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner, Medgar Evers, four innocent children at the 16th Street Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr., and most recently Heather Heyer. 3) That Neo-Nazis are a replication and continuation of the ideologies of Nazi Germany, which caused a significant portion of U.S. casualties in the second World War, a war initiated by Nazi Germany, numbering over 400,000, and the barbaric extermination of six million Jews, again not pretty violent but very, very violent and absolutely repulsive and beyond contempt.
Also, I’m pretty sure that “a lot of good people” do not consort with and/or support those who marched through the campus of UVA, shouting “Jews Will Not Replace Us.” I’m also pretty sure that “a lot of good people” do not support or condone the oppression and/or segregation of citizens of the U.S., as it is diametrically opposed to the concepts envisioned in our Declaration, and that are legally opposed, as in illegal, to the rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Also pretty sure that “a lot of good people” would not drive a car into a crowd with murderous intent, as we have seen in London and Spain, as these are acts of pure unadulterated terrorism.
So how are we to deal with these hate groups? These groups that would have us revert and regress backwards in civil rights, in the treating and the acting civilly toward each other, I think this best expresses a concept for a future course of action:
In a famous eulogy for James Chaney, (one of the civil rights workers murdered by a sheriff, who was an officer of the law, and others in 1964 in Mississippi) CORE leader Dave Dennis voiced his rage, anguish, and turmoil:
“I blame the people in Washington, D.C., and on down in the state of Mississippi just as much as I blame those who pulled the trigger . . . I’m tired of that! Another thing that makes me even tireder though, that is the fact that we as people here in the state and the country are allowing it to continue to happen . . . Your work is just beginning. If you go back home and sit down and take what these white men in Mississippi are doing to us . . . if you take it and don’t do something about it . . . then God damn your souls!”
I was seven years old on April 4, 1968; I vividly remember the skies to the west of my house, aglow with the burning of the city of Baltimore and the riots. I was certain then that the injustice and inequality, and the conflict that it spawns, would be extinct by the time I was an adult. As I sit here now and reflect at age 57, I realize that the cause was anger, frustration, and utter exasperation of continued and prolonged unjust and unequal treatment. I still have hope I will live to see that extinction in my lifetime; that hope will have to be facilitated by all generations, the old, the mid-life, and the young. It is up to all of us.
I have lived on Martha’s Vineyard for 20 years now. Over that time, I’ve been absolutely blessed to be mentored by the brightest and best of captains of industry, all experts in different facets of business, business evaluation, financial, marketing, legal and public relations. The best advice I have ever received from any of them, though exceptionally simplistic in concept, was that “when putting a deal together, make sure that both parties benefit equally, for if both parties do not feel that the deal is equal, the deal will fall apart.” It is time for all citizens of this country to “step up to the plate” to consummate and fulfill that deal, a deal where everyone feels that they get treated equally, fairly, a deal that sees that all have equal opportunity for and to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
These hate groups make us, all of us collectively, the citizens of the United States of America, the bain of scorn and ridicule, of mockery and contempt, globally for a country that is based on the premise “that all men are created equal.” These hate groups need to quickly become a part of the past permanently, not the present or the future of the United States of America.
Steven Wehner
Oak Bluffs
Steve Werner: Kudos on that 1st paragraph. Whether there are “good people” on both sides of the issues at hand will have to be settled in future venues, but it’s for sure none of them were in the streets of Charlottesville that day. The video footage shows both sides well armed and defended with clubs and shields. Bad on Trump for ignoring that. But I do hate to see people hating the haters and seeking to “make them a part of the past permanently”. Similar pronouncements have been made by other haters we all love to hate. (feel free to continue the hack job on the word “hate”)
So those protesting against hate should turn the other cheek, to get all biblical about this. How much more would it have done to make obvious violence by the haters? Would it have saved the life of Heather Heyer?
Should we accept Charlottesville as the new normal or is this something we don’t want? If it’s not what we want America to be, when is the correct time to fix the problem?
hanleyclifford: Obviously Your “Readingly Challenged” , 1st Off My Named Is Spelled Wehner, 2) If you read the Editorial nowhere do I say “Hate The Haters” 3) Do us all a favor take some time, instead of posting inane comments and read about WW II, you will find one side THE USA was indeed well armed as they needed to be 4) I bet you know how to spell WHITE SUPREMACIST 5) FYI lapels does not starch White Sheets and Hoods, but good luck with that !!!
Steven– one of our most conservative and confrontational liberal haters who I assume still post here (but it’s hard to tell because he constantly changes his handle) has often implied that the Jews were responsible for the Holocaust because they didn’t defend themselves. Isn’t that right, Andrew ? So, what are the pacifist to do ? If the white supremacist keep violently beating people down, when do the oppressed take a stand? We are now in a post politically correct environment.
trump has opened the Pandora’s box of hate bigotry and raqcism. The well intentioned liberal tree huggers have been steadily loosing their political clout. “Please don’t cut down all the trees ” has resulted in massive deforestation. “Please don’t destroy our planet with pollution” has resulted in a seriously degrading environment. Violence begets violence– and the “alt right” is plenty violent.
Don’t criticize the left if it finally decides to defend it’s morals, our countries values and our planet with the violence it is facing. Remember, this country gained it’s independence not by asking the English , but by fighting them.
Steven Wehner: I don’t reply to anonymous internet trolls but you have stated your name clearly, and I respect and honor you for that, and I apologize for misspelling it. (btw, check that spelling of “name”) Actually I do know quite a bit about WW 2, and contrary to your statement the USA was very much NOT prepared for that war. It was our unique motivation and capabilities that allowed us to gear up fast after the disaster at Pearl Harbor. Shalom.
Returning to Charlottesville. The side with the KKK, neo-nazis, and white supremacists has no moral high ground, no claim of equivalence to the other. As for both sides showing up armed, Heather Heyer was murdered. You can claim most on the political right had no intention of killing but by defending the protestors on the political right, you have firmly placed yourself in their camp. Good day, sir.