Lodi News-Sentinel

Charlottes­ville donnybrook

- WALTER WILLIAMS Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonist­s, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creato

Charlottes­ville, Virginia, a city named after Britain’s first black queen, was the scene of a bloody riot Saturday, Aug. 12. The fray resulted in the death of one woman, who was mowed down by a car; plus, there were many other people injured. Have politician­s and the news media told the correct and complete story about what happened, or have Americans been deliberate­ly misled? Let’s look at it.

One does not have to accept the racist and nationalis­t vision of the Unite the Right organizati­on to recognize and respect its First Amendment rights. Moreover, the group obtained a city permit to hold a peaceful rally to protest the lawful removal of the statue of Confederat­e Gen. Robert E. Lee from Emancipati­on Park, formerly known as Lee Park. It was the leftist protesters who did not have a city permit to assemble for a rally on that day. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said: “There has got to be a movement in this country to bring people together. The hatred and rhetoric that has gone on and has intensifie­d over the last couple months is dividing this great nation.” He denounced “the white supremacis­ts and the Nazis.” However, when asked a question about whether he would include the left-wing, pro-violence antifa in his condemnati­on, he ignored the question and walked out of the room.

Here’s a question for you: Did the authoritie­s of the city of Charlottes­ville have a duty to protect Unite the Right rally attendees? The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said they had a right to rally, saying, “The First Amendment is a critical part of our democracy, and it protects vile, hateful, and ignorant speech.” Thus, the ACLU of Virginia defended the white supremacis­ts’ and neoNazis’ right to march and rally against the removal of the statue of Lee. Both the Unite the Right organizers and the leftist counter-protesters charged that the Charlottes­ville police did not do their job. They just stood back and watched the melee.

This was documented in several reports. The Daily Caller article titled “Why Were The Police Held Back In Charlottes­ville?” reports: “Law enforcemen­t was on hand at the dueling demonstrat­ions on Saturday, decked out in riot gear and looking prepared for the worst. Except they weren’t allowed to do their job.” According to the ACLU of Virginia, police on the scene were reported to have been ordered to “not intervene until given command to do so.” That kept them from suppressin­g the numerous scuffles that broke out. I’d like to ask any policeman, Since when did the police need a command to intervene when they are witnessing people assaulting one another? In a ProPublica article titled “Police Stood By As Mayhem Mounted in Charlottes­ville,” the authors reported that “state police and National Guardsmen watched passively for hours as self-proclaimed Nazis engaged in street battles with counter-protesters.” ProPublica reporter A.C. Thompson, who was on the scene, reported that “the authoritie­s turned the streets of the city over to groups of militiamen armed with assault rifles0”. Instead of owning up to his derelictio­n of duty — by not having ordered his police force to protect life and limb — Charlottes­ville Mayor Mike Signer chose to demagogue the situation by blaming the rise of white nationalis­ts on President Donald Trump.

Many politician­s, racists, hustlers and tyrants have an agenda that consists mostly of making the U.S. Constituti­on meaningles­s and giving government greater control over our lives, thereby destroying personal liberty. The altright and white supremacis­ts seek to achieve their goals through racist propaganda. The leftists seek to achieve their goals by tricking Americans into believing that all they want are brotherhoo­d and multicultu­ralism. If either group achieves its goals, we Americans will lose not only our liberty but also our civility. Few Americans recognize and respect the fact that multiracia­l societies are inherently unstable. What we’ve been doing for decades, through various government policies, is stacking up combustibl­e racial kindling awaiting a racial arsonist to set it ablaze.

There are too many historical examples of what happens to a nation when race hustlers are allowed to take over.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States