The uncivil war turned hot in a sleepy, liberal, college town in Southwest Virginia. There were Nazis there, and hundreds upon hundreds of protesters of every type. Two police officers died when their helicopter crashed, and one Nazi enthusiast from Ohio ran over and killed an anti-Trump, counter-protestor in a BLM/ANTIFA rally. The War on Trump has turned Americans against each other. After nine months of protests, riots, accusations, threats of secession, and attempted political assassination, was Charlottesville the first battle in the next civil war?
Like the first civil war, innumerable events led Americans to war, but one triggering event of succession was the election of the first republican President, Abraham Lincoln. If Americans are headed to war, or even if we want to stop our devolution, we must understand Charlottesville. It is the hottest story in social media and cable news, but the single focus has been solely on anti-Trumpism and white supremacy.
White supremacy is real, but it is one narrative. It is not the whole story of Charlottesville.
Before we make more war … either of incivility … or where more people die, we need to investigate Charlottesville and get some answers. Some bloggers use flashy titles like, the “X number of things you need to know about X.” It’s a great blogging technique. I changed that approach to reflect the reality that I am not here to tell you what you need to know, but to ask you to consider if we should know the answers to these many questions that the mainstream media is not asking about the battle of Charlottesville.
- Why weren’t the Police ready for the violence and clashes?
This event was not a surprise. The haters planned this rally for months in advance, and the “Unite the Right” front group not only had permits, but they fought the city in Federal Court to keep those permits. This was big local news, and everyone knew the time, place and manner of the event. Yet, when barely 100 right-wing haters showed up, nearly ten-fold counter-protesters were there. Those groups had professional signs, and they were well financed and organized. How come the police had no plan to keep these parties separated? Internet gossip suggests someone ordered police to “stand down.” Is that true? If true, from whom did such an order come? On the scene video and reporting by the left-leaning ACLU confirms that violence broke out and there was little police presence when it did.
- Who were all the counter-protesting groups in Charlottesville, and were they organized and paid for by agitators.
The good people of Charlottesville had a right and some would say a duty to jeer the Unite the Right, neo-Nazis. Protecting free speech while combating hate speech with superior speech and grace is the hallmark of a civil society. We saw examples of that in Charlottesville.
Counter protesters sing to drown out the protesters messages. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/LPle2y4jPQ
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
Indeed, if that singing, cheerful group of residents were all who showed up to Charlottesville, there would have been no battle. Perhaps everyone would have gotten home safely that day. They weren’t all who showed up. Someone, some group, or some set of people organized protesters ready to fight, carrying socialist flags, preprinted signs, and lots of anger.
Counter protesters regroup at Water St., reclaiming their city. #charlottesville pic.twitter.com/XD7PpEnXmU
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
Who organized the above bucket of peaches, or the below barrel of rotten eggs?
Counter protesters continue to march, chanting #BlackLivesMatter . #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/uPqiSXrL4p
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
Still more protesters … already armed for combat and holding signs and flags people don’t make spontaneously … were at the battle, ready to fight.
Protesters don’t step off a bus in combat gear; fighters do.
Counter protesters march down 4th Street right now. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/0uWRxzL4u6
— ACLU of Virginia (@ACLUVA) August 12, 2017
Who is behind these groups? Who financed them? Who brought them into town, and who organized them for combat? Can we have a complete list of the groups that were there? And, who is the charming fellow carrying this pre-made sign, of which there were many?
Also, why didn’t these signs get plastered all over the MSM? One could only find these signs, if anywhere, in local news coverage or on twitter feeds.
3. What role, if any, did local government radicals play in organizing and orchestrating the protests that turned violent.
The Mayor fought hard to keep the Unite the Right protest out of his city. He is an outspoken anti-Trumper. In the immediate aftermath of the day, he laid the blame for the violence and death at the feet of the President. That might be great politics in a liberal city, but it’s not reality.
The reality is that the mayor declared Charlottesville the Capital of the Resistance back in January. Given the lack of police response and readiness, serious questions remain about the role of the Mayor, the Police chief, and the council in preparing to keep residents and protesters of “all sides” safe and separate. In addition, the Vice-Mayor of Charlottesville is a racist, a homophobe, and a despicable person unfit for public service, all of which he proved before he got the job. What role, if any, did he play in the counter-protests and organizing that led to violence? In fact, wouldn’t we like to see his e-mails, texts, and calls leading up to this battle?
In December of 2009, the now Vice Mayor tweeted:
“I DONT LIK WHIT PEOPLE SO I HATE WHITE SNOW!!!!! FML!!!!” According to the new report, other tweets compared white women to the devil and criticized the appearance of white women in sundresses.
We already know that Nazis are bad. We know that racists, of any color or creed are bad. We know that murder is wrong. We know that answering hate speech with violence is wrong and counterproductive. We know that Trump could have handled his response to these events better.
We don’t learn anything from those self-evident truths.
As our common culture unwinds and we continue to careen towards a shooting war, we ought to find out who is behind the fight, what is their purpose. Likewise, we should look in the mirror and ask, why are we letting them divide us?
Some think civil war is hyperbole. However, in the Old Dominion, a radical leftist tried to assassinate a baseball team full of Republican Congressman by gunning them down on a baseball field at a public Park in a left-wing city. In Charlottesville, a Nazi ran into a crowd of protesters, killing one and injuring 19.
On that day in Charlottesville, there was an all-out war on the streets. The decent, sane, and civil, were outnumbered from all sides.
The rise of the radicals on both sides is bad, and decent Americans from every political stripe must disown and dissociates ourselves from them. The people we should want to associate ourselves with were the thoughtful, cheerful, protesters who raised their collective voices in peace against those right-wing, Nazi nuts.
That must be our model.
As for civil war, the comparison breaks down when one considers that the fight in Charlottesville was against Nazis. America has a problem with hate, ignorance, and political zealotry … on every side … but it really doesn’t have a Nazi problem.
Our fights arise when each side comes to believe the other is Nazis. That is a growing problem. The fastest way to war is an unwinding of our common culture and the failure to use free speech for good, and the propensity to try to limit free political speech. All of those conditions are on the rise.
Only decent Americans can stop this cultural devolution and balkanization. We do it by repudiating all radicals. If we are to repudiate the radicals, then we need answers to the questions that remain about Charlottesville.
Not all the radicals, their friends, supporters, and financiers have been identified. They must be.
Author: Richard Kelsey
Richard Kelsey is the Editor-in-Chief of Committed Conservative.
He is a trial Attorney and author of a #11 best-selling book on Amazon written on higher education, “Of Serfs and Lords: Why College Tuition is Creating a Debtor Class”
Rich is also the author of the new Murder-Mystery series, “The ABC’s of Murder,” book one is titled, “Adultery.”
Rich is a former Assistant Law School Dean and Law Professor. At Mason Law Kelsey conceived of, planned, and brought to fruition Mason’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property, known as CPIP, drawing on his expertise as a former CEO of a technology company specializing in combating cyber-fraud.
In 2014 he was elected by the graduating class as the faculty speaker at their graduation.
He is a regular commentator on legal and political issues in print, radio and on TV. Rich has appeared on hundreds of stations as a legal expert or political commentator. He provided the legal analysis for all stages of the Bob McDonnell trial and appeal for numerous outlets including NPR and WMAL.
Rich also writes on occasion for the American Spectator and CNSNews.com.
In his free time, Rich is part of the baseball mafia of Northern Virginia, serving on numerous boards and as a little league and travel baseball coach.
His Twitter handle is @richkelsey.
