Who Are Those Guys?
This week the President of the United States drew a “moral equivalency” among all of those at Charlottesville last weekend. In fact, the President watched (more carefully than the reporters did, he said) the “tiki torch march” on Friday night, and saw some “very fine people”. (It’s amazing what Fred Perry polo shirts, khakis and a permit can do!)[1]
A “moral equivalency”: that both sides in a struggle have no more or less claim to being “right” (that’s right versus wrong – not right-wing). The President also introduced a new term in the ongoing debate over the division of America: “alt-left.” No one had heard that one before.
It’s time for a “scorecard.” Who are these groups, what do they stand for, and who, if any, has the “moral high ground”? Names are thrown around: Alt-Right, Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, Black Lives Matter, Anti-Fascists, and White Supremacists (Nationalists); all need to have some meaning. As Butch said to Sundance: who are those guys?
Let’s do the historically clear groups first. The Neo-Nazis (current) are those who espouse the racial message of Hitler. Hitler believed in the racial superiority of the Aryan race, Aryan being defined as white, Northern Europeans. According to Hitler, other races existed to serve the Aryans. He also believed that the Jewish people subverted the power and authority of Aryans, and must be eliminated. Neo-Nazis (and the modern KKK) believe in the creation of a white “ethnostate” in America.
When the “boys” in their Fred Perry Polos chanted “Jews won’t replace us” they were echoing the cries of the Hitler brownshirts from the 1930’s. When they carried their “tiki torches” they were purposefully imitating Hitler-era demonstrations. The fact that they dress like “preppies” does not change the hate in their words, thoughts and deeds. [2]
The “anti-fa,” or anti-fascists trace their origins to the anarchists of the late 19th and early 20th century. Dressed in black, they believe that the only way to confront Nazism and White Supremacy is through intimidation and violence. To them, Trump and “Trumpism” represents the triumph of those views. They argue:
“to call Trumpism fascist” is to realize that it is “not well combated or contained by standard liberal appeals to reason.” The radical left, it said, offers “practical and serious responses in this political moment.”[3]
In other words, you can’t reason with facists, so attack them physically.
Black Lives Matter is an organization developed after what they see as government sanctioned killing of black men over the past few years. From the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, through Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland: the Black Live Matter movement cites a continuing number of unarmed men being killed by police as a reason for protest. Their goal: to raise awareness and create change through marches and protests. Critics have said that the BLM movement has encouraged rioting, particularly in Ferguson, Missouri where national attention was first focused. The organization itself states:
“We are committed to embodying and practicing justice, liberation and peace in our engagements with one another.”[4]
The Ku Klux Klan has a long history, starting from the end of the Civil War in 1866. Its goal was and continues to be to champion the supremacy of the white race over other races, and Protestant Christianity over other religions. The Klan has had several eras of resurgence, usually coinciding with an era of increased civil rights. The end of the Reconstruction Era in 1876, after World War I and into the 1920’s, and in the 1960’s in opposition to the Civil Rights movement; all were times of high visibility. [5]
Historically it should be no surprise that they have gained notoriety again, given the progress in civil and social rights of the last twenty years. The Klan has also worked to become more “mainstream alt-right” by toning down its hoods and robes and blending into the other white supremacist groups.
The “alt-right” is a more modern (internet) version of the far right represented by Breitbart “News.” While many of the same ultra-conservative views are espoused by the alt-right, there is a more Libertarian bent, which allows for more individual differences. This is perhaps best shown through Milo Yiannopoulos. A 32 year old British man, Yiannopoulos is openly gay, and was a leading speaker and writer in the alt-right community. He led the tech section of Bretibart “News.” His recent statements regarding gay men and teens have taken him out of the limelight, but his alt-right success demonstrates the difference between alt-right and neo-Nazis.
“The Resistance” is a loosely associated group of millions of folks who feel that the election of Donald Trump threatens the progress in American society made over the last sixty years. There is no membership card or uniform, and people of all ages, races, particular areas of concerns and motivation have participated in protests and demonstrations against a wide number of actions by the current government majority.
The “anti-fas” and Black Lives Matter groups are often a part of those “Resistance” activities, and while a vast majority of BLM and the Resistance are non-violent, the anti-fas are willing to use violence to achieve their goals.
In full disclosure, I started blogging as part of my contribution to the “Resistance”. In addition, I have marched and demonstrated, both against President Trump and the results of some of his actions (cutting Medicaid in Ohio for example.) I am a believer in the First Amendment (as well as the rest of the Amendments – including the Second) and I believe that, particularly in our current time of political unrest, it is important for voices to be heard.
Destruction and or physical violence do not advance the causes I believe in. During the lates 1960’s and early 70’s, there were widespread protests against the Vietnam War. A vast majority of those protests were non-violent, learning from Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement. But there were also groups that used destruction and violence to protest, notably the SDS (Students for Democratic Society). Violence and destruction did not end the war. It gave “the establishment” an excuse to restrict protest.
There is clearly no “moral equivalency” between the white “supremacists” and those who are protesting against them. The fact those some of the counter-protestors came ready for a fight should not diminish the reality: we should ALL (you too Mr. President) stand up for American values, and denounce hate and prejudice.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/15/read-the-transcript-of-donald-trumps-jaw-dropping-press-conference.html
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5g_1exP7H4
[3] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/the-rise-of-the-violent-left/534192/
[4] http://blacklivesmatter.com
[5] http://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan
