Pray for Charlottesville and our country

[Dave Roberts]

Yesterday, violence erupted in what is normally a quiet college town that gets little attention outside of basketball season. Under the guise of protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue by the City of Charlottesville, a combination of white nationalists, neo-nazis, the KKK, and a number of other white supremacist groups gathered. There were long guns displayed under Virginia's open carry law, and protesters often wore helmets, some brought shields, and a number brought baseball bats or other clubs. Brass knuckles were also seen in the crowd. A 20-year-old from Ohio drove his Dodge Challenger at approximately 40 miles per hour into a group of counter protesters who were peacefully assembled on Market Street across from the park where the various alt-right groups were gathered. The young man murdered a woman crossing the street and attempted the murder of 19 others.

On this day, I hope that this racism will receive condemnation from every pulpit in Christ-honoring churches across the country. If racism has a place in this country, then Christ does not!

Ed Setzer offered one of the better statements in the past 24 hours.

[Sandy]

Amen! Well said!

[KeithE]

This alt-right mindset probably represents as much as 10% of Americans which was enough to swing an election. The key “Unite the Right” stance is one of bigotry - they want ethnic homogeneity of America. That day is over and has been for over 100 years. Blaming their economic or social frustrations on Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, LBGTs, immigrants (legal and illegal), “elitist” Ivy Leaguers, etc. is what, imo, fuels this movement.

I’m not sure that Trump sympathizes with this movement’s core or just wants to have their voting block. I suspect both. Either way it is “deplorable” and his lack of explicitly condemning the alt-right (white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazis, etc.) continues to reveal his true self. And I hope this will be seen by all Republicans who are not alt-right and will support removal of Bannon, Miller, Gorka from the White House staff. As it stands, the alt-right is bouyed by Trump’s defusion of condemnation (“many sides”).

As Stetzer's article (that Dave linked) says, clergy ought to decry such bigotry grown into violent hatred and they have - .

I am not sure how we can change the alt-right mindset, but improving economics of the middle/lower classes would help (min wage increases, max wage setting, infrastructure stimulus to gibe jobs to construction trades) would help in the long term.

[JE Pettibone]

Ed: Keith wrote "I am not sure how we can change the alt-right mindset, but improving economics of the middle/lower classes would help (min wage increases, max wage setting, infrastructure stimulus to gibe jobs to construction trades) would help in the long term."

If you want to change their mindset you will need to make real effort at getting to know them. I have an idea that very few of them are shoe-less Hillbillies. I confess that I do not really know many of them and I would prefer not too but then I know I need too, if I want to see them change their minds. But then I ask change to what?

[Tim Bonney]

[Jim]

[William Thornton]

If you want to make alt-right into a victim class this is a good start. There are racist supremacistsin our country. There are also bigots who excel at the broad smear. We would be better off without either.

How can you take a clear expression of evil and muddy it up? Let pontificating liberals engage it. Disgusting.

The handful of tiki-torch toting, blood and soil, straight line Nazi miscreants can be condemned more effectively without impugning another 33 million Americans.

[Dave Roberts]

For a bit of clarity, we condemn Muslim terrorist who drive into a crowd as "terrorists," but I have yet to hear the driver of the car in Charlottesville condemned as a terrorist except by Attorney General Sessions. If we want moral clarity, use the same terms to describe the same evil acts.

[Dave Roberts]

[KeithE]

[KeithE]

[JE Pettibone]

[Sandy]

[William Thornton]

Yeah oppose the alt-right by linking one of their hate rags. Brilliant.

Several case studies at work in this short thread.

[KeithE]

[William Thornton]

[Dave Roberts]

[Dave Roberts]

[Sandy]

Is the objection to Dave's link really tied to the exposure it gives to the disgusting hate group, or is the objection tied to the fact that it allows people to see how closely linked the hate group is to Trump, and how much of their ideology he actually shares? Is it an attempt to keep the left from gaining the moral high ground for their consistent, universal opposition to white supremacy, the alt-right and everything associated with it, and from getting any political benefit out of it?

What I'm seeing, in facebook and social media posts, and all over the extremist right wing media, is a major scramble to create smokescreens and diversions to try to keep the crap they're slinging from sticking to the Donald. These are his core supporters, the philosophical and political center of his "base," and they are wearing their "Make America Great Again" caps and t-shirts as they push their hateful, satanic agenda. That's going to be a tough job, given all the approval signals he's sent to them, his very soft and muted, delayed response to the violence in Charlottesville, which they provoked and perpetrated, and the fact that he has two of their leaders on his White House staff. These are the Trump supporters that Hillary Clinton rightly called "deplorables", in the context of her remarks, the Alt-right was exactly whom she was referencing. And now, instead of simply speaking out and condemning it for the evil that it is, the extremist right wing media, and a whole host of evangelical leaders are pulling this crap, trying to equate "liberal" groups and actions with this same sort of thing, criticizing, maligning and impugning the character of those who have consistently taken a stand against this evil.

You're exactly on target, Dave. These people are antichrist, exactly as the Bible defines and describes the term, and being critical of those who are standing against them, and attempting to divert attention from the real issue by bad mouthing and name calling liberals who have the moral high ground on this issue is tacit approval at best. That kind of criticism makes it look like you are jealous of the morality being exhibited by the left.

[William Thornton]

Sorry, I think my lib friends are yet in an irrational frenzy. Dave thinks it helps something , someone, somewhere to link a Nazi rag. Sandy and keith aren't over the election.

[Rvaughn]

[JE Pettibone]

[JE Pettibone]

[William Thornton]

Ed and William allies? Give me some time to digest this. OK, I've got it: Ed has gotten wiser with age.

Swing by and take me for a ride in the Grand Coach.

[Jim]