Taking his own advice, does that mean he should have used his
Saturday press conference following the Charlottesville, VA domestic terrorist
attacks to condemn the forces that attacked peaceful demonstrators for what
they truly are: Nazis, Racists and white
supremacists? After all, did they not
advertise openly those names for themselves? Of course they did, because they
now know without a doubt that they have not only a sympathizer in the Oval Office;
they also know that they have their own true believers in the Trump
administration, one of whom – Steve Bannon – is a prime policy advisor.
Despite Trump speaking out against violence and hatred – “on
many sides” – he missed an opportunity to identify the radical domestic terrorist
groups present in Charlottesville, who have activated a plan that seeks the
destruction of a democratic agenda, and of a diverse society. It also includes the destruction of the
liberal press, the elimination of certain rights and freedoms, and the destruction
of a government that supports 'liberal' programs and policies that do not favor
white Americans.
Does Trump really believe that his Monday press statement
before a television audience absolves him from that indiscretion? In my opinion, it does not. It was a crude attempt to right the wrongs of
that first statement, but it falls short in two respects: (1) it did not
renounce that phrase of “violence on many sides”, and (2) it did not ask the
Justice Department to investigate more than the killing and injuries. In other words, there was no mention of
possible “hate crimes” that should be investigated by federal officials. Trump once again fell short of true
presidential prowess and moral leadership.
This event in Charlottesville is a benchmark and perhaps a
red line. It has marked the open
defiance of avowed fascists against a fundamental civil right: that of peaceful
protest. It has marked the public demonstration of Fascist and white supremacist
ideology and vitriol. It has identified
the violent nature of this country’s Fascist movement: they will kill innocent people to advance
their agenda (a very adequate definition of “terrorism”). And, it has released upon this country a plan
of attack that has characterized fascist groups throughout the world (see my
Blog posts of 11/23/2015).
Make no mistake
about this so-called “incident.” It is
not incidental; it was not unplanned; it is not a one-time occurrence (reports of other possible events are already circulating). Those terrorists who were dressed in military
garb have declared just what they regard this to have been – an opening battle
for the supremacy of the white race and for the “de-construction” of democratic
governance. The minimization of this
event is a huge mistake, like that made by much of the populace of Germany in
the 1930s. I say this because:
1. Fascism
is, by definition, a terrorist plot that uses hate and violence as essential
tactics. “One common
definition of the term focuses on three concepts: the fascist negations
(anti-liberalism,
anti-communism
and anti-conservatism); nationalist authoritarian goals of
creating a regulated economic structure to transform social relations within a
modern culture; and a political system of romantic symbolism, mass
mobilization, a positive view of violence, and promotion of masculinity, youth
and charismatic leadership. According to many scholars, fascism—especially once
in power—has historically attacked communism, conservatism and parliamentary
liberalism, attracting support primarily from the far right.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism).
2. Fascist
tendencies are alive and well in another segment of society that also seeks the
de-construction of rules and regulations of government that (supposedly)
suppress the free market, free trade and the ability of rich capitalists to
reap tremendous profits (by hook or by crook) from the rest of mankind. The financial support by oligarchs of the
type of Fascism displayed in Charlottesville will be a force to be reckoned
with. It might even be the unstoppable
“juggernaut” the Nazis developed in Germany.
Those commentators who remind us of the smallness of this
Charlottesville contingent have forgotten their European History, for the German
Nazis were also ignored at first for their relatively small presence. Stopping a Fascist movement of any numbers
must begin in earnest precisely when they are small and seemingly
insignificant! Consult the following for a listing of these groups in the
USA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:White_supremacist_groups_in_the_United_States
3. Third,
do not for a moment forget that avowed Fascists, white supremacists and radical
nationalists exist within the Trump administration, and they are key players in
the production of the policies and rhetoric of this administration. Steve Bannon, who is a special policy advisor
to the President, has been a leading advocate of Fascist and racist-type views
for a long time, but until now, did not have an inside office and position from
which to spew his Fascist rhetoric into the ears of the Executive of this branch
of the federal government. Briefly, here
is a picture of two insiders from Tribune News Service, authored by Tony Pugh:
WASHINGTON _ Religious and
civil rights leaders called on President Donald Trump to fire White House
advisers Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka, whose association with the
white-supremacist "alt-right" movement has come under heightened
scrutiny after Saturday's violent clash in Charlottesville, Va.
"Supporters of white
supremacists, violent extremism, racial bigotry and neo-Nazis should not serve
in the White House or any level of government," said Vanita Gupta,
president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Bannon, Trump's chief
strategist, is the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, a right-wing
news site that's a favorite with white nationalists and the so-called alt-right
movement of anti-Semitic and white-power groups, according to the Southern
Poverty Law Center. Bannon also was CEO of Trump's presidential campaign.
Gorka, a deputy assistant to
Trump, has ties to anti-Semitic, right-wing groups in Hungary. Farhana Khera, president and executive
director of Muslim Advocates, said Gorka "gave cover" to individuals
who bombed a mosque in Minnesota when he called it a "possible fake hate
crime."
"Until the president
purges his staff of supporters of the white supremacist movement, the president's
condemnation (of violence in Charlottesville) has no credibility. The presence
of Bannon and Gorka in the administration is the president's silent message to
extremists to continue their march of terror against our communities. And it
must stop," Khera said.
Trump has faced widespread
criticism, even from within his party, for not denouncing the incident as
domestic terrorism and for refusing to directly condemn the white supremacists,
racists and neo-Nazis who organized the event.
(www.mcclatchydc.com)
Two points: 1) this is the right kind of pro-active step
taken by the religious and civil rights leaders, and they should be supported
in their stand that Trump should remove avowed Fascists from appointed
positions in the White House and Executive Branch, and 2) a simple denouncing
of the domestic terrorists who ravaged Charlottesville and who killed and
injured peaceful protestors is not enough.
- They must be prosecuted to
the full extent of the law;
- There must be a federal investigation
of the terrorist intentions of the groups involved; and
- Every measure should be taken
by governments and citizens of every state to financially burden and weaken
every organization on the list mentioned above at Wikipedia.com.
- We must use every measure
possible, including boycotts of revenue-producing events and products in
every state that harbors such organizations.
- Every Fascist organization
(and their oligarchic sponsors) that advocates the destruction of our
rights, freedoms and democratic institutions must be investigated,
boycotted, vilified, and forced into the mode of de-construction that they
so lovingly proclaim through their WH spokespersons, especially Steve
Bannon.
§
the passive reactions to their demonstrations,
their rhetoric and beliefs,
§
displays of violence that went unpunished by
authorities,
§
the easy
conversion to their movement of certain citizens within the population, many of
whom had experienced what was later described as a “moral numbness” induced by
lack of leadership and lack of good people organizing to resist
§
the
ignorance and lack of resolve on the part of the leaders of the Weimar
Republic, and the inability of local leaders and citizens in towns and villages
to comprehend what was happening (and what was likely to happen); they just
didn’t see Nazism in its full hideousness
§
the
refusal of many citizens to listen to the warnings provided about Nazis by
professors, some experienced politicians, clergy, and philosophers. They were all ignored (read my post, “The Niemuller Warning” 11/9/2015).
We must be
prepared to follow former Congressman John Dingle (Democrat from Michigan) into
battle against this foe. Anyone who
believes this incident to be a distraction or a one-time occurrence is
delusional. Dingle is right – they are
Nazis, and they can’t be ignored. He is
correct again when he recognizes that this unseemly crew of domestic terrorists
must be opposed in battle. And again, he is right: Trump must resign, or be
fired!
POLITICS
08/13/2017 11:57 pm ET
Congress’
Longest Serving WWII Vet Vows to Fight Nazis Again After Violent Protest
Former Rep.
John Dingell had a message for white nationalist groups that incited violence
on Saturday.
By Rebecca
Shapiro
“Former Rep. John
Dingell (D-Mich.), 91, known on Twitter for his bristling and often comical
political observations, had a clear message following Saturday’s deadly violence
incited by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dingell, the
longest-serving member of Congress in history, was also one of the final two World
War II veterans to leave office in 2014. On Sunday, Dingell tweeted that
he enlisted once to fight Nazis, and he’d do so again if necessary.
Dingell enlisted when
he turned 18 in 1944. He told NPR that he did not see combat but said had the
atomic bomb…not been dropped, he would have been part of a ground attack
on Japan.
The former congressman,
who served in Congress from 1955 to 2014, is a vocal critic of President Donald
Trump. He most recently used the anniversary of former President Richard
Nixon’s resignation from office as an opportunity to show Trump how such a
decision could be made. ‘You could even
fit it in a tweet,’ he wrote to the president.”
The
threat of Fascism – in its various forms of radical nationalism, race hatred, Nazism,
and its violent and destructive ideology – must be defeated whenever it raises
its ugly serpent head. Charlottesville
is the starting line. We must begin the
battle right now, and never stop until the Fascists are vanquished, their financial
sponsors are jailed and their Chief Abettor in the White House is removed from
Office, along with his government de-constructionists (Bannon and Gorka
must be the first to go), and that should be the first order of business for
every progressive activist in this land.
