COUNTERPOINT | The mayor of Charlottesville knew in advance about the groups assembling to protest, but little was done to prevent violence. Why?
By CORBY PELTO
The mainstream media's reaction to President Donald Trump's condemnation of the violent clash in Virginia was to blame Trump for criticizing the many sides involved in the conflict. Perhaps the president could have condemned specific white supremacist groups at the protest a day or two earlier, but he did immediately condemn the hate and bigotry surrounding the protest. And there are many sides to this story that should be considered if we hope to understand and avoid such conflict in the future.
Americans may detest certain groups, but our Constitution allows them the right to march and protest. A federal judge approved the permit that this group filed. They did have a legal right to protest the removal of a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Although the KKK and other so-called "white nationalist" groups were at the protest, it has been reported that others were there not as part of any white supremacist or nationalist group, but simply to protest the removal of a long-standing statue of historical importance.
People across the country are only fooling themselves if they don't realize that many good people in the South, and North, are upset about the removal of historical markers and statues by those engaged in historical revisionism and the politically correct movement that squelches free speech.
Should we take down all historical statues based on present-day values or morals? People can stick their heads in the sand and pretend that those concerns do not exist, but that will not make this long-standing conflict go away.
The counterprotesters in Charlottesville may have had a moral right to confront the white supremacists in the march, but they did not have a legal right to try and stop a lawfully permitted protest. YouTube videos posted online show both sides initiating and instigating violence. Debates are won with words, not violence. Had the confrontation not occurred, there likely would have been no story, no violence and no lives lost.