Originally Posted by
TopekaRoy
How many of "these type of people" do you think there are in the United States? Certainly not enough to have swung the election. I guarantee there are more Muslims that support Sharia law in England than there are white supremacists, or white separatists in the USA. That is not a knock on Muslims or England. I'm just giving you a reference of relative size.
There is no defense for the ideology of these so called "Alt Right" racist hate groups. Fortunately, they are very few and mostly all talk. They have no real power to implement their hateful policies. Bu there is something that I don't see being talked about on any of the 24 hour news channels. All of this could have been avoided.
The city of Charlottesville could have denied the permit for the rally. They could have argued that the site for the assembly was too small to accommodate all the people that were expected to show up. They could have argued that their police force was far too small to guarantee the safety of all involved (which, in retrospect, is absolutely correct). Charlottesville is a small town with a population of about 48,000 and an equally small police force. They could have argued these things, but they would have lost. The First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of assembly is almost absolute in America and courts would have surely sided with the demonstrators. The argument that the rally would probably start a riot is not strong enough. You can't prevent an assembly because it might lead to crime.
So these hate groups had a legal right to hold their rally. They went through all the proper channels to inform the city of their plans so they could prepare and to get the permits they needed. The violence could have still been prevented very easily. All people had to do was to IGNORE them. Don't counter-protest. Don't try to drown them out with anti-racism chants. Don't show up and politely listen to what they have to say. Don't publicize the rally in advance. Don't talk about it on the news and don't send reporters and camera crews to cover the event. If they have no one watching or listening to their garbage, they would make their speeches, cheer each other on and then go home.
I live in Topeka, home of the Westboro Baptist Church. Nearly every weekend those idiots are out picketing somewhere. We can't stop them, legally, but we don't have to listen to them, or even acknowledge that they exist. You don't even know they are there unless you happen to drive by and see their stupid signs.
I don't understand why every protest has to draw counter-protesters, whether it's abortion rights, immigration, health care ... or white supremacists. Yes, the counter-protesters had every right to be there. Having the right to do something, doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. The counter-protesters are not there to persuade, to make the argument that their position is the better one. They are only there to "show support" for their side or opposition to the other side. Their message is "You people are bad and we are better than you." They do nothing to educate the community, effect policy change or make the World a better place. All they do is create conflict which leads to violence--violence that could have been avoided.