Just
imagine for 30 seconds what would have happened if an Islamic extremist
had driven a car into a crowd of alt-right demonstrators and you'll
know just how pathetic was Donald
Trump's response to what actually happened in Charlottesville yesterday,
where one counter-protester died and many were injured in just such an
incident. The Guardian on the president's response etc., below and then
passages from Juan Cole's latest on the subject. Tom
"Donald Trump has faced bipartisan criticism after failing to
explicitly condemn the role of white supremacists in clashes with
counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, that culminated in a
car running into a crowd, killing at least one person.
"The
president said he condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides”
on Saturday. He then repeated the phrase “on many sides” for emphasis. A
White House spokesperson later amplified the president’s remarks,
telling the Guardian: “The president was condemning hatred, bigotry and
violence from all sources and all sides. There was violence between
protesters and counter-protesters today.”
"But there was strong
reaction to Trump’s refusal to denounce far-right extremists who had
marched through the streets carrying flaming torches, screaming racial
epithets and setting upon their opponents.
"The clashes started
after white nationalists planned a rally around a statue of the
Confederate general Robert E Lee that is slated to be removed, and
culminated in a car being deliberately driven into a group of people
peacefully protesting the far right rally, killing one person and
injuring at least 19. Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon,
described the car ramming as an act of “domestic terrorism”.
"Speaking at a previously scheduled event in Bedminster, New Jersey, to
discuss healthcare for veterans, Trump said: “I should put out a comment
as to what’s going on in Charlottesville.”
"After stopping to
shake the hands of the assembled veterans, the president said: “We’re
closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville,
Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious
display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”
Trump added that this had been “going on for a long time in our country.
Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. A long, long time.” Trump added:
“What is vital now is a swift restoration of law and order.”
"Trump urged Americans to “love each other, respect each other and
cherish our history and our future together. So important. We have to
respect each other. Ideally, we have to love each other.”
"However, Trump’s remarks met condemnation for being inadequate – not
just from Democrats but many members of his own party as well.
"The Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio was among those calling for a straightforward condemnation..."
HERE'S JUAN COLE:
"....When Muslim terrorists commit vehicular homicide in order to
terrorize people, as on the London Bridge last spring, that is called
terrorism, or sometimes “loan wolf” terrorism.
"But when a far
right extremist white guy commits vehicular homicide in Charlottesville
against normal people protesting Nazism and the Confederate legacy of
slavery, I swear to God, CBS/AP called it “Driver in fatal
Charlottesville wreck”
"The article notes that not only did that
hateful person allegedly kill a woman crossing the street, he badly
injured a whole gaggle of people who are not being mentioned in the
news:
“Five of the injured were listed in critical condition
Saturday night. Four thers were in serious condition, sixwere in fair
condition, and four others were in good condition, authorities said
Saturday.”
"I don’t know, I guess those ISIL guys from Libya in
London could have been characterized as “Drivers in fatal London Bridge
wreck.” I mean, it is not incorrect or anything. It is just effing
pusillanimous.
4.
"The US government has a whole program
for “combating violent extremism.” It initially worked against both
Muslim and white supremacist extremism.
"Trump last winter
ordered that the program stop combating white supremacist extremism and
focus only on Muslims. This despite the fact that you’re many times more
likely to be harmed by a white supremacist than by a Muslim in the US.
5.
"Muslim extremists are often depicted as people who cannot adapt to the modern world and are stuck in the eighth century.
"White extremists, despite their bizarre attachment to plantation
slavery and National Socialist memorabilia from the 1930s, are not
similarly branded as stuck in the past. In fact, what with their Alt
media like the far, far, far, far Right Breitbart (Volkische Beobachter
in the original German), they are often seen as cutting edge
modernists."
