Emma Russell
Where do we draw the line between what is right and what is wrong?
I don’t mean to turn this into some “with great power comes great responsibility” trope, I’m not exactly one to tell Spiderman what to do, so why would I tell anyone else what to do? However, it is a very interesting topic, how quickly our view of what’s morally correct can change.
We grow up being told what, where, how, and why to do everything; but what about someone who would be considered an extremist? Take the recent news for example, obviously Charlottesville has gotten a lot of spotlight lately, with neo-nazi’s taking to the street to protest. We’ve seen statues being pulled to the ground, torches being lit, a woman murdered. Being a teenager of the twenty-first century, I did not expect to be writing about nazi’s in America. This isn’t the 1940’s.
Under what circumstances did anyone decide that hate against anyone is an acceptable way of life? President Donald Trump has created a spiteful America, a hateful and evil America.
Trump’s election caused an immediate ripple through the country. With terrorist groups coming out of the shadows that they were once hidden in, it’s no wonder the country is seemingly divided. Groups like the Klu Klux Klan, or KKK, have been long regarded as people who are committed to performing acts of downright evil, however their ability to seemingly disappear has made it hard to take them down. They are a terrorist group that promote extreme reactionary outlooks, such as anti-immigration, antisemitism, and most famously, racism or white supremacy.
Notice I chose to use the phrase ‘terrorist’. Many have found that, stereotypically, Americans view ‘terrorists’ as being of Middle Eastern descent with beards and traditional headscarves. However, many people would disagree that the KKK, being a notoriously white group, is a terrorist organization; ignorant and uninformed people.
The definition of terrorism by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is, “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.” This is an incredibly accurate depiction of not only the Klan, but of the Charlottesville riots as a whole. Neo-Nazi’s and extremists took to the streets to protest the removal of a confederate statue. The protests were not peaceful. And this is where that idea comes in, that humans could be morally corrupted.
With people being ousted in the protests, we’ve heard that supremacists are being fired from their jobs and disowned from their families. Where do we place blame? These are people who grew up in otherwise normal homes that decide they want to violently protest innocent people.
The internet, news feeds, history class, may all have a part. But I believe that it’s all to do with fear. Fear of the unknown, of difference and the ways cultures live. Isn’t it ironic that the people who are so outspoken now are the same people who have been interviewed over the phone in tears because they were told that they’re wrong?
Fear is how dictators like Adolf Hitler started a movement that killed millions of innocent people. If we’re living in a country with a president who doesn’t immediately dispute racists then we’re no better than the people who were told they had to create a superior race by killing thousands of others.
We can’t give people like this an out. Freedom of Speech is one thing, but when it infringes on anyone’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it’s un-American. We aren’t talking about people who are speaking their opinions, these are people who are beating or killing anyone just because they don’t like the color of their skin.
Donald ran a campaign that emphasized the fear of the unknown. He said build a wall because Mexicans are thugs who are coming into America illegally, citizens cheered. He said all muslims are terrorists and are out to get our women and children, and actual terrorists, like those marching in Charlottesville, knew it was their time to shine.
If Charlottesville were overrun with Muslim and Black protesters, no matter the amount of violence, the president would have acted immediately. But these are white men and women.
When former supremacists spoke out, compared the recruitment regime as being similar to ISIS, the president still didn’t change his statement.
“There are fine people on both sides,” said the president of a country overrun with monsters who support the mindless killing of Jewish, Black, Muslim, Native American, and anyone who doesn’t agree with them.
A woman was murdered standing up for the cause she stood up for. Freedom of speech is the pinnacle of America. There are very few countries in this world that are allowed to speak as freely as this about their government. However, if we continue to let nazis and racists run the country, we aren’t going to have that right for much longer.
Life
Liberty
The Pursuit of Happiness.
This is America, 2017. Not America, 1865.
How is humanity going to survive if we let a man who defends hate and murder run our once great country?
