Charlottesville
It feels remiss not to say anything about what happened last weekend in Charlottesville given that it hits so close to home. As the daughter of not only a civil rights attorney, but the Associate Vice President of the University of Virginia’s Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (EOCR), it is horrifying to think that this happened not only on the grounds of my mother’s workplace, but in spite of the work she is doing to celebrate and increase diversity at UVA and in Charlottesville.
It’s harrowing to think that public spaces can be so easily violated by those that seek to endanger American citizens and American ideals. For anyone who is blinded by the label of “conservativism” as it formerly applied to a cannon of traditional values, make no mistake that these domestic terrorists and Nazis have seeped into the foundation of your political ideology. Without expulsion of people and ideas that threaten minorities with physical and psychological violence, the conservative movement cannot credibly brand itself as a movement of morals, and its foundation will remain fundamentally flawed.
The events last weekend are shocking and depressing, but the failure of moral leaders in
our country to condemn this type of hatred has perpetuated a climate where this type of occurrence is not entirely unsurprising. The racism in this country has faces and names, and they bore the banners of white supremacy last weekend.
The reaction of the Administration and President Trump has been outrageous. Never in American history has the president so failed to reassure our citizens in a time of national tragedy. Make no mistake, this was a defining moment for this administration, and the perpetual mishandling of national crises will not go unnoticed. A failure to condemn the people that drag our country backward toward a time of fear and oppression is unforgivable. Our constitution gives citizens the right to peacefully express themselves in whatever manner they choose, but that does not mean that all forms of expression come without moral implications. An expression of white supremacy is not a moral misstep, it is a cultural outrage. The inability of our president to address it as such is representative of his undeniable moral failures. Failures which have been shown time and time again.
Racism is a perpetual moral handicap on American society that mars the lives of so many in this country, and should not be taken lightly by anyone. If you are a white person not shaken by last weekend please take some time to think critically about the history of oppression that continues to plague our country centuries after its inception.
I know that I can’t fully comprehend how it feels to be the target of this type of racially derived prejudice and violence, but I can offer support to all those impacted, both in Charlottesville and around the country. I hope to reach others who have been complacent or ignorant of the reality of America’s moral crisis, and encourage them to wake up.
This is not normal.
