sovay | Shake me and make me remember

I had a bunch of things I wanted to post about this afternoon, but they have been temporarily displaced by Nazis. I tend to assume everyone who might read this journal is ahead of me on the news curve, but if not, Charlottesville is in a state of emergency after this morning's white supremacist rally was suspended due to violence breaking out. An as yet unidentified car drove into a crowd of counter-protesters. (Funny how you can scream about Islamic terrorism till you're blue in the face, but there's nothing wrong with vehicle-ramming when it's white hands on the wheel.) As a person miles away from Virginia who has been trying to figure out what to do beyond making phone calls to politicians and yelling on the internet, I found the following links useful:

Sara Benincasa has compiled a list of local nonprofits who could use the support, including NAACP Albemarle-Charlottesville, Charlottesville Pride, Meals on Wheels Charlottesville, Congregation Beth Israel, and Virginia's Legal Aid Justice Center.

Charlottesville Solidarity Legal Fund is a community resource that posts bail and raises other funds for anti-racist activists.

Beloved Community Charlottesville raises money for local charities based directly and proportionately on the number of neo-Nazis who show for the rally.

I'll add other resources if I come across them. I've just been reminded one of my mother's cousins lives in Charlottesville. [edit] They are fine. One fatality confirmed from the car attack, one suspect in custody. One man in the White House doing nothing to condemn terrorism when it's the same color as his skin.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

In the more-white-supremacists-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at category, I'm caught up in my own town with counteracting a dumping of KKK literature in my neighborhood. We're planning an explicit no-racism, no-hate potluck-style town picnic--bring food and instruments. The idea is to show each other and the rest of the world that for every piece of vile nastiness they want to spread, we can welcome harder and wider and with more joy (and food. and friendship).

Thanks for the links. No community should have to go through this alone.

In the more-white-supremacists-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at category

The worst category.

We're planning an explicit no-racism, no-hate potluck-style town picnic--bring food and instruments. The idea is to show each other and the rest of the world that for every piece of vile nastiness they want to spread, we can welcome harder and wider and with more joy (and food. and friendship).

I hope it's a runaway success. I like the idea of welcoming harder. I am very sorry there's been KKK literature at all.

Thanks for the links. No community should have to go through this alone.

You're welcome. I agree.

Edited (spelling) 2017-08-12 19:18 (UTC)

I really like your edit. I mean, not the fact that there's cause to say it, but. You know.

I mean, not the fact that there's cause to say it, but. You know.

Sometime obvious things are still worth stating.

even our ridiculous president, or his ghost writer, managed to put out a concerned boilerplate message
>>We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!<<

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/12/542982015/home-to-university-of-virginia-prepares-for-violence-at-white-nationalist-rally

even our ridiculous president, or his ghost writer, managed to put out a concerned boilerplate message

I am unconvinced by lines like "this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides." That is both dangerously vague and a false equivalence. Draw the link to white supremacy—to the alt-right—or you're leaving room for neo-Nazis to weasel that the real, shameful violence is all on the left. Not to mention that the desire to hurt someone and the desire not to be hurt are not equally at-fault positions.

Edited 2017-08-12 20:31 (UTC)

Yes. In terms of twitter, though, I was interested to see that it seems that somewhere he has a script to copy that says, simply (with no specific references) that violence is bad. I wonder whether there are staffer-prepared remarks available in case of many situations. Melania used the #Charlottesville hashtag, and he didn't. Although now that I look at it again, he didn't say that violence is always bad.
>>There is no place for this kind of violence in America.<<

In terms of twitter, though, I was interested to see that it seems that somewhere he has a script to copy that says, simply (with no specific references) that violence is bad.

Well, if left to himself, he'd probably just caption the situation "Sad!"

If left to himself he'd roll his eyes and say "Whatever." After all, the news isn't about him, and that's what's *important*.

If left to himself he'd roll his eyes and say "Whatever."

It's all right, he reserved "sad" for the woman murdered in the car attack. And best regards.

Excellent icon.

I believe the horrible Spencer has already tweeted something to that effect.

I believe the horrible Spencer has already tweeted something to that effect.

I am thoroughly unsurprised. 45 unrestrainedly blasts his mouth off about everything but alienating neo-Nazis.

"State official says driver of car that plowed into group of protesters in Charlottesville, Va., is in custody"
that was about 4 PM

that was about 4 PM

Thank you. I'd seen the update, but I appreciate you making sure. I'm trying not to get caught up in a rolling blackout of short posts; that's what Twitter is for and there are reasons I'm not on Twitter.

An event like this does focus the mind. Thank you for posting the links to places to donate money. I hope there will be victim's fund.

Thank you for posting the links to places to donate money. I hope there will be victim's fund.

You're welcome. I hope so, too. If I see one, I'll link it.

[edit] There is now a medical fund.

Edited (saw one) 2017-08-13 03:49 (UTC)

When is a terrorist not a terrorist?

When they're white, it seems. :o/

When they're white, it seems.

They have to be Christian to make it work, of course—the Tsarnaev brothers were widely seen as not white because they were Muslim, despite being ethnically Chechen-Avar and therefore literally Caucasian. But somehow I don't think that's an issue in this case.

Shake me and make me remember

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murdering driver arrested

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