Charlottesville White Supremacist Attack Demands United Response
In response to the deadly white supremacist attack in Charlottesville, VA, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) issued the following statement.
“As we mourn for Heather Heyer and her family, we are reminded that we cannot fight for justice alone. We are all in this together, regardless of our ethnicity or political philosophy. Now is the time for those who have yet to feel the sting of oppression and intolerance to unite with us in amplifying our collective voices against those who proudly brandish the hateful symbolism embraced by the likes of David Duke and Dylan Roof. Our coalition against hate is strong, but only when those who experience and benefit from privilege join us can we truly be an unstoppable force.
“White supremacy, our nation’s original sin, has always held a prominent role in the African American experience. However, we aren’t alone in our endeavor to combat domestic terrorism. Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ individuals, and other marginalized groups have a long and rich history of standing shoulder to shoulder with us as part of our shared efforts to extinguish the flames of racism and extremist views of white nationalism. Their partnership echoes the words of Elie Wiesel who urged us to take sides and reminded us that, ‘Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.’
“The vile expressions of hate that occurred in Charlottesville, while surprising to some, evoked all too familiar feelings of vulnerability and anger for my constituents and communities of color. Such vitriol demanded nothing less than our country’s strongest and immediate condemnation, starting with the president. But when initially presented with the opportunity to reject white supremacy and address the ongoing scourge of hate aimed at intimidating and terrorizing us, we were offered vague objections and unattributed press statements.
“In the face of days of public admonishment by leaders on both sides of the aisle, the President of the United States finally condemned those whose actions led to the death of Heather Heyer. Although, I am relieved that President Trump eventually issued an explicit denouncement of these hate groups, he must understand actions speak louder than words. If the president is sincere in his rebuke of white supremacy, I call on him to remove those in his inner circle who embrace such hateful ideals, starting with Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore
Some things have been missed or actually ignored on this incident. White Nationalist et al, had a permit to protest, they numbered 100-200 persons. The counter protesters(Alt Left, ANTIFA and BLM et al) did not have a permit, they numbered 3-6 thousand. Both “sides” engaged in a rumble over who knows what exactly. I take issue with the Left NOT taking responsibility for their actions and the Main Stream Media for only covering the Right side of that rumble. The Left claim to want neutrality and equality for all, but they were all in, out numbering the permitted protesters at least 30 to 1, to start a fist fight! Yet it is not acceptable by Left for our President to condemn “All Sides” for their despicable behavior, he must “Only” condemn the White Nationalist et al, for their behavior, even though the Alt Left et al, participated equally with a significantly larger group. BOTH sides are in the wrong.
the death of Heather Heyer is a tragedy and the sole responsibility of James Alex Fields Jr. The White Nationalists had disbursed and left town.
I suggest that the Left first understand history, why there are statues of certain people erected, and “solutions” other than vandalism and rioting, to incorporating other significant history into what we already display.
For example, what if I found a statue of a gay, black, tennis player offensive and want to tear it down?. How would some groups feel about that?
Dear Rep Gwen,
I applaud your efforts to oppose Trump-care, your outrage against the white supremacists in Charlottesville and the bill against police violence.
Please join the efforts to a impeach Trump. Of course we have to wait for the final Mueller report but I want it to happen NOW!
Thank you,
Win
Shorewood, WI
Those statues are of traitors. They are of men who fought against their own country. You talk about understanding history but you seem awfully ignorant, willfully or not.
The white nationalists came armed to the teeth (the governor says they had better weapons than the state police) and were calling for violence on social media leading up to the protest. Did you know that or are you just ignoring that inconvenient truth?
@ Virginia
“Some things have been missed or actually ignored on this incident. White Nationalist et al, had a permit to protest, they numbered 100-200 persons. The counter protesters (Alt Left, ANTIFA and BLM et al) did not have a permit, they numbered 3-6 thousand. Both “sides” engaged in a rumble over who knows what exactly. I take issue with the Left NOT taking responsibility for their actions and the Main Stream Media for only covering the Right side of that rumble. ”
Don’t waste your time trying to get a reasoned answer out of these people. They will in no way address the fact that the white nationalists had a permit but antifa didn’t. They’ll continue to ignore the fact that it was a peaceful demonstration up until leftwing troublemakers arrived by the thousands and started to attack. They will never admit any culpability in the matter, even though footage exists that shows a lefty striking the killer’s car with a bat right before he drove into the crowd; a car that was going about 2 mph before it was struck and the driver hit the gas.
Did he plow into the crowd as a deliberate act of terror? Or was he getting in line behind the other cars to leave when he was attacked and panicked? I’d like to know why he did what he did, but lefties don’t seem to care about facts when the perpetrator is a rightwing white guy. Because history.
The left will just keep pointing out that the white nationalists were armed, as if carrying a weapon is somehow the same as committing violence. The left will always claim the moral high ground, even when it’s readily apparent they are being hypocritical. They will always have some sort of convoluted rationalization for why they should be exempt from the same behavior they condemn. In their world, they can do no wrong — their actions are only in response to the evil right’s wrongdoing.
Lefties love to make counter accusations and cast ad hominem attacks, like Vinnie Hannah inferring you were ignorant even though you were respectful with your question. His next step is to call you racist; more than likely he’s just projecting.
With that said, your gay black tennis player analogy isn’t applicable.
Oh well they had a permit so committing a murder is no big deal then. Calling for violent attacks on social media doesn’t matter because they had a permit.
Witnesses said he acted deliberately and the charges speak for themselves. He has a history of violence as well. On at least two occasions he beat his disabled mother.
This is nothing but false equivalencies.
“There is a term for people who say “Both sides are bad,” when one side is nazis. They are called Nazi sympathizers.”
@ Vinnie
So you’re saying antifa isn’t bad? Is that your position?