6 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2017
    1. I realize that it is hard to take strong stances sometimes especially on heated subjects. However, this occurrence and this issue should not be this way your stances should be firm and clear.

      I think that these two sentences refer directly to criticisms of Donald Trump and how he did not become firm and clear in his stance on the Charlottesville attack. Our leaders of today and our leaders of tomorrow can learn from Trump that being safe is not always the correct route, especially during times that put others in danger.

    1. Mr. Trump's reaction drew praise from neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer, which wrote: "Trump comments were good. He didn't attack us. He just said the nation should come together. Nothing specific against us... No condemnation at all." The website had been promoting the Charlottesville demonstration as part of its "Summer of Hate" edition.

      The Daily Stormer points out exactly what supporters and oppositions of Trump were trying to tell him he was doing wrong. Trump did not condemn the white supremacists even after several of his supporters urged him that that was best. They urged him to come on stronger about the incident, but Trump took what he might have seen as the less controversial position, when instead his position caused more controversy. Were his comments based on a fear that he would lose white supremacist support? Are these the people that make up a part of his fan base that he cannot afford to lose? I think these questions can be the answer to why Trump did not condemn any side specifically, even though one side had had the Charlottesville protest labeled as part of its "Summer of Hate" edition, clearly showing that they came looking for trouble.

    2. ,"We have no tolerance for hate and violence, white supremacists or neo-Nazis or the KKK. These dangerous fringe groups have no place in American public life and in the American debate, and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms." 

      In this statement, Pence can be seen condemning hate and violence and white supremacy, which is seemingly appealing to the American public. It is a specific, personal, denouncement of white supremacists and hate groups. However, this statement is contradicting to Trump's campaign that Pence was apart of. Throughout the campaign hatred groups and white supremacists were seen as active supporters and encouraged to be supporters based on the hate speech that Trump, himself, spoke. If it were really not tolerated by Pence or Trump, then why was it tolerated throughout the campaign?

    3. The president's daughter and White House aide, Ivanka Trump, tweeted Sunday morning: "There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis."

      I think that Ivanka's tweet on Sunday morning was maybe a part of her own views, but also as a way to try to cover up or apologize for her dad not taking a stronger stance by condemning white supremacists. In this statement, Ivanka took the side that many other Republicans had taken as well. Republicans such as Marco Rubio can publicly be seen on social media denouncing white supremacy and asking the president to stand up. At least, Ivanka publicly condemns white supremacy in the area where her father had fallen short.

    1. In an address later in the day following the rally, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, flanked by Charlottesville mayor Michael Signer, and Charlottesville's police chief, directly addressed the rally participants: "I have a message to all the white supremacists and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Our message is plain and simple. Go home ... You are not wanted in this great commonwealth."[181] Signer said he was disgusted that white supremacists came to his town and he faulted President Donald Trump for inflaming racial tensions during his 2016 campaign, stating: "I'm not going to make any bones about it. I place the blame for a lot of what you're seeing in America today right at the doorstep of the White House and the people around the president."[

      McAuliffe and Signer joined together as direct respondents to the Charlottesville attacks and condemn white supremacists and Nazis that came to the rally. They recognize that Trump and his staff can be to blame for the hate crimes that had been committed. I think that what they are referring to is the tolerance that Trump has had for these two specific groups. And, while these two men were expected to speak out about the Charlottesville incident, because they are directly tied to the city and state, it is still relieving to see that smaller political leaders, compared to the president, are able to speak out and attempt to condemn and influence future hate crimes by white supremacists and Nazis. They did not have to make a second statement denouncing these groups, because they said it in the first. There was no hesitation to stand up for what was right.

    2. Trump later tweeted "Made additional remarks on Charlottesville and realize once again that the #Fake News Media will never be satisfied...truly bad people!"[245

      This statement came from one of Trump's tweets, bashing the media, after his second statement he had made about the Charlottesville protests. What I find odd about this tweet is that Trump is so quick to denounce the news media when it goes against him, calling them "truly bad people," but he is so hesitant to denounce hate groups, like white supremacists, that largely caused the violence in Charlottesville. Trump did not think twice about denouncing the news media when it went against him, but thought twice about denouncing the hateful people who make up his base group of supporters. This is bad, truly bad...