- Oct 2017
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www.youthvoices.live www.youthvoices.live
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As a young adult in America, I am surrounded by diversity of person and thought. I was raised and have it engrained in my mind that this diversity is beautiful and valued, and is what makes America great. I have always been told to never judge a person based on something they can’t control – like their race, ethnicity, class, gender, etc. To hear of the hate and violence in Charlottesville by white supremacist groups goes against my very being and everything I have ever learned. It confuses and scares me to live in a world where people 1) feel this way about their fellow Americans, and 2) feel as though they can say and act on these feelings without and worry of punishment or repercussions for their actions. I am disgusted by the lack of response, and, really, backbone displayed by the “leadership” (I use this term lightly) in Washington. If children are taught to promote peace and love, and to care for one another, why can’t our government lead by example and try to instill this ideal into our severely broken country?
I could not agree with this essay, more specifically this paragraph, more. The hate-filled white supremacists go against everything my parents taught me as a child. This "leadership" is weak. We need to continue to teach children to love all unconditionally, and to reject any idea of prejudice/discrimination.
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- Sep 2017
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www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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Listen to ‘The Daily’
I am annotating the title of the audio recording because my annotation is actually things mentioned within the recording. After listening to the recording and having watched many videos on the events in my personal time, as well as in other classes, something stood out. So everyone knows that this entire situation was unacceptable and morally wrong, however the deeper I dive into the details of the mindset behind the white nationalists, the darker things seem to get. In the recording Sheryl Stolberg described the white nationalists on that Saturday morning, as dressed in helmets, shields, and large weapons, almost "preparing for battle" as she said. This description just makes me wonder that much more how Donald Trump could proclaim that there were "very fine" people on both sides when one of the sides was essentially preparing to kill those who opposed them?
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www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
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The president did not answer questions from reporters about whether he rejected the support of white nationalists or whether he believed the car crash was an example of domestic terrorism. Aides who appeared on the Sunday news shows said the White House did believe those things, but many fellow Republicans demanded that Mr. Trump personally denounce the white supremacists.
This statement further shows Donald's cowardice. He denied to answer question regarding his official stance of whether he supported or opposed the white nationalists. However the white house claimed that they did believe this was domestic terrorism, but it was not stated by the president. He avoided answering the questions entirely, showing that even most of the nation is against this white nationalist act of terrorism, he is too afraid to speak out against it because much of his support lies with these nazis. Silence on an issue that is so prevalent and important in today's society, when you are the commander in chief displays more negative aspects of your character. A woman died. Plain and simple, someone lost their life because of this terrorist group.
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"The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremists groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together," a White House spokesman said in a statement.
I find this statement to be quite hilarious, the irony throughout this is absurd. Donald claims he opposes all forms of violence, yet during his campaign he boasted about how he could beat someone up or even shoot them and still not lose votes. He also encouraged people to get violent in his rallies, that his supporters should act against non supporters. Donald Trump and his statement made about the Charlottesville rallies are nothing short of an embarrassment and a joke. If one opposed all forms of "violence, bigotry, and hatred" then why would they state that there were "very fine people" on both sides, why would you give any sort of compliment/praise to a group of people whose main belief is something that you allegedly oppose?
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Mark Heyer said the only way to get through this tough time is to remember God teaches us to forgive."We need to start with forgiveness and stop all of the hate," he said.
Its amazing to see that although he lost his daughter, Heather Heyer's father Mark still remembers that God teaches us to love and forgive. All too often religion is used at a catalyst for hatred, many (not all) conservative individuals, nazis, white supremacists, etc. use religion to place themselves above all others. It is inspiring to see that despite the pain he has been caused by these alt-right groups, he still wants to carry out his daughter's beliefs of love and acceptance. He is defying human instinct, taking the high road, recognizing that there is no place for hate in this world.
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en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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n the wake of the 2015 Charleston church shooting, efforts were made across the country to remove Confederate monuments from public spaces and rename streets honoring notable figures from the Confederacy. While often successful, those efforts often faced a backlash from conservatives or people concerned about protecting their Confederate heritage.[10] The August 11–12 rally was organized to protest the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue honoring the Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, which had been renamed from Lee Park in June 2016.[13][14] The event was organized by Jason Kessler who had taken up the cause in March 2016 when Charlottesville vice-mayor Wes Bellamy held a press conference to call for removal of the statue. Kessler, who refers to Bellamy as "anti-white," had exposed a series of offensive tweets made by Bellamy and unsuccessfully tried to remove him from office.
So essentially the people involved on the white supremacy side of this rally claimed to be in opposition of the removal of confederate monuments and claimed their confederate heritage. This is significant because even though they claimed to be protesting the removal of the monuments, they were shouting horrible, racially bigoted slurs. Their messages should have been about the monuments themselves, not minorities and other non-white individuals. This is why this rally was not about the monuments at all, it was about a group of people filled with so much hate that they began to attack people who were different. Also this "confederate heritage" is one based solely on racism. The confederate flag is here today because of racism, that flag was created with the intent to keep black people as slaves instead of letting humans be equal to other humans.
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