Charlottesville

As America Reacts to Charlottesville, How Will We Take Action?

By Mary Grace Donaldson in Author: Mary Grace Donaldson, Current Events/Politics on August 13, 2017
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Following the completely unacceptable white supremacy rallies in Charlottesville that started with violent protests at the University of Virginia, many reactions of those in power were mixed. While our country’s leaders should be universally condemning the events as to say that they stray from the ideals of liberty and justice for all is an understatement, some called for action, some expressed an appropriate degree of grief, and some… didn’t even acknowledge the seriousness of the situation.

Eventually, the White House’s statement was changed to acknowledge that the attacks came from white supremacists. But initially, while President Trump acknowledged the hateful and violent nature of the attacks, he failed to acknowledge the fact that they were rooted in white supremacy. Which isn’t surprising, considering the immigration reforms he attempted to implement at the beginning of his term as President, and his rhetoric surrounding those of other races.

 

Former Vice President Joe Biden responded to President Trump’s initial press conference, in which he declared that there is hatred and bigotry on “many sides” of the situation. Just as in the tweet above, the press conference failed to acknowledge the white supremacist basis of the rallies. And he’s right.

 

And earlier in the day, long before POTUS even made a statement, Uncle Joe called us to action, too.

 

Senator Bernie Sanders nailed it all. He called a spade a spade — in this case, the spade being the fact that this is an incident rooted in white supremacy. He then reminds us that what happened in Charlottesville has become a way of life, and hate crimes are a real, unfortunate fact.

 

POTUS 44 quotes one of the greats to express how unacceptable this event is — but also, expresses just how easy it is to love instead of hate. Love takes much less energy.

 

Senator Elizabeth Warren also called a spade a spade, and good for her. She didn’t shy away from terminology that isn’t reality, didn’t sugar-coat with euphemisms, and called us all to action. We tend to shy away from words like “Neo-Nazi” because collectively, we operate under the belief that we conquered white supremacy following the ending of the Holocaust. In actuality, groups like the KKK continue to have a presence.

 

Sally Yates echoed Warren — and pointed out just how it easy it is not to beat around the bush.

 

Yes, Senator Mike Huckabee, yes. But not entirely sure where your call to action is.

 

 

Virginia’s governor, Terry McAuliffe, asks us all to take action. There’s a difference between hate speech, violence, and free speech.

 

Millennials, where does this leave us? Those in power are telling us to take action, but we shouldn’t need their cue in order to do it. The message is clear — this needs to end, and should have ended a long time ago. What will you do today to change this culture?

 

 

Disclaimer: The political views presented in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Not Another Millennial Blog.

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Published by Mary Grace Donaldson

Mary Grace, or Gracie to her friends, is over the moon in her role as Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Not Another Millennial Blog. She holds a Master of Arts in Public Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University where she earned Phi Kappa Phi honors and a Bachelor of Arts in English/Communication Studies from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island where she earned Magna cum Laude honors. By day, Mary Grace works in the Editorial Department at Continental Who's Who. She is also a member of her area Rotary Club. When not working, driving or drinking her third Starbucks of the day, Mary Grace can be found fantasizing about her next trip to Walt Disney World, watching the Yankees, browsing Sephora, glued to one of her Apple gadgets or playing with her "nephew," Luis. You can reach Mary Grace via email at marygrace@notanothermillennial.com.

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