An obligation to be outraged
As a resident of Charlottesville Va., I have no choice but to respond to those who argue that the rally of white supremacists there last month was merely an exercise of free speech. As someone who witnessed the events of Charlottesville first-hand, the events of Aug. 12 had nothing to do with the First Amendment and everything to do with racism, hate, and terrorism.
As a nurse at the University of Virginia Medical Center, our emergency management team prepared for the violence that was promised by the groups planning to invade our town. Tiki-torch bearing racists marched through the grounds of UVA, and assaulted students at the base of the statue of Thomas Jefferson, the man who founded the university and authored the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men are created equal. Those who organized the rally knew the symbolism of their march assaulting both equality and the words Jefferson. At the base of the Jefferson statue, the terrorists declared their intention for their weekend in Charlottesville.
It was not freedom of speech. The intent of the rally was to incite a riot.
The rally was not in response to monuments, but in the words of David Duke, to fulfill the promise of the election of Donald Trump. Hate is now emboldened.
There were not “two sides.” There were violent racists and there were people committed to peace, equality, and truth. Clergy came to Charlottesville from all over the country to stand in defense of right, only to be physically attacked, pelted with human urine, and assaulted with words that must have sounded as if they were coming from the devil himself.
As a human being and resident of Charlottesville, I have learned that I cannot look away. I no longer have the privilege to “move along with my day.” Our responsibility is not acceptance but acknowledgement of the evil among us. It is my obligation to be offended and outraged.
Beth Hundt
Charlottesville, Va.