Don't Feed the Animals!

Last night my youngest daughter said something to me that I didn't really take as seriously as I should have. I am sure everyone knows by now what happened in my home state of Virginia on Saturday. I even wrote a post about it just a couple of days ago. I have to say I have become a little obsessed with reading all the articles, and interviews, and tweets about the event and the "president's" (lower case intended) response to the entire situation. Along with reading that news, I am also reading comment after comment from people about each article, etc. etc., the good and the bad. She looked at me and said, "I don't want you on your phone all of the time reading all this negative stuff." I put it away until I was by myself much later last night, and I began to look through Facebook again. Opening up each MUST READ. I came upon an HBO documentary about last Saturday's events, an inside look at what led up to, and all during the monstrosity from the perspective of the "Alt-Wrong" It was truly terrifying! Every word out of these people's mouths was hurtful and hateful and disgusting. They are so angry, and with the empowerment and approval of the "president" they are ready to "Take back their country" by FORCE. There are 2 words missing from that sentence, "if necessary." The reason they are missing is because they are planning on using force. They want to. They can't wait for the next time to see how they can top last Saturday. Killing one girl wasn't enough. In their leader's own words, they showed restraint Saturday. To me that means one death was not enough, they want more. They are blood thirsty animals, and they scare the shit out of me! I was more frightened by Saturday's events than I was after 9/11. I had a hard time going to sleep last night. My little girl was right. How can I function when every free moment I am reading about hate and evil and violence? Will Smith said, "Racism isn't getting worse. It's getting filmed." That's it! It has always been there, but now we literally have the ability to see everything that is going on everywhere every minute of the day, and we have become addicted to it, at least I have. The monkey on my back is Facebook. Facebook started out for me as a way to see friends and their kids and to connect about shows and to make up funny things to be my "status, " and scrolling through, I saw much of the same, but, like everything else, it has evolved, and I don't really like what it has become, but I can't let go. Not just about this issue, but I have seen friends attacked verbally, and, no, I am not exaggerating, for posting a video or quote that they believe in or find poignant, or thought-provoking, and people tear into them as if they had challenged them to a duel. I will guarantee those same people would not have the guts to blast with both barrels if they were having a conversation face-to-face, but hiding behind the phone or computer screen they are empowered. Well, I'm sick of it! ALL of it! Now, please don't take this as me putting my head in the sand and pretending none of this is happening. I'm not! I have other ways of finding things out, keeping abreast of current events. I do not need it in my face every waking moment. Can we go back to the days of "Film at 11?" I know it's out there, and I want to make it go away, but I will be honest, I don't want to put myself in harm's way, nor do I want my children to put themselves in harm's way. If that makes me a coward, well, paint me yellow. I am all about standing up for what is right and what I believe in, but these people aren't Westboro Baptist Church. They are armed and dangerous, and they want to fight! They also want attention as does their inspiration, DJT. You can't fight these people with love, not as an organized group at least. You fight all of this by not engaging, not paying attention. If no one is there to film their ridiculous behavior and their words of hate and disrespect, it takes the wind out of their sails. "If a tree falls in the forest..."
When all of this happened Saturday, and there was rumor that it would happen here as well, someone commented to let them show up to a literal Ghost Town, no businesses open, no one on the street, nothing, including NO MEDIA! To whom would they spew their hate then? It would be as if they had never been there. I like that idea, a lot! I just wish that we could all agree to do exactly that. I am, at least going to start by trying not to dwell on the negative. If you starve the animal, it cannot live! Don't feed the BEAST!

The Beast is FREE

It is a little after 10 on Sunday night, and I have just come in from standing outside holding a tiny tea light candle (because it was the only thing I could find) as a vigil for Heather Heyer, a girl I never met and whose family I do not know. In fact I know nothing about her except this: Yesterday she was mowed down by a car that purposely drove into a group of people gathered to oppose the "Alt-Right" (TRANSLATION: WHITE SUPREMACISTS, NAZIS and the KKK) at their "Unite the Right" (which I would like to refer to it as "Unite the Wrong") rally in Charlottesville on Saturday morning. Supposedly these groups were there to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park in Charlottesville. I say supposedly because if all they were there to do was protest, make their voice and opinions heard, why did they show up in riot gear with clubs and guns and other weapons?
Charlottesville is an hour's drive from me. I have been there many times. It's a quiet little college town. Friday night it turned into something else. It was as if some giant clock had been turned back to 1950. Hundreds of white men carrying tiki torches - don't even get me started on the irony of that - flooded UVA's campus standing in front of the Rotunda chanting "You will not replace us" "Jews will not replace us." (Side note: What do Jews have to do with anything about the Robert E. Lee statue?), but I digress. Here's the thing. They weren't there about the statue at all. That was the excuse for white men from all over the country to come to this little town to intimidate people with fear and hate, because that's what their groups are about. They hate people who aren't white. I did not know this until today as I just read an article from UVA's president's perspective about Friday night, but the Tiki Torch Terrorists were violent on Friday night when they gathered in front of the Rotunda when NO ONE was there to oppose them. They were primed and ready to cause some trouble on Saturday. They never made it to where the rally was to be held because it was broken up before then, and yes, both sides did engage, but no one in that group of people walking away from the rally was doing anything to provoke anyone. They were trying to walk through a very narrow street to get back to their cars or their homes, much like they would be if they were leaving a huge concert, and this car speeds through and purposely hits them. Heather Heyer was in that group, and she died Saturday. SHE DIED!!! Correction: She was murdered.
When I woke up Saturday, image after image popped up as I scrolled through my newsfeed on Facebook, and I thought, this can't get worse. What is going on? A Nazi flag was being carried, proudly, mind you,  through the streets of a little town in my state, and before the day was over an innocent girl had been murdered. What the hell people? The beast has been let out of its cage, and I have no idea how we are going to get him back in again and at what cost?