Quote (cambovenzi @ 3 Jul 2018 20:42)
Trump never said innocent peaceful protesters are morally equivalent to white nationalists, nor were the only people there on the other sides 'white nationalists'.
Here is what he actually said:
later in the interview:
Its a completely honest question inquiring about the fundamental position that you are coming from.
As far as I can tell the answer is a combination of both.
You are playing fast and loose with what trump actually said both from an ideologically advantageous preference and a sincere ignorance of some of what was actually said, likely due to the way it was portrayed in the media and having little interest in trying to actually understand what he said and why.
You also have an SJW penchant for being quick to use 'racist and fascist' falsely, and intentionally belittling/ignoring the actions and presence of antifa to make his comments seem terrible when the truth is obscured.
As to the extent of antifa in charlottesville:
Recognizing and criticizing a very real group of very violent counter-protestors is not racist. Stop equating criticism of antifa with racism. Its wrong and morally objectionable.
I remember how the event and Trump's reaction played out in real time, but it is useful to see the transcript of what he specifically said, so I appreciate you posting that.
My general interpretation of the President's response is this: Trump initially drew an equivalencecy between the two sides of protestors, backtracked on those comments the next day due to public backlash, but then re-iterated his initial sentiment on the issue on the third day.
I believe a key determinant to this discussion is this: what percentage of the protestors were members of antifa and/or violent and what percentage of the people on the right subscribed to ideals of white nationalism or similar ideology?
The exact answers to those questions might never be known, but perhaps there is some sort of information or data collection out there on the subject that might shed some more light on the topic. I'm not sure.
While I do acknowledge antifa was present at the event and condemn their actions, my overall interpretation of the event was that there were far more white nationalists than members of antifa at the "Unite the Right" rally. Additionally, the only casualty of the event came at the hands of a member who generally subscribed to white nationalist ideals.
These are some of the reason why I found Trump's equivalence of the groups to be false and also racially motivated considering the context of his previous statements and political behavior.
Lastly, fascism is not a term I throw around lightly, and I'd like to see your opinion on my previous post in which I outlined some tenants of fascism ideology that I believe has been represented in Trump's public statements and political behavior.
Guests cannot view or vote in polls. Please register or login.