I’ll believe you

Still lots of commentary out there about the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Melissa McEwan of Shakesville looks at the statement the nasty guy finally gave today. On the surface it sounds like what a president is supposed to say in this situation (and getting praise from news media), but McEwan notes the nasty guy gave himself some loopholes.

The nasty guy said:

Racism is evil — and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.

McEwan interprets:

The president very carefully indicated that racism is only a problem if you commit visible acts of public violence because of racist views.

Racism is a problem long before it reaches the point of public violence. Like, for example, housing discrimination or appointing a racist to oversee the Department of Justice.

And…

The emphasis on "including" is doing a lot of work. Especially given "Black Lives Matter is a hate group" is and long has been a major talking point among white supremacists.

Because this was the nasty guy’s second run at the issue the supremacists are saying that condemnation was for the viewing audience. He’s already said what he really feels.

And the overall impression:

Most of the political press appears to have lost sight of why we expect presidents to condemn acts of white supremacist violence: It's to communicate to *the people who commit them* that their beliefs and behaviors are intolerable; and to communicate to *the people whom they target* that their country cares about their safety.

Trump did neither.

McEwan included a quote from Yesha Callahan of the Root:

James Baldwin once said, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." The violence that erupted in Charlottesville over the last 48 hours has been the face of America since the beginning of time.

A frequent comment and response from the last few days: “America is not like that!” Actually, we are, always have been. And it won’t change until we face it.

McEwan also links to Jana Winter at Foreign Policy:

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security in May warned that white supremacist groups had already carried out more attacks than any other domestic extremist group over the past 16 years and were likely to carry out more attacks over the next year, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by Foreign Policy. Even as Trump continues to resist calling out white supremacists for violence, federal law enforcement has made clear that it sees these types of domestic extremists as a severe threat. The report, dated May 10, says the FBI and DHS believe that members of the white supremacist movement 'likely will continue to pose a threat of lethal violence over the next year.

In a series of tweets Sarah Kendzior wrote:

I don’t want to hear one person say he’s “presidential.” Being presidential is not having to be *convinced* to condemn neo-Nazis and the KKK. Being presidential is not putting Nazis and white supremacists into top White House positions and having them translate bigotry into policy. Being presidential is not being beaten to the punch in your condemnation of a Nazi murderer by a tiki torch company.

Yesterday I wrote that the GOP outrage at the violence in Charlottesville sounded hollow. Rev. William Barber, creator of Moral Mondays in North Carolina, goes further. He noted that Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, and other prominent Republicans said they oppose the white supremacy on display in Charlottesville. In response, Barber quotes from the Bible: Matthew 7:5, “Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye; and then you shall see clearly to remove the mote from your brother’s eye.”

Barber lists several things that show the GOP as being hypocritical. I’ll rephrase it:

I’ll believe you when you say you oppose white supremacy when you challenge the race driven policies of the White House and in your own agenda.

I’ll believe you when you say you oppose white supremacy when you fully reinstate the voting rights act and stop racist voter suppression and gerrymandering.

I’ll believe you when you acknowledge racist voter suppression in 2016.

I’ll believe you when you stop racializing Obamacare and claiming that everything Obama did was bad.

I’ll believe you when you stop racist attacks on immigrants.

I’ll believe you when you challenge the Attorney General as he tries to end affirmative action.

I’ll believe you when you increase federal investigation of unarmed blacks killed by police.

Barber ends:

To say you are against white supremacy without standing up against the policies that embolden white supremacists is hypocrisy.

Leah Daughtry wrote it a tweet: “Dear White Politicians, do not go to black churches today & tell us how much you hate racism. Go to white churches and tell them.”