Ten quick thoughts about Charlottesville.
- People ask “Can it happen here?” It has happened here. Over and over.
- There’s a name for a person who fans the flames of racism, but only for personal gain: A Racist.
- Donald Trump didn’t directly cause this. But he enabled it. The day Trump realized the Birther crap was resonant with a lot of voters was the day the Charlottesville march started.
- I’m not on all sides. I’m on one side. This is a moment for every American to pick theirs. The one positive thing about Trump is that he’s clarified our values. You can’t be sort of against racism or pretty much against white supremacy. You can’t vote for a guy who’s racist and not be racist.
- The Trump era is a speed bump along the progressive road towards a better country. History’s tide will not be reversed. But those statements will only be true if we make them true. The gains made by progressives over the past decade weren’t easy. And the next decade will be even harder. The Union didn’t win the Civil War. It’s winning it. The fight for social justice ebbs and flows, but it never ends.
- Trump loves to talk tough about everything from fellow Republicans to using nuclear weapons. Pay attention to the people he’s not willing to talk tough about.
- If you’re still trying to maintain a false equivalency between the so-called bubbles, you’re missing the point.
- Progressives vastly outnumber the haters and the alt-right nuts. But we need to be willing to fight. I’m all for love and unity. But what we need right now is strength in numbers.
- The media didn’t amplify the white supremacist movement. Trump did. And he continued to do so this weekend by failing to call it by its true name.
- At least now you know what we’re up against: Vote.
