The recent unrest in Charlottesville, US, where one man was killed and 10 got injured after an extreme right fan drove his car into a crowd of protesters, caused an outcry worldwide.
It is not so much the fact of violence on the part of extreme rights towards their opponents as the US President Donald Trump’s reaction. He condemned “many sides” in the tragedy, avoiding to call out the white racists who are believed to be responsible for the bloodshed.
The statements made by the members of Trump’s cabinet stand in stark contrast to it. Herbert Raymond McMaster, the president’s national security advisor, condemned such violence and defined it as “terrorism.” His colleague, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, emphasized the following: “When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated.”
Meanwhile John McCain, chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, denounced the white supremacists’ attack in Charlottesville in a statement he tweeted. “White supremacists and neo-Nazis are, by definition, opposed to American patriotism and the ideals that define us as a people and make our nation special. As we mourn the tragedy that has occurred in Charlottesville, American patriots of all colors and creeds must come together to defy those who raise the flag of hatred and bigotry,” stresses McCain.
And only after a storm of criticism on the part of both Republicans and Democrats who urged Trump to show a more resolute response to the violence in Charlottesville, did the US President make the following statement: “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.”
Oleksandr TSVIETKOV, professor of American studies, Diplomatic Academy at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
“It was the radicalization of national sentiments, which can be in part accounted for by electing the nation’s first ever black president. This could be also seen as a manifestation of white supremacism and revenge for the previous election. It is for a reason that all the achievements of the previous Democratic administration, led by Barack Obama, are denied.
“Moreover, America sees the rickety domestic policy of the incumbent administration, as well as a mistrust of political institutes. One must also keep in mind such a challenge as the state’s unpreparedness and failure to promptly follow and respond to domestic events. Last but not least is Charlottesville’s geographical position. The place lies between Southern Virginia and North Carolina, the states that were at the heart of the formation of the US and especially in the center of the civil war between the slaveholding South and the industrial North. This region is most instable in terms of immigration situation, which is also aggravated by bad economy. Such manifestations of radicalization are most typical for a place like this.
“And just at such a time a movement like alt-conservatism arises: radical conservatism which opposes its conventional form. All this taking place within the Republican Party, which strives for unity yet is torn apart by different movements. All this surfaced in Charlottesville, while the president’s limp response led to the aggravation of the situation resulting in one death and a dozen injuries.
“I would like to highlight that this outburst of radicalism caused a wave of counteractions and united people who have a very good idea of the values of a mature democracy and tolerance. Now this is manifested in the large-scale reaction throughout the States. It is more efficient in uniting people who want to oppose this radicalism.
“As for Trump’s belated condemnation of racism: his initial statement might have been due to underestimating of the acuteness of the problem. Now it turns out that ultra-radical conservatives will not take orders from the most recent statements and will pursue their own goals. Since they are not welcome in Charlottesville, where a wave of counter-protests rose, they decided to disperse, go home and try to hold similar actions there. This, in its turn, should prompt other states not to allow similar demonstrations. All this shows that America has a strong democratic reaction at home: even if the administration lingers, social forces work seamlessly together.
“The presence of Nazi symbols at the extreme radical events might be due to the fact that American society is gradually losing the generation which knew about the Second World War, the outcomes of armed conflicts, and about Vietnam. Besides, if this manifestation does not involve criminal activity, they in the US do not see any reasons to ban the use of Nazi symbols. By the way, the theoreticians of radicalism immediately denounced the outcome and all those who were involved in the killing during the unrest. Otherwise they would have to face criminal charges. That is why they stick to theoretical or political movements.
“The Charlottesville events are a sort of challenge for American society. Even at the university level experts are beginning to analyze the events. Such attention on the part of the press means that Americans find it important to get into the nature of the antagonism between the white and other races. It is a very bad irritant for American society. One can only welcome the unification of civil and democratic forces in the opposition to the extreme right.
“In this concrete case, the White House faces a dilemma: to show more flexibility, resolve, and insight into the situation – or have trouble with the next election.”
Lincoln MITCHELL, political scientist, former professor of the Columbia University, author of the book The Democracy Promotion Paradox:
“Racism has been an enduring part of American social and political life since well before the founding of our country. Regardless of how America may sometimes look from the outside, racism has never gone away despite important advances our country has made towards greater equality and towards turning the powerful words of our founding documents into reality. For this reason, it is unreasonable to blame racism in America on Donald Trump. Moreover, race and racism have always been an unfortunate fact of political campaigns and elections. Thinly veiled racism, racial code words and the like have been pretty common in most Republican campaigns for more or less the past half century. Even in that context, all Republican presidents in recent times have spoken out against explicit racism, Nazism and white supremacism.
“Since the killing in Charlottesville, Trump has sought to blame ‘both sides,’ been slow to condemn the white supremacists and has made it clear that he is more or less Ok with this. Anybody who did not see during the campaign that if elected Trump would embolden the most bigoted elements of our society was either willfully blind or ignorant. Anybody who stands by him now is either a coward or a racist. It was domestic terrorism, but the Trump story here is that it took him almost three days to condemn white supremacism for what it is.”
