By Quin Hillyer at the Washington Examiner;
Alternative reality, and a better one. Monday, Aug. 14, President Trump speaks from the Oval Office:
“My fellow Americans: On Saturday, our country saw the tragic results of organized hatred. We saw hateful speech, speech consisting of the most vicious bigotry known to man, chanted by heavily-armed men deliberately instigating trouble. We also saw counter-protesters, some peaceful but many of them radical, fall for, or even welcome, the bigots’ invitation to violence, and we saw violence erupt in skirmishes unacceptable in a civilized society – not from white supremacists, not from radical leftists, not from anybody.
“Then, horrendously, we saw one of the haters, one of the white supremacists, deliberately use his automobile as a weapon, injuring many and killing one lovely young lady, to whom I will pay tribute in a separate statement. Based on what the driver’s supremacist colleagues had done throughout the weekend, his action was an entirely predictable manifestation of their evil intentions.
“In the United States, our system of justice does not assign collective guilt, nor should it. Even in non-legal discourse, we are correctly reluctant to assign collective guilt. But if ever, ever there were a time to hold a group collectively responsible, morally if not legally, for the sins of an individual, this is it. Every single white supremacist marching in that demonstration, chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans, especially those armed for combat, is morally responsible for deliberately creating the conditions for this act of domestic terrorism.
“I upset some people two days ago, when facts were still coming in, by saying that ‘many sides’ were responsible for the violence. I was technically right, but my emphasis and the impression caused by it were both, unintentionally, off key. There will be plenty of time to investigate exactly who committed violence in Charlottesville, and plenty of other opportunities to condemn, and stop the illegal and violent activity, of groups such as ‘antifa’ that riot and abuse rights and properties of others.
“There also should be another time for thoughtful, respectful debate on the existence and meanings of various ‘Confederate monuments’ throughout the country.
“This is not the time for those discussions. This is the time to be clear: The white supremacists and their pathetic allies – whether neo-Nazis, so-called ‘alt-right,’ or whatever they may call themselves – they were the instigators, provocateurs and, in one case, the executioners in Charlottesville….
[That was just half the shoulda-been speech. The full speech is here.]
