U.S. Press Colludes With David Duke

During the presidential campaign, what was the story line of the American liberal press?  Trump was a bully, Trump shot from the hip, Trump was a know-nothing, Trump supporters were goons, and on, and on in that vein.

At Trump rallies, prior to his election, TV cameras couldn't avoid showing violent confrontations between Trump supporters and the liberal haters of Trump.  But what they deemphasized, as best they could, was the pepper spraying and assaulting of the Trump followers by the anti-Trump ruffians.    The Trump supporters often came to these rallies with their families and young children.  They were defenseless against the frequent assaults by the liberal bullies.  (If you followed the campaign, you could not have missed these violent confrontations.)  Did you ever hear the press condemn these assaults on Trump supporters?  I didn't.  What the press kept telling us was that Trump was divisive and that confrontations seemed to  follow him wherever he went.

The drumbeat of charges that Trump was a bigot and a racist continued unabated.  And then came Charlottesville.  Initiated by black movements, the demonstrations included white liberals, calling for the removal of statues of Robert E. Lee.  Had that been the extent of it, there would have been no problem.  These statues of leading Confederate figures on public lands and on, and about, college campuses, were an issue well worth debate.  Such debate should then have been followed by such action as determined to be appropriate.

But, it didn't work out that way.  Instead there were demonstrations lasting into the night.  (A night-time demonstrations is especially difficult to control.)  And as they viewed the unfolding events, David Duke realized that for him, for the KKK and their racist followers, here was a situation tailor made for them.  It would give them space in the media to spew they noxious hatred of blacks and Jews.

The media loved it.  They had long charged Trump with racist tendencies as well as bigotry.  They regretted, however,  never having had the slightest bit of evidence.  But, now, here was David Duke making their case.  Trump was championing the KKK.

It was, of course, all nonsense.  Trump had come out immediately, at the time of the riot, as denouncing the racist and bigoted gangs that had set upon the demonstrators.  However, from reports he had gotten of the riot, he was also aware that among the demonstrators that night were liberal hooligans with clubs that attacked not only the followers of David Duke, but also law abiding, conservative whites who felt that the willy nilly removal of statues of Confederate leaders like Lee was wrong.

Let me be clear.  I am in favor of removing these statues from the public eye.  I know a bit of history and I realize that Germany had some very effective generals.  I'm thinking of Rommel, the desert fox, who fought valiantly in behalf of his country.  But, would I like to see Germany put up a statue in his honor?  Definitely not.  The country for which Rommel fought so valiantly was dedicated to the destruction of 6 million Jews.

I see statues of Lee in the same light.  A man dedicated to the preservation of slavery deserves no public honor.  He might have been a good general but he clearly was limited in his understanding of what was right and wrong.

But, how do we relate this to Charlottesville, VA?  Protests are a valid form of expression, but it must be kept from running amok.  Night time demonstrations are especially problematic.  Actions should be preceded by discussion and debate.  It is the duty of public officials to establish a suitable forum.

Yes, I believe that statues of Robert E. Lee should have been removed, but not by an unruly mob acting without the scintilla of due process.  And, yes, David Duke was there with his bully boys and Nazi acolytes.   But, present also at Charlottesville were liberal goons eager to give the conservatives a good thrashing.

It was a situation created for David Duke.  The press loved it.  The could now tie Trump to Duke.  I don't buy that connection, but many people will.  Mark it down as a win for the press.