I've been aware of this event. But so much of it was a blur that I wasn't quite understanding. It seems like a very important event, so for my own sake I'd rather understand it better than having just the bits and pieces of the event gotten from here and there.
So I stumbled upon a video made by one of the groups who were present. It seems to be going somewhat viral. And the point of the video is to tell what really happened, which the media isn't really reporting on.
And I know you probably don't want to watch a video of a room full of southern accents talking over each other for 30 minutes. So I tried to transcribe the gist of what their side of the story is, for the sake of trying to get a fuller picture of what happened. You can just read my summary below the video, so you don't have to endure it if you choose not to.
https://youtu.be/McKfSoya2zM
And my compacted summary of the points they're trying to get across in the video. I'm not agreeing with what they're saying. I'm not disagreeing with what they're saying. I'm just trying to give a fuller picture for the sake of helping everyone better understand a very important event:
"The news media has completely mis-represented what happened in Charlottesville.
Far left or far right. Whether we agree with what you have to say or not, we agree you have the right to say it as long as you don't get violent. And we will stand up and defend your right to say it. You should be allowed to say what you believe in, without being physically assaulted by the other side for doing so. Or being in fear of being physically assaulted. We came here to defend constitutional law enforcement and to thank the cops present for being there to protect and serve. We didn't come here to hate on anybody.
If you want to be a part of our Patriots group, we don't care if you're black or white or any race, gay lesbian straight. All you need to do is believe in the United States Constitution. (Black guy joins them in the video at 7:20 and everyone cheers for him.)
There were plenty of cops present who could have easily put a stop to any violence that began. But they simply allowed the Black Lives Matter group to attack the Patriots group and did nothing. They feel the cops set the Patriots group up and allowed them to be attacked. Cops responded with "we're not here to help you" when asked to call for medical assistance after members of the Patriots group sustained head injuries from bricks being thrown at them. When they asked to police to escort them to their vehicles so they could leave safely, the cops told them "you're on your own."
They're saying the cops took an oath to protect and serve. And they should resign, for not doing so.
The Patriots group put themselves between the cops and the Black Lives Matter group and the ANTIFA group, to protect the cops from any possible violence from happening. Then the Patriots group was attacked, some of them seriously injured and beaten, and the cops did nothing but stand and watch it happen. So the Patriots group feels betrayed by the cops.
The only reason the Patriots group physically engaged with the Black Lives Matter group was to defend themselves after being attacked.
The Patriots group are not the White Nationalist group (aka the KKK) and don't agree with them at all. But again, the Patriot group agrees that the White Nationalist group, along with every other group, has the right to say what they want NON-VIOLENTLY.
The media is trying to demonize the Patriots group as being the same as the White Nationalists group.
When the day comes that we allow ANY ONE of the groups (ANTIFA, BLM, even the KKK) to be denied their right of free speech, their right to assembly...the question is, who's next? Your group? Apparently this is the primary concern of the Patriot group. And the primary reason they chose to travel to this event and partake in it. They point out that this has already happened in one sense. They took away the rebel flag, and now they're taking down historical monuments everywhere. This movement of banning things is progressive and its not going to stop with monuments.
The media is mis-representing events as a distraction to keep people divided. Because the scariest thing would be everyone in America to be truly united and supporting each other. Such a thing would threaten power. The idea being...as long as we keep fighting with each other, we don't have time for them. The media wants to focus on racial tension and divisions and supremacist groups to split people up. We have to all join together as one. Don't let color be an issue. Don't worry about race. Don't fall into that. That's what the media wants. The media doesn't want people being aware of the movement of progressively banning more and more things. The media doesn't ask people which group they're in before presenting them as a member of a certain group to the world. The media simply labels white people in the Patriots group as White Nationalists, because they're white. The way they see it, if the media doesn't demonize somebody, they're not going to sell airtime.
If you think any of the events that happened in Charlottesville has no bearing on you, wherever you are, you're wrong. This fight is in your town, in your neighborhood, on your street. And you're not even willing to see it.
The Patriot group isn't so much about protecting the rights and freedoms of the people today. We already have those, for now. Its about protecting the rights and freedoms of future generations, everyone's grandchildren. They're doing what they do to help everybody and all groups. Its everyone's duty to protect everyone's freedoms.
History repeats itself, and in a way we're re-living the Civil War all over again. We should work on not letting that happen. They're trying to erase history by tearing down the Civil War monuments. They want us to forget the mistakes of our past, and forget who we are and what we came from.
Someone asked me why would you leave the comfort of your home, travel hundreds of miles, and take part in this event in Charlottesville. And possibly risking your own life in doing so? If I'm not standing up for everyone's freedoms, then who will? Everyone has ancestors who died for the freedoms we have now. So its everyone's civic duty to stand up for everyone's freedom."