Poll of the Day > State of emergency declared amid violence at Charlottesville's rally.

(+) Yeah! (+)

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/12/us/charlottesville-white-nationalists-rally/index.html

Charlottesville, Virginia (CNN)[Breaking news update, published at 3:06 p.m. ET]

Several pedestrians were struck Saturday in a three-vehicle crash in Charlottesville, Virginia, after police began dispersing demonstrators from a white-nationalist and right-wing rally, the Virginia State Police said on Twitter. There are "multiple injuries," police said.

Video of the incident shows a gray Dodge Challenger driving quickly down a narrow side street lined with walking protesters. The sports car rams into the back of a silver convertible, and soon the Dodge driver slams the car in reverse, going back up the street at a high rate of speed, dragging its front bumper.

Several people chase the car. As the sports car retreats, a red athletic shoe falls off the bumper.

Virginia's governor declared an emergency, and police worked to disperse hundreds of protesters in Charlottesville after clashes broke out ahead of Saturday's "Unite the Right" rally of white nationalists and other right-wing groups.

Fistfights and screaming matches erupted shortly before rally's scheduled noon ET start. The skirmishes unfolded following a scuffle Friday night between torch-bearing demonstrators and counter-protesters at the nearby University of Virginia.

Saturday's rally was the latest event drawing white nationalists and right-wing activists from across the country to this Democratic-voting college town -- a development precipitated by the city's decision to remove symbols of its Confederate past.

Here are the latest developments:

• President Donald Trump tweeted: "We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!"

• Police began to break up crowds shortly before noon after city officials declared the gathering an "unlawful assembly." Police officers spoke on bullhorns, directing people to leave.

• The declaration was made after fistfights and screaming matches erupted in several locations late Saturday morning.

• Some protesters fired pepper spray at other demonstrators, state police said.

• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency "to aid state response to violence," according to a post on his Twitter account.

• An unspecified number of protesters have been arrested in Charlottesville, state police said.

Police in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder behind shields early Saturday afternoon, at times advancing toward crowds, CNN video shows. Members of the Virginia National Guard also were there.

By 1 p.m. ET, police had cleared the park where the rally was to be held. It wasn't immediately clear how many demonstrators remained in other parts of the city.

"It is now clear that public safety cannot be safeguarded without additional powers, and that the mostly out-of-state protesters have come to Virginia to endanger our citizens and property," McAullife said. "I am disgusted by the hatred, bigotry and violence these protesters have brought to our state over the past 24 hours."

It wasn't immediately clear what led to the fights, though tensions and rhetoric were running hot. At one point, a few dozen white men wearing helmets and holding makeshift shields chanted, "Blood and soil!" Later, another group chanted slogans like, "Nazi scum off our streets!"

People punched and kicked each other during various scuffles, which often were broken up from within crowds, without police intervention, CNN video shows.

Earlier, a group of clergy and other counter-demonstrators, including activist and Harvard professor Cornel West, held hands, prayed and sang, "This Little Light of Mine."

Police presence was heavy, with more than 1,000 officers expected to be deployed, city officials said.

Police anticipated the rally would attract as many as 2,000 to 6,000 people, and the Southern Poverty Law Center said it could be the "largest hate-gathering of its kind in decades in the United States."

Do we know which protesters the driver was aiming for?
---

The problem is free speech is a thing, and getting violent is pointless.
---

Just don't call these guys brandishing Nazi flags neo-Nazis

Good job guys.
You just legitimized a whole bunch of hate that's coming the other way.

I watched the video. Looked like a lot more like an intentional attack than a panicked driver. If it turns this guy is a white nationalist or part of that rally then it really needs to be labelled a terrorist attack. Doing otherwise would be hypocritical given that when this happens in Europe and is done by Muslims it is.

Duck-I-Says posted...

I watched the video. Looked like a lot more like an intentional attack than a panicked driver. If it turns this guy is a white nationalist or part of that rally then it really needs to be labelled a terrorist attack. Doing otherwise would be hypocritical given that when this happens in Europe and is done by Muslims it is.

Not really, when the counter-protesters were already an unruly mob. It's hardly a random killing spree in a peaceful area.
---

I'm from Virginia (a few hours from Charlottesville) and this all disgusts me.
---

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Not really, when the counter-protesters were already an unruly mob. It's hardly a random killing spree in a peaceful area.

Doesn't have to be. All it needs to be is a targeted ideological attack.

I just do not understand what the counter-protesters expect to accomplish. The whole thing just makes the people they hate dig in their heels... It's just adding a sense of validity to those at the rally. Is that really what they want?!
---

Duck-I-Says posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Not really, when the counter-protesters were already an unruly mob. It's hardly a random killing spree in a peaceful area.

Doesn't have to be. All it needs to be is a targeted ideological attack.

So the counter-protesters are terrorists..? Technically they began the actual conflict portion. (I'm not defending them, I don't like either side here.)
---

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Duck-I-Says posted...

I watched the video. Looked like a lot more like an intentional attack than a panicked driver. If it turns this guy is a white nationalist or part of that rally then it really needs to be labelled a terrorist attack. Doing otherwise would be hypocritical given that when this happens in Europe and is done by Muslims it is.

Not really, when the counter-protesters were already an unruly mob. It's hardly a random killing spree in a peaceful area.

Look at the alt right hate monger claim that the counter protesters were the violent ones and the neo Nazis are totally innocent in all this.
---

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Duck-I-Says posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Not really, when the counter-protesters were already an unruly mob. It's hardly a random killing spree in a peaceful area.

Doesn't have to be. All it needs to be is a targeted ideological attack.

So the counter-protesters are terrorists..? Technically they began the actual conflict portion. (I'm not defending them, I don't like either side here.)

Bullshit. You've been attacking the counter protesters this entire time. Only one side brought weapons and it was the neo Nazis. They were looking for a fight.
---

Erik_P posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Duck-I-Says posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Not really, when the counter-protesters were already an unruly mob. It's hardly a random killing spree in a peaceful area.

Doesn't have to be. All it needs to be is a targeted ideological attack.

So the counter-protesters are terrorists..? Technically they began the actual conflict portion. (I'm not defending them, I don't like either side here.)

Bullshit. You've been attacking the counter protesters this entire time. Only one side brought weapons and it was the neo Nazis. They were looking for a fight.

They were ready because they knew some butthurt people would cause trouble due to the fact everyone hates them.

And while I hate both sides in this particular exchange, I will almost always take a bigger shit on the leftists.
---

Are people gonna wank that Trump won't talk badly if these guys like they said about Obama and BLM?

TheCyborgNinja posted...

They were ready because they knew some butthurt people would cause trouble due to the fact everyone hates them.

Update: Man in car was an on duty police officer who "feared for his safety"
---

Bligh_with_no_T posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

They were ready because they knew some butthurt people would cause trouble due to the fact everyone hates them.

Update: Man in car was an on duty police officer who "feared for his safety"

Lol, well the counters were the only danger to police.
---

Bligh_with_no_T posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

They were ready because they knew some butthurt people would cause trouble due to the fact everyone hates them.

Update: Man in car was an on duty police officer who "feared for his safety"

Their signs looked like guns to to be fair

Guys Bligh is not to be trusted.
---

You know, just a thought for a couple people in this topic - if you ever find yourself in a situation where you're defending actual Nazis, who were chanting actual slogans like "Jews will not replace us", you might want to do some hard thinking about what you're doing with your life.

Golden Road posted...

Do we know which protesters the driver was aiming for?

The counter-protesters.
---

I have decided not to go to virginia today
---

Mead posted...

I have decided not to go to virginia today

It's great everywhere in not Charlottesville. Well not great, but you know, the same as always.

KevinceKostner posted...

Are people gonna wank that Trump won't talk badly if these guys like they said about Obama and BLM?

These guys are his supporters of course he isn't gonna talk badly

America needs a huge civil movement, again
---

darkknight109 posted...

if you ever find yourself in a situation where you're defending actual Nazis, who were chanting actual slogans like "Jews will not replace us", you might want to do some hard thinking about what you're doing with your life.

For starters, I'm pretty sure they were shouting "You will not replace us."

Secondly, most importantly, this is almost exactly how groups like ISIS form. Otherwise normal people with normal concerns become radicalized because of a disproportionate response from opposition. Normal white people see a nigh-constant barrage of anti-white sentiment in media, academia, politics and workplaces and if they dare voice an opinion against that, the people pushing the anti-white narrative go straight for the jugular in terms of ruining that person's life. Just look at that guy from Google, for instance. Thusly, an environment is created where these people essentially either have to sit in silence and fear or join forces with the extreme ends of the spectrum they align with. While it would normally be repugnant for one to do such a thing, it instead becomes the only choice because the other side is constantly attacking them simply for being white.

I'm not defending Nazis, but you'd have to be blind to not see why people are identifying more and more with that side of the political spectrum.
---

darkknight109 posted...

You know, just a thought for a couple people in this topic - if you ever find yourself in a situation where you're defending actual Nazis, who were chanting actual slogans like "Jews will not replace us", you might want to do some hard thinking about what you're doing with your life.

You would think... Sigh
---

Rasmoh posted...

While it would normally be repugnant for one to do such a thing, it instead becomes the only choice because the other side is constantly attacking them simply for being white.

I have never in my life felt the need to defend or side with Nazis because I am white and the number of people supporting these hate groups is fucking ridiculous. Grow a thicker skin; don't become a skinhead
---

Doctor Foxx posted...

Rasmoh posted...

While it would normally be repugnant for one to do such a thing, it instead becomes the only choice because the other side is constantly attacking them simply for being white.

I have never in my life felt the need to defend or side with Nazis because I am white and the number of people supporting these hate groups is fucking ridiculous. Grow a thicker skin; don't become a skinhead

Yeah, I'm white and I don't feel like we are threatened by "anti-white" sentiment. The people who use that as a defense are insecure and probably already had some deep-seated racist tendencies. It goes against all common sense to start becoming worse than what people denounce you for because you're tired of being denounced for it.

Tired of whites being characterized as racist shitheads? Then maybe don't add yourself to the number of racist shitheads.

While it would normally be repugnant for one to do such a thing, it instead becomes the only choice because the other side is constantly attacking them simply for being white.

People aren't fucking attacking Nazis for being white; they're being attacked because they're a damn hate group.

Trying to spin some bullshit defense for siding with them really is a pitiful new low, even for you @Rasmoh. Just admit that you're a hateful bigot and you want whites to be the master race. Not that difficult.
---

I'm white and I feel that Jersey Mike's is better than any other sandwich shop that I know about
---

Rasmoh posted...

While it would normally be repugnant for one to do such a thing, it instead becomes the only choice because the other side is constantly attacking them simply for being white.

I like how, no more than a year ago, these same people were criticizing tumblrinas for being fragile snowflakes that couldn't handle dissenting viewpoints. And yet now becoming a literal Nazi because of a little name-calling (that gets hideously exaggerated) is considered a reasonable response that's easy to empathize with? Now who's pathetically thin-skinned...
---

People will just find a way to blame liberals for everything since they can't actually defend views that stand on otherwise shaky ground. It's just like all the people who scramble to find some vaguely similar Hillary or Obama example to defend terrible things that Trump gets called out for.

Rasmoh posted...

I'm not defending Nazis, but you'd have to be blind to not see why people are identifying more and more with that side of the political spectrum.

They need to spend less time on Tumblr, then. Tumblr is not the outside world. If a black person on Tumblr saying they hate white people is enough for a white person to become a neo-nazi, that white person was looking for an excuse to sign up to begin with.
---

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

Golden Road posted...

Rasmoh posted...

I'm not defending Nazis, but you'd have to be blind to not see why people are identifying more and more with that side of the political spectrum.

They need to spend less time on Tumblr, then. Tumblr is not the outside world. If a black person on Tumblr saying they hate white people is enough for a white person to become a neo-nazi, that white person was looking for an excuse to sign up to begin with.

Apparently it's Tumblr -- which nobody except SJWs use -- and not shit like this:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/05/us/chicago-facebook-live-beating/index.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/teens-beats-chicago-man-street-voting-donald-trump-article-1.2867997

And who can forget that THIS happened in Charlotte just last year:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3802230/War-zone-Charlotte-White-man-begs-mercy-beaten-reporter-nearly-dragged-fire-rioters-people-told-stay-home-work-police-shooting-black-father.html
---

Trump isn't going to denounce his biggest supporters.
---

Zeus posted...

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

I mean, attacking literal nazis is kind of what the free world is supposed to do. Or did you miss that 70-year-old memo?
---

lol wtf America?

I watched a video of the rally. Apparently Icoyar has discovered how to reproduce asexually and is taking the streets by storm.

adjl posted...

I mean, attacking literal nazis is kind of what the free world is supposed to do. Or did you miss that 70-year-old memo?

Physically attacking people for being stupid typically isn't a good idea.
---

Yellow posted...

I watched a video of the rally. Apparently Icoyar has discovered how to reproduce asexually and is taking the streets by storm.

Dear god I laughed too hard at that
---

Zeus posted...

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

Yeah it isn't their fault they got violent, only liberals are to blame for their actions

/s
---

adjl posted...

Zeus posted...

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

I mean, attacking literal ---- is kind of what the free world is supposed to do. Or did you miss that 70-year-old memo?

1) I think you need a refresher on what literal means.

2) That attitude is EXACTLY what's prompting counter-attacks. You brand one side evil and then justify attacking them, sooner or later you piss off that side enough to strike back.

Mead posted...

Zeus posted...

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

Yeah it isn't their fault they got violent, only liberals are to blame for their actions

/s

Stealing a page from GWB's "They hate our freedoms" book?
---

If you physically harm someone for holding a poltical viewpoint, what happens? For simplicity's sake, we will say Side A got harmed, and Side B did the harming.

Side A says, "look, Side B is totally the bad guy here for doing something bad"
Side B says, "well its not really that bad, besides, it's for a god cause"

The thing is though, both sides are literally doing the same exact thing.
Violence just makes more people violent as reconciliation, it does nothing but make more people angry.

Rasmoh posted...

For starters, I'm pretty sure they were shouting "You will not replace us."

At points, yes. At other points, they decided "Jews will not replace us" was a better chant.

And in case, y'know, there was any doubt that a Nazi rally might have some anti-Semitic stuff going on, the signs they were holding included such catchy phrases as "The Jewish media is going down" plus, y'know, they were doing the whole Sieg Heil salute and all.

I know, whooda thunk that a Nazi rally would have anti-Jewish stuff going on? Crazy world, amirite?

Rasmoh posted...

Secondly, most importantly, this is almost exactly how groups like ISIS form.

I agree. And in this analogy, the neo-Nazis are ISIS.

Makes for a pretty apt comparison, really. Both are extremist, terrorist organizations tied to backwards, violent, hateful ideology that really should have been snuffed out a long time ago.

Rasmoh posted...

Otherwise normal people with normal concerns become radicalized because of a disproportionate response from opposition. Normal white people see a nigh-constant barrage of anti-white sentiment in media, academia, politics and workplaces and if they dare voice an opinion against that, the people pushing the anti-white narrative go straight for the jugular in terms of ruining that person's life.

That's weird, because I'm as white as a polar bear's ass and I'm not seeing this "barrage" of anti-white sentiment you speak of, despite being tied quite closely to academia and working in a white collar profession.

I'm curious, though - does your logic work both ways? Do you support Black Lives Matter because of the "barrage" of anti-black sentiment that black people, in particular young black men, face? Or is it only whites that are hard-done-by these days?

Rasmoh posted...

Just look at that guy from Google, for instance.

Maybe I missed it, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't a Nazi.

And I don't really have much sympathy to spare for someone who knowingly and deliberately commits career suicide. If you don't want to lose your job, keep your shitty opinions to yourself, and if you can't manage that, maybe consider not posting them on a company forum where your co-workers will read them.

Rasmoh posted...

Thusly, an environment is created where these people essentially either have to sit in silence and fear or join forces with the extreme ends of the spectrum they align with. While it would normally be repugnant for one to do such a thing, it instead becomes the only choice because the other side is constantly attacking them simply for being white.

Again, I can't recall a single instance of being attacked simply for being white. Maybe that's just me, though.

This really does sound like you would be an ardent supporter of Black Lives Matter, though, because this is pretty much their raison d'etre, just with a different racial group.

Also, aren't modern conservatives supposed to be against "snowflakeism" and supporting telling it like it is? Why all the angst about "anti-white messaging"? Sounds awfully snowflakey to me.

Zeus posted...

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

You know, if we're hitting up the history books, white supremacists have a much longer and deeper history of violence at rallies. You might want to rethink this line of logic.
---

Zeus posted...

1) I think you need a refresher on what literal means.

You start waving around a Nazi flag and throwing Nazi salutes, you're a literal Nazi. Trying to dance around that with extra words and euphemisms that make it sound less Nazitastic doesn't change that. These are literal Nazis.

Zeus posted...

2) That attitude is EXACTLY what's prompting counter-attacks. You brand one side evil and then justify attacking them, sooner or later you piss off that side enough to strike back.

Nazis are evil. Again, dunno how you missed this particular 70-year-old memo. This is not some arbitrary branding, this is something that's been universally accepted for over 70 years (except by literal Nazis, who, by virtue of being literal Nazis, have relinquished their right to not be mocked into shameful silence). Nazism no longer has any legitimacy whatsoever as a position, and anyone who doesn't understand why needs to pick up a goddamn history book, not start rallying for their right to express opinions that no human should ever hold again.
---

Zeus posted...

Stealing a page from GWB's "They hate our freedoms" book?

Just regular old common sense logic

You two should get acquainted
---

shadowsword87 posted...

If you physically harm someone for holding a poltical viewpoint, what happens? For simplicity's sake, we will say Side A got harmed, and Side B did the harming.

Side A says, "look, Side B is totally the bad guy here for doing something bad"
Side B says, "well its not really that bad, besides, it's for a god cause"

The thing is though, both sides are literally doing the same exact thing.
Violence just makes more people violent as reconciliation, it does nothing but make more people angry.

Something I tried to explain to a hard-leftist on Facebook, but he just wasn't getting it.

darkknight109 posted...

Zeus posted...

Given that violent terrorist groups like Antifa have repeatedly brought weapons and attacked both alt-right and conservative protests, a violent response like this was inevitable.

You know, if we're hitting up the history books, white supremacists have a much longer and deeper history of violence at rallies. You might want to rethink this line of logic.

Because apparently decades old shit is more important than things actually happening right now? You might want to rethink your line of logic.

adjl posted...

You start waving around a Nazi flag and throwing Nazi salutes, you're a literal Nazi. Trying to dance around that with extra words and euphemisms that make it sound less Nazitastic doesn't change that. These are literal Nazis.

No, being a literal Nazi would mean going back in time to join the literal Nazi party. Your argument is literal idiocy. Likewise, waving around an American flag, saying the pledge of allegiance, and doing an American salute (if one exists) doesn't make you an American. We have something called citizenship for that.
---

adjl posted...

Nazis are evil. Again, dunno how you missed this particular 70-year-old memo.

Says the guy who missed the 70 year old memo about the Nazi Party disbanding.

adjl posted...

This is not some arbitrary branding, this is something that's been universally accepted for over 70 years (except by literal Nazis, who, by virtue of being literal Nazis, have relinquished their right to not be mocked into shameful silence). Nazism no longer has any legitimacy whatsoever as a position, and anyone who doesn't understand why needs to pick up a goddamn history book, not start rallying for their right to express opinions that no human should ever hold again.

It literally is an arbitrary branding for the most part. You're trying to discredit individuals by associating them with Nazis, which isn't just wrongheaded and stupid, it's also downright offensive. The fact that you're calling everybody you don't like Nazis tells me you should try reading history books instead of burning them.



Mead posted...

Zeus posted...

Stealing a page from GWB's "They hate our freedoms" book?

Just regular old common sense logic

You two should get acquainted

You mean like GWB's "common sense" argument about them hating our freedoms? Because that's where you're going with this.
---

Zeus posted...

No, being a literal Nazi would mean going back in time to join the literal Nazi party.

Hmm

Nah.

There is no application or legal process for being a Nazi and Nazis are definitely still around.
---

apparently a helicopter also crashed there and killed at least one person.
---

Zeus posted...

You mean like GWB's "common sense" argument about them hating our freedoms? Because that's where you're going with this.

Whatever makes you feel less foolish
---