Read

User menu

Search form

"Hope Not Hatred": Thousands Gather Across U.S. in Rebuke to Trump, Neo-Nazis

"Hope Not Hatred": Thousands Gather Across U.S. in Rebuke to Trump, Neo-Nazis
Fri, 8/18/2017 - by Jake Johnson
This article originally appeared on Common Dreams

Replacing torches with candles and hate with hope, thousands gathered across the United States Wednesday night to mourn the death of Heather Heyer and stand peacefully against the violence perpetrated by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.

At the University of Virginia (UVA), the same place white supremacists rallied and chanted racist slogans, hundreds came together for an impromptu candlelight vigil, which was initially "kept secret to prevent it from becoming a media circus and, more important, to keep the white supremacists from finding out about it and potentially disrupting the event," notes The Daily Beast's Jackson Landers.

Soon, however, the scene began to blossom. What was at first a low-key ceremony quickly became a "sea of candles," Landers noted.

Those gathered for the UVA vigil – from students to high-profile politicians – marched from the campus's Nameless Field to "the Lawn," the same path walked by neo-Nazis last Friday.

"What happened on Friday night was a tragedy and we're here to take back the lawn for this student generation, all the previous, all the future generations of students who walked the Lawn," Jerry Connor, a march attendee, told CBS. "The Lawn stands for liberty, equality, justice and freedom."

Similar events were held in cities throughout the country, a mass rebuke of white supremacy and of President Donald Trump, who earlier this week took to blaming "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville and attempted to defend those who attended the neo-Nazi rally.

New polling data indicates that the views expressed during the vigil on Wednesday are shared by most Americans. A CBS News poll released on Thursday found that most Americans disapprove of Trump's response to the white supremacist violence.

Wednesday night, marchers – singing "We are not afraid" and "We shall overcome" – offered a peaceful and hopeful alternative to the violence and hatred that was on display at the so-called "Unite the Right" rally.

"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday," CNN's Nora Neus observed. "Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."

One observer summarized the vigil: "Candles. Not torches. Hope. Not hatred."

Originally published by Common Dreams

3 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

ONE-TIME DONATION

Just use the simple form below to make a single direct donation.

DONATE NOW

MONTHLY DONATION

Be a sustaining sponsor. Give a reacurring monthly donation at any level.

GET SOME MERCH!

Now you can wear your support too! From T-Shirts to tote bags.

SHOP TODAY

Sign Up

Article Tabs

What remains unknown is whether post-truth Republicans will succeed in 2024 as the Nazis did in 1933.

Based on details that have emerged about Trump’s presidential agenda, the far-right Heritage Foundation plans for the next GOP president to have all the tools necessary to demolish multicultural democracy and establish a white, Christian ethnostate that imposes a gender apartheid not unlike the Taliban’s Afghanistan.

Donald Trump, Hitler

Like Hitler, Trump has a unique command of propaganda, a captivating public presence, and he knows how to drive home narratives beneficial to him and harmful to his enemies.

Trump’s brand of hyper-nationalism combined with the intense consolidation of executive power follows the same playbook as fascistic leaders in other countries like India,Russia, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt, Italy and Argentina, among others.

The Florida governor’s humiliating loss has a dark undertone: Most Republicans, and many independents, apparently have a craving for the unchecked lawless vengeance that Trump has promised if he wins a second term.

What remains unknown is whether post-truth Republicans will succeed in 2024 as the Nazis did in 1933.

Based on details that have emerged about Trump’s presidential agenda, the far-right Heritage Foundation plans for the next GOP president to have all the tools necessary to demolish multicultural democracy and establish a white, Christian ethnostate that imposes a gender apartheid not unlike the Taliban’s Afghanistan.

Donald Trump, Hitler

Like Hitler, Trump has a unique command of propaganda, a captivating public presence, and he knows how to drive home narratives beneficial to him and harmful to his enemies.

Trump’s brand of hyper-nationalism combined with the intense consolidation of executive power follows the same playbook as fascistic leaders in other countries like India,Russia, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt, Italy and Argentina, among others.

The Florida governor’s humiliating loss has a dark undertone: Most Republicans, and many independents, apparently have a craving for the unchecked lawless vengeance that Trump has promised if he wins a second term.

Based on details that have emerged about Trump’s presidential agenda, the far-right Heritage Foundation plans for the next GOP president to have all the tools necessary to demolish multicultural democracy and establish a white, Christian ethnostate that imposes a gender apartheid not unlike the Taliban’s Afghanistan.

Posted 3 weeks 2 days ago

Trump’s brand of hyper-nationalism combined with the intense consolidation of executive power follows the same playbook as fascistic leaders in other countries like India,Russia, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt, Italy and Argentina, among others.

Posted 1 month 2 weeks ago
Donald Trump, Hitler

Like Hitler, Trump has a unique command of propaganda, a captivating public presence, and he knows how to drive home narratives beneficial to him and harmful to his enemies.

Posted 1 month 1 week ago

What remains unknown is whether post-truth Republicans will succeed in 2024 as the Nazis did in 1933.

Posted 1 week 1 day ago

Based on details that have emerged about Trump’s presidential agenda, the far-right Heritage Foundation plans for the next GOP president to have all the tools necessary to demolish multicultural democracy and establish a white, Christian ethnostate that imposes a gender apartheid not unlike the Taliban’s Afghanistan.