Let me say a couple of things about the horrific situation in Charlottesville.
No more using the benign term ‘alt-right’ for those who are white supremacists/nationalists, racists and Nazis. Call it for what it truly is. Yesterday’s incident was an act of domestic terrorism. And that disgusting excuse for a human being has done everything he can to whip up that base, to incite violence, to pander to them. No surprise that the man who pushed ‘birtherism’ has no morality. Or that Bannon, Miller and Gorka – all on the White House staff – are known White Nationalists.
We have someone occupying the Oval Office who will denounce anyone and freely does just that via his speeches and his tweets, but will not, WILL NOT, denounce Putin or White Nationalists or American Nazis. There are not ‘many sides’ to the violence in Charlottesville. There is only one, that of denouncing and repudiating the evil actions by those who marched yesterday.
He is a traitor to every ideal this country holds dear.
I am so heartsick over what happened yesterday, in America, in 2017. I don’t recognize my country. But clearly this was here, under the surface, all along.
There is either love or fear. Hate is fueled by fear.
We are better than this. And make no mistake, though I choose love, I will not tolerate hate. Tolerance implies a tacit approval or a willingness to accept diverse opinions. All well and good and laudable when it comes to things like religious tolerance, political differences, sexual orientation. I cannot and will not tolerate hate. And hate was on full display yesterday.
My father fought in WWII to defeat Hitler and the Nazis. He would be horrified by what happened yesterday.
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My nephew, Meredith’s son, Mr. 20, is in the hospital. He is in great pain as he fights a virus that has inflamed his intestines and lymph nodes. He is on morphine for the pain. We are very worried about him. They’ve called in a Gastroenterologist and we hope to know more soon.
Say a prayer for him, please.
Say a prayer for our country.
Prayers sent your nephew’s way, and prayers for our country on this sad Sunday morning. I totally agree with everything you said. Love sent from Oklahoma where it is very hard to be a liberal Presbyterian
Thank you, Becky. Stay strong in Oklahoma!
Ditto for being a liberal in Arkansas but after a LONG search we did find a small church where we feel comfortable. Today’s sermon was about there being only one race, the human race, and we are all of one blood. It’s sermons like that and posts like this that give me hope. Hang in there!
Good sermon and much needed! Thank you, CarolJoy.
Prayers for a speedy recovery for your dear nephew
Thank you Jeannine!
Prayers are with your nephew, your whole family and our dear country.
Thank you, Cathy.
Prayers for Mr. 20 and our country. Sending hugs your way as I know how hard it must be for you to be apart from Don right now.
It is. Thank you, Laura.
Thank you for your wise and truthful words Claudia.
Warmest wishes for recovery for your nephew.
Peace
Thank you, Carolyn Marie.
I’m without words this morning, wondering where these evil ‘fellow Americans’ have come from. Did they not learn growing up that their rights end at the point where others’ rights begin? That was just basic knowledge in the America that I grew up in!
My best wishes go out to your nephew and family.
They don’t seem to have a basic knowledge of America. And they don’t want to.
Thank you, Shanna.
Sending prayers to your nephew. Also praying for our country.
Thank you, Kathy.
Prayers for the country and your dear nephew!
Thank you, Janet.
Your words as usual are spot on. It’s quite frightening to me, with everything that is going on…white supremists….North Korea. I really am at a loss for words. Prayers for the quick recovery of your nephew, and for our country. ;)
Thank you, Donnamae.
I will start with your nephew, best wishes and my best thoughts for a speedy recovery.
Each day brings more horror and I hardly know what to say anymore. You say it perfectly for us all. Nazis installed in our White House, I never thought we would see this. So much hate and no responsibility taken from the instigators.
Agree. Thank you, Deb.
So sad as we watched news out of Charlottesville yesterday. Such hate in our own country. Has it been just bubbling under the surface?? Heartbreaking and disgusting. Prayers for your Mr. 20 and family.
It seems as if it has.
Thank you, Dottie.
Keeping your nephew and his family in my thoughts. I hope a solution/diagnosis is found soon so treatment can begin.
Thank you, Wendy.
Claudia, you always say it so much better than I could. 1000% agreement with you on Charlottesville, its causes & what to do about it. While it may still get darker before the dawn, that dawn IS coming – & I believe sooner than people think. The Mueller investigation is moving much faster than was originally-estimated and now we know criminality is strongly suspected on the part of some [maybe all]. So I’m keeping focused on that. May the Force be with your nephew & the family too. Hoping you get good news very soon. Virtual hugs headed your way! ⛅️
I agree. I know that Mueller is moving fast and I’m counting the days until this horrendous administration is gone. Thank you.
It is so horrid and I hope that this is finally where we draw the line with this man. There has to be a point where we all say enough and urge our representatives STRONGLY to remove this man from power now.
Thank you for speaking out and prayers for your nephew.
Thank you, Melissa.
Prayers for your nephew. I know that is scary. I’ll email Meredith. I am so sad and angry and disgusted. It has always been there, racism, but the good was beating the bad. Now it’s like everyone thinks its ok to attack anyone is who is ‘different’. I’m so scared but will not give up. We had a great sermon today, special prayers for Charlottesville, and our county. We have to stand up for what we believe or we will lose our country. Hugs!
Absolutely. Thank you, Linda.
Thank you ,Claudia for your thoughtful post. There are no words left in me.You expressed how I feel! You precious nephew is in my thoughts and prayers. xo Annette in CA.
Thank you, Annette.
oops! That should read “your” not “you”. Tears in my eyes clouded the first version.
xo
Dear Claudia. Please don’t publish this post. From the house of Edward is worth reading. prayers for Mr. 20…n
I don’t understand. It’s already published or you wouldn’t be reading it.
I hope your nephew is feeling better. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Thank you, Jay.
Praying for your Nephew total healing and recovery as well as prayers for strength and comfort for your Family….
I totally agree with your post, hate is never acceptable and what happened in Charlottesville was deplorable!!!
I agree with Carol Jo, we are one race, the Human race….. and I pray for our Country daily.
Thank you, Debbi!
I’ve been away from media and have only just read about the Charlottesville tragedy. I feel physically ill. Like from the second I saw the still-photograph of people in a crowd, flung into the air. Frozen in mid-air flight. It’s such unspeakable violence, it almost can’t be comprehended.
Rachel’s show on Friday night has remained with me, too.
Add in everything else and I find I have to fight the (cowardly) feeling of wanting to climb into the mountains, find a cave, stay detached from the world and retreat.
There was a time growing up when I remember feeling similarly although I didn’t entirely understand my emotions. Early teens. (And I was a particularly sheltered, naive, small-town teen.) The summer unrest in Chicago with the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Robert Kennedy had only recently been killed, right here ‘in my own backyard’ of SoCalif, and it felt like the whole world had been on fire, in a year of TV coverage about riots everywhere; demonstrations; violence. It felt like being in a blender of a lot of bad ingredients; it made my head ache; I was scared. My parents were upset with national news/headlines…Dad angry and worried; Mom crying…which made me nervous. They usually tried to shield us but I think they just couldn’t take it anymore (couldn’t hold it in); they were scared and still young themselves. As a kid, I just had this feeling that everything was going in the wrong direction although I couldn’t fully understand why. It was disturbing unease surrounding what had seemed like my happier world.
Someone we knew had a son in the military who’d recently been severely injured in the Vietnam War and the images in my mind of what I’d overheard of his injuries were giving me nightmares. I couldn’t, at that age, remember a time when there wasn’t something to remind me about the Vietnam War every day of my young life…magazines, TV, news radio; adult conversation. I didn’t even want to hear the word “Vietnam”. I’d try to bury my head in a cheery novel or watch for a good ‘ol, feel-good movie to come on TV (we had to wait for them in those days); I just wanted the bad news to go away. I was confused. I felt powerless; I was just one kid and it was now also a bad mess out there in the bigger U.S., my country, which was supposed to be good and whole and safe.
I had my priorities; I was supposed to be working on my tan; school was gonna start soon. But things felt wrong and I guess a loss of innocence in me was unfolding. I’d lay on my beach towel, turn on the wee transistor radio and listen to golden oldies. Maybe the sun would make everything better. Maybe the music and the rhythmic sound of the waves breaking to shore would lull me to sleep so I could just forget about the bad stuff for a little while.
I feel in the summer of 2017, like that girl I was in the summer of ’68.
I’m sorry, Claudia. I totally forgot to say I hope your nephew is improving and, yes, a prayer from me. Such a worry for you, his mom and family.
Thank you.
I understand. Thank you, Vicki.
There is no question this racists neo Nazis went to Charlottesville with the intent of causing great harm. How in the world were they allowed to march in full army regalia and weaponry is beyond my grasp! Why weren’t they stopped the night before after they attacked students protesting against them? Did it really has to come to lost of life for people to take notice? All I can’t say is they will not stop because their ideological leader sitting in the White House won’t denounce them, but what can we expect from him? If any, I can say from the beginning he has shown the nation who he is (and has remained truthful to it) and still was elected as president and in the process divided this nation as a mean to accomplish his and his closest friends agenda. We need all the prayers we can muster! Excuse my long rant but I’m so upset right now! I’m sending good thoughts and a prayer for your nephew, I wish they can determine what’s causing his symptoms and that he has a speedy recovery.
He never shied away from who he was. And yet they voted for him.
Thank you, Marlene.
Dear Claudia, I will include your nephew in my prayers today, as I follow your sister’s blog, too.
And may I say “BRAVO”, a thousand times over, for your post today.
I’m aboard the same ship you are and we will NOT sink!
Amen. Thank you, Nancy.
Prayers, wishes and positive thoughts for your nephew and the entire family. So scary.
Beyond scary is what happened in Charlottesville. The mayor was on MTP this morning and had some choice words for that waste of skin sitting in NJ for a VACATION. From what, I am not sure, as he surely hasn’t worked since last January. So, does he finally challenge Bannon? I am sure not as I think they share these beliefs. It is appalling. He makes fun of everyone he chooses as his current enemy with Lying Ted, Little Marco, Slow-poke Jeb and on and on. But he has not uttered one single word ever about Putin or these KKK/ white supremacists who worship him and do their “work” on his behalf. He has accomplished nothing except fuel the hate and despair in our country. I pray that he doesn’t get the world blown to bits, and that this Reign of Terror ends soon.
I have the same prayer, Chris. Thank you.
Claudia, I am praying for your nephew and our country! And amen to everything you said in this post. I am beyond horrified, disgusted and totally distressed at this point…. I once said I would need to be medicated if Trump won the election. Well, for the first time in my 60 some years I am taking an antidepressant to cope. I fear for the future of my grandchildren, one whom is adopted from S. Korea. He is only 8 years old and experiencing hateful racism from some kids at his school, racism that is being instilled in them by their Trump supporting parents. I so hope this nightmare of Trump ends soon! And I wonder about those that voted for him – are they happy now?!!
I bet there are many people taking antidepressants right now because of the constant stress we are under. I am so very sorry to hear about the racism being directed at your dear grandson. There is no excuse for it and it must be stopped. Much love to you, Lily.
Dear Claudia, I am praying for your nephew. It is so scary to think what could be causing this. I am sure that the gastroenterologist will find the cause very quickly.
Thank you for your excellent post about Cville and your lovely follow-up comments to my comment yesterday. I am so proud of my husband participating as a counter protester and helping a young man who was tear gassed by the neo nazis. He said that the people of Charlottesville were amazing and the atmosphere was unwelcoming for these domeatic terrorists.
Prayers your way.
Julie
Your husband was brave and we thank him for speaking out! I’m not at all surprised about the people of Charlottesville. I’m just so sorry that this had to happen there.
Oh Claudia, I will have your sister’s son and family in my prayers. I hope he will recover soon.
I am depressed about so much today. But I refuse to allow people like that to win.
Me too. They will not win. Thank you, Bridget.
Your nephew’s condition sounds terribly distressing and my thoughts are with all of your family and you dear Claudia in coping . For your dear nephew ,may he feel whatever inspiration and love that carries upliftment and healing.
Rather than just bewilderment in regards your country and the world i will enfold this in my prayers also.Thank-you.
Thank you, Grace.
Praying for your nephew. Hope the doctors will discover what is causing the problem. Praying for the USA.
Thank you, Rose.
Prayers for your nephew. I watched a show tonight and a teenager had the same symptoms as your nephew. She had a tick bite two weeks before. The tick was from a rabbit and it gave her a very rare disease. Hope the doctors figure out what is causing your nephews pain.
No, it’s not from a tick bite. It’s a virus that just happens, for some reason. Thank you, Olivia.
Prayers for your nephew and for our country.
I recently read Night by Elie Wiesel. At the end of the book was the transcript of his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, in it he wrote “…I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must-at that moment-become the center of the universe.”
Seeing what happened this weekend, was so horrifying and sickening that it was almost hard to believe it was happening here in 2017 in America. But, believe we must, and we must take sides and speak out and stand up for justice, love, and mercy.
Profound. From someone who knew. Thank you, Debbie.
Oh my gosh, poor Mr. 20. And how stressful for your sister. I hope and pray he gets better soon. I, too, am so freaked out about yesterday and the lack of leadership in our country. I am speechless. All the best, Heather
Speechless here as well, Heather. Thank you.
Sorry to hear about your nephew. I will include Mr. 20 in my prayers and daily Rosary. Last night EWTN had an hour for peace. I watched it with my sisters and did the Rosary and Litanies with the Priest. It was beautiful. Peace is what we need.
Marilyn
Oh, for peace. We surely need it. Thank you, Marilyn.
On Claudia…the worst thing for me is knowing that all of this horrible behavior reinforces the demons in my son’s head that tell him how evil people are and how dangerous the outside world is…I am at a loss of words for him and for others lately…that is how bad it has become…this is destroying people on so many levels!…Somebody please save us from this madness!
I’m so sorry. You work so hard with your son to help him and make him feel safe and then this happens. Sending hugs your way.