It may seem silly to focus upon monuments but it needs to be addressed. If these monuments are now going to represent certain ideologies currently, has their meaning changed? Should historical context only matter? Should we honor a monument that doesn’t represent modern societal views for the sake of honoring history? What do people want to happen to these monuments? Should people accept the notion “life was different back then and most owned slaves.” I’m going to dig into this a bit deeper and ask the questions which make most people uncomfortable. They need to be addressed like I said, by someone, somewhere, at some point.

Let’s think of an example here. Well, in the future when most of us have deceased and more than likely “something” will be legal on a nationwide basis that previously wasn’t; ask yourselves if that “something” being illegal in some states in the past would be justified by saying “well it was different back then.” I have thought about this and I believe, there is no good to come out of making excuses. Especially when it encompasses something as significant as human rights. I understand how these monuments can sort of trigger rage in people of color, and also those who believe is basic human rights. I agree, some of these monuments represent people who had some racist views or sort of were careful about not exposing their views on the matter. Which can lead one to believe they were hiding racism potentially as well. Either way, racism is not mainstream accepted in this country. Period. Doesn’t matter what color is being racist to what other color as well. Most people who witness racism are disgusted I would hope and display that in some way. It is immoral behavior in my opinion and as a whole nation, I think most would agree. That’s why everyone here has rights, despite their skin color. People of color now have opportunities they once did not have; which is what they should have had in the first place. These sort of “fringe” KKK, Nazi-like groups are giving a bad image of America to the rest of the world and perhaps even spreading hatred. Should they just be ignored? Should we take Tina Fey’s advice, eat cake and stay inside, instead of partaking in these rallies? Maybe if it is going to involve all these fringe groups showing up and physically assaulting one another and breaking the law mind you. She also brought up a good point when she had said the Indians at standing rock were attacked a lot more than those who were in the street inciting violence and carrying actual weapons. I agree. I personally did not feel standing rock was handled correctly. And I will remind people as well, just because I may have voted for someone, doesn’t mean I see eye to eye on every situation with them. That is why I actually classify myself as an independent thinker, something very few people can honestly say nowadays.

In Charlottesville, I do not think this event was properly prepared for. If you want to say the fringe groups do not have free speech, and the rally should have never existed, I have to disagree. Even though I really do not like Antifa or the KKK, I cannot stop them from expressing their views or my own free speech could be jepordized. Unfortunately, the best thing to do is unite on a fundamental set of beliefs that we as a nation can agree upon and try to make these fringe groups lose power.

I will also point out in Charlottesville, there were hardly any barriers. It seemed based upon footage I have seen, opposing sides had to directly walk by one another with no law enforcement in between. Why? I honestly think prevention is key. It seems that kind of lack of planning as well was a recipe for disaster! And I am in no way directly trying to blame law enforcement, for we need to have respect for those who protect this country; but something needs to change with how things seems to be not be planned for. This clearly was going to have the potential to turn violent. Was that not thought of in hindsight? Did we not learn from Berkeley? Yes, Berkeley was Antifa against Trump supporters, but they were lighting things on fire, inciting violence, and attacking people based upon who they voted for? Accountability needs to be dealt to those who deserve it handed back to them after displaying such disgusting behavior, regardless of what group it is. Strip it down, it is ultimately the behavior which is uncivilized.

I also would like to touch base upon James Fields Jr, the man who plowed his car into the crowd. James Fields Jr, was allegedly violent years before this event towards his own mother. Sources speculate, his mother called 911 after he pulled out a knife on her. Now if all of this is indeed true, this man had some severe mental health issues that should have been addressed so he could cause no harm to himself or others. I have seen the mother be blamed for him being out of control, but I need to remind people, she did reach out for help it seems several times. And she is not directly at fault for her son’s actions; he made a horrific choice. Like I said, his mother did reach out for help. Now I am not directly putting blame upon law enforcement, social workers, etc…but I will speculate more training and accountability needs to happen in order to improve how things are handled regarding mental illness in this country. James, was susceptible to adopting dangerous ideas. According to his mother as well, he was residing in his own apartment. Yes, this man may have been able to take a bath, but clearly inside his mind there was a lot happening. Most people do not run cars into people because they are influenced by a toxic political atmosphere. I believe he was unfit to be living alone with not enough supervision. He perhaps needed a supported living environment. Was there ever a psychological evaluation done on him as minor? We will never know either.

I asked on twitter about what people think should be done with the monuments in this country. Yes, it might seem as if it is silly to argue about monuments but it seems this is obviously running deeper. Perhaps, mainstream media has given too much attention to these fringe groups, thus giving them more power. Anyways, I gave three options: Torn down asap, have some kind of vote, or build an additional monument. It seemed as if some would like a vote, most would like an additional monument, and very little agree with having them torn down asap. I think we should do whatever the majority in that particular area of the monument desires. If we have to even vote on how it should handled, so be it. The best thing we can do as a country right now is realize how much diversion, distraction, and division is going on currently and try to unite on common values. The only way to achieve this is by listening to what the majority desires to happen. Truly the only way to bring about any kind of peace in the midst of so much tension, is to do what the majority of people obviously agree upon. And I do not believe most people in this country are like the KKK, Antifa, or “fringe groups” or they wouldn’t be “fringe groups.” The reality is: there is untapped power inbetween we must focus upon in order to create unity and defy all of this hatred on either end of the spectrum. I hope you understand where I’m coming from. And I really hope this country will slowly become more peaceful.

Thank you for reading.