By John Procida
In cowboy movies, the guys in the white hats always win. But life is not a cowboy movie.
As it pertains to the recent confrontation in Virginia, the majority of Americans (including me) would like to see the Nazis disappear. But then our U.S. Constitution gets in the way, as any American has the right to peacefully assemble. As much as we all hate what Nazism stands for, we must tolerate them when they exercise their Constitutional right.
In Virginia the guys in the white hats arrived to do battle with clubs and other weapons. Arriving is one thing, but using those weapons is against the law. In using those weapons, the guys in the white hats became the guys in the black hats.
We would like the President to condemn the Nazi’s and be sympathetic to the “Americans.” But Donald Trump instead said that both sides were responsible for the bloodshed.
Still, we have funny ways of listening. Sometimes we hear all of what is said and sometimes we hear what we want to hear. Sometimes we hear things that we refuse to compute accurately, as it is not what we want to hear.
In his press conference, Trump elaborated about how both sides were at fault and he challenged the press saying: “You know what I am saying is the truth, so report the event truthfully.” He added that he did not expect the press to do that and he was right. The headlines were “Trump likes Nazis and the KKK.”
Saying that both sides were wrong is a hard pill to swallow as we hate Nazism so strongly. The truth seems to justify Nazism even though it is not the intention.
Trump would have made out much better if he lied and blamed the Nazis and the KKK for everything.
John Procida
Flushing
