Make your stand

Sit back and look for the warnings

The future's bright and alarming

Sit back and look for the warnings

~~ “Knights of Shame” by AWOLNATION

Where do I start?

I know I’m not the only one feeling disgusted and heartsick after watching the Charlottesville event unfold this weekend.

I went from ridicule and hilarity (Tiki torches? Really?) to disgust (didn’t we fight these wars already, you inbred crackers?) to horror (seeing the car plow through people, empty shoes on the ground as people were literally thrown out of their shoes).

We went to a South Bend Cubs baseball game today, and I paid extra attention to the national anthem as it was sung. We had a mixed-race couple in front of us, and some Spanish-speaking people behind us. The lady next to me spoke both English and Spanish and we shared a few laughs about various things during the game. They were all into the game, cheering for our Cubs. There were obnoxious kids, there was a little girl with her face covered in nacho cheese, there were kids catching foul balls. We drank beer, ate hot dogs, I probably got a little sunburned, but I had myself a good time.

At one point, I thought, “This is who we are.”

I thought of my Dad and three of his brothers who all enlisted to fight in WWII. My Dad was in North Africa and Italy, my Uncle Burt was in the Pacific, my Uncle Les was in Italy and suffered hearing damage from the Battle of Anzio, and my Uncle Ted was a paratrooper who was poised to invade Japan. The story in our family is that my grandma cried herself to sleep every night worrying about her four sons in the war.

My Dad and my uncles fought this war already and if we have to fight it again, in our own country, we will do so.

We will not be defined by a group of fascists who exist simply to hate others. We didn’t fight a Civil War for nothing. We didn’t fight the Nazis for nothing. We didn’t fight for women’s right to vote for nothing, we didn’t fight the Civil Rights battles for nothing, and we didn't fight for marriage equality for nothing.

We fought FOR something. We fought for people to be safe, free, and unoppressed. We fought for equal rights and for the right of everyone in this country to be protected from discrimination and hatred. Our fellow countrymen and women were willing to give their lives, face jail time, and suffer beatings in order to defend those freedoms. They fought to advance America’s ideals and make our country a better place for everyone. We cannot and must not let their sacrifices be for nothing.

There is no room here for white supremacists who push an agenda of hatred. We must make it clear that they are the minority and while they have the right to voice their hateful opinions, we have the right to challenge them and voice our own opinions. We can and will condemn them for their hate.

Matt and I will be attending a solidarity rally downtown tomorrow evening. I want to be a part of inclusiveness and positivity rather than hate and negativity.

I also need to say that when I watched the “president’s” remarks on the situation yesterday, I was utterly appalled. He refused to call it what it was, far-right domestic terrorism, and in a moment when he had the chance to console us and reassure us, he simply read the remarks that were written for him and refused to condemn FUCKING NEO-NAZIS. I mean, how hard is it to say, “Neo-Nazis are bad!” This was a big test of his leadership skills, and I was unsurprised (but still shocked) that he failed miserably.

In the absence of leadership, it is up to all of us to step up and make our stand.

As my friend Leanne commented a while back, I choose to stand for truth, justice, and rock and roll!