Friday night, a group of white nationalists marched through the campus of University of Virginia (UVA). These white nationalists marched before a rally that was planned for Saturday, August 12. They have decided to march and rally in protest of the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee.
The events at University of Virginia's campus
The march began around 10:00 PM Friday night. They marched from the intramural field to a statue of Thomas Jefferson, where they received protest. These white nationalists chanted "white lives matter" while carrying lit tiki torches across the campus.
There was only one protestor arrested, but there were several people injured, including a police officer.
Many staff members at UVA, including the mayor of Charlottesville, were upset with the white nationalists marching across campus. The march was described as hateful, cowardly, and full of bigotry and racism.
Despite the events of the march, a judge ruled Friday that the "Unite the Right" rally would still continue on Saturday. City officials have stated that the city will abide by the judge's orders.
The Rise of White Nationalism in America
White nationalism has a long history. It is better recognized as Nazism. Although the United States fought against the Nazis in World War II, we have been seeing these new white nationalists become more and more open in recent years.
But let's not get mistaken- white nationalists and white supremacy have always been present in the United States.
Why has it come to such a rise now? It started with people like Steven Bannon and Richard Spencer.
Steve Bannon was able to use his platform, Breitbart News, to promote his ideas. While perhaps not explicitly stating that he is a white nationalist, Breitbart News was made a platform for the Alt-Right- white nationalists and Nazis.
Steve Bannon has always had a platform to spew his hatred, whether through Breitbart news or his position as the White House Chief Strategist.
White nationalism is holding strong
Richard Spencer gained his platform through Breitbart News. He used the media attention and his twitter account to gain more and more attention. Although not as popular as Steve Bannon, Spencer was known well enough to be punched in the face for spewing his hatred on more than one occasion.
What we are seeing is not a new occurrence in the United States. We've seen acts like this time and time again. We've seen these kinds of demonstrations during KKK rallies and Nazi rallies. It's time to put these things to an end and recognize what is really happening.
It's not the Alt-Right. It's Nazism. It's white supremacy. It's pure hatred.
