Revisit what you think you know regularly

To understand this post, please watch this 20 min video:

VICE article "Charlotesville Race and Terror"



I think it's important for people to revisit what they think they know now and again. The impression I get from most people is that they hear the word "neo-nazi", or "kkk," or "white supremacist," or "alt-right" and they think instantly that everything is about race. And in fact, I think the protesters of these groups automatically assume that that's what they are protesting against.

However, from watching this video, I can see some things that need to be brought upfront and talked about:

First, this protest isn't about the civil war monuments. The monuments are just being used as a rally point, and whether they actually care about that or not is another story.

Second, if either side focuses on the issue of race, this battle will drag on for a very very very long time with no resolution. Both sides are so rooted in their opinions on race that there will be no changing them.
Furthermore, anyone who uses race (or race issues) in this debate as their evidence or main point of argument should be disregarded because the information they are presenting isn't new, is a strawman, isn't relevant, or is flat out wrong.
Race is another rally point in this conflict.

Third, there are foreigners invested in this debate. As you see from the video, there is a Canadian who attends the alt-right rally--we can assume that this is also true for the other side (actually, it's probably more true for the other side by nature of what their beliefs are).

Fourth, these alt-righters are very organized. They are prepared. They come to these protests with equipment, and props, and safety gear, etc. They also have clear leadership and a distinct face. If history has anything to contribute, the party that is most organized usually wins the debate in the long run, so I think their opponents have some work to do to catch up.

Fifth, almost completely opposite of these alt-righters, the left seems disorganized. They aren't just less organized, they are completely disorganized. They don't seem to have common points and vision, their beliefs and values are so vast that it adds to their disorder. They don't have clear and distinct leadership. They don't come to the demonstrations with safety equipment and they rely on the law to protect them (a very bad thing to do because demonstrations of this type imply chaos and anarchy that the law cannot protect)

Finally, I wanted to mention what I saw the common ground was, because at the end of the debate, it is the common ground that makes the most lasting long-term impact.

The common ground I see is that both sides mistrust the powers that be (The government).
Both sides are afraid of losing their identity.
Both sides believe that they have been oppressed.

In an ideal situation, both sides will win some sort of government representation.
Both sides will be allowed to respectfully maintain their identity (most people know that ethic and racial minority groups want to be accepted by society at large, but they don't usually consider that white [a majority group] also want to be accepted for being white and having separate, distinct identity.) And both sides will, through their government representation or some other means, gain powers and privileges that will protect them from government oppression on all levels of government (city, county, state, federal).
--That's the ideal.

But what will actually happen is still up in the air, however, the alt-right definitely holds a powerful position, and I could see that being both good and bad--if they lose the debate, then they will receive more oppression as entities step in to further limit them (the way that affirmative action has or reverse racism) and as the tension builds they will be out for blood. On the flip side, if they win the debate, they may try to over-reach because they are powerful and because in the real world people still take racial arguments seriously even though they have been misused as a political tool since the founding of this nation.