You have come out from under your white hoods, emboldened by unchecked populist rhetoric and demagoguery. You rally behind the “Make America Great Again” slogan, but what you really mean is “Make America White Again.”
But you do not represent America or American values.
You carry the Confederate flat, a flag of treason. You don a swastika, the emblem of the Nazi Party, a regime that waged a war that claimed the lives of 419,400 Americans and over 60 million people world wide.
You claim to be patriots, but you are nothing more than home grown terrorists.
While I believe in the First Amendment and your right to Free Speech and right to Peaceably Assemble, the tenets of the First Amendment end when it comes to inciting violence. In Charlottesville, Virginia, the home grown terrorists, while wielding torches, chanted “you will not replace us,” “white lives matter,” and the Nazi-associated phrase “blood and soil.” Such speech has no other aim but to be so offensive as to provoke a violent reaction. Speech deliberately tailored to incite violence is not protected under the First Amendment (Brandenburg v. Ohio).
Three people died and dozens more were injured in relation to the Charlottesville hate-fueled “demonstrations.” (Two members of the Virginia police force, Lieutenant Cullen and Trooper Bates, died in a helicopter accident while conducting aerial surveillance on the violent demonstrations.)
You are emboldened today. Perhaps in part due to a backlash to having a black president, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and a host of other progressive ideals that have spurred our nation forward over the past decade. But this is your last stand.
America was made great on June 4, 1919 when the ratification of the 19th Amendment secured women’s right to vote.
America was made great on May 17, 1954 when the Supreme Court ended segregation in public schools in its landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education, which declared separate but equal “inherently unequal.”
America was made great on July 2, 1964 when congress passed The Civil Rights Act outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
America was made great on June 26, 2015 when the fundamental right to marry was granted to same-sex couples.
And America was made great on countless other days when equality won the day.
America rejects all that you supposedly stand for. We reject your hate. We reject your racism. We reject your bigotry. We reject the full scope of your ideology. And above all: we reject your supremacy.
We the people stand for equality, diversity, and human rights.
We the people... stand united against you.