The following editorial is an edition of Fireside Chats with Ryan, a political editorial column. All views, thoughts and opinions belong solely to the author and do not represent those of The Drury Mirror. 

On Friday, Sept. 21, President Donald Trump held a rally on the campus of Missouri State University. The rally was one in a series held over the past year and a half since Trump’s inauguration. This time the rally focused on Trump’s endorsement of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley for Senate.

During the rally, Trump made several bold claims, alleging that the Democratic Party was one that supported illegal immigrants and crime, among even worse things. The president even went so far as to say that “a vote for Democrats is a vote for massive crime.”

Trump went on to discuss the group ANTIFA, claiming that the group were criminals and that ANTIFA was “so lucky that we’re peaceful.” I think it’s time that we broke down exactly how peaceful right-wing protesters and activists are.

ANTIFA

First, let’s cover the basics of left-wing politics. Beyond the Democratic Party that we’re used to in this country, we have the political ideologies of socialism and communism, both focused on breaking down inequality on all levels, such as class or race.

ANTIFA is one of the most well-known left-wing groups. Deriving their name from the phrase “anti-fascist,” the organization was originally a fringe group that became popular after one of their members was videotaped punching white supremacist Richard Spencer in the face.

ANTIFA is known for counter-protesting far-right rallies. The group often uses violence against white supremacists and neo-Nazis, as well as against conservative figureheads like Milo Yiannopoulos, as reported by Vox. ANTIFA’s violence at far-right rallies is well documented, but not as well documented as far-right acts of violence, and rightly so.

Modern Nazism

Past the Republican Party, we start to get into more totalitarian politics. Monarchism and Nazism on the far right, followed by total fascism at the end.

Neo-Nazi organizations in America are many and varied, having existed in the United States since the end of the Second World War. But neo-Nazi is just a broad term for a group of people; where there is only one ANTIFA, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of neo-Nazi groups worldwide, comprising groups such as the Atomwaffen Division and the Aryan Brotherhood in America. Both of these smaller groups have a history of hate crimes and violence in the United States.

Exactly how peaceful, Mr. Trump?

We can’t ignore the fact that hate crimes and violence have seen a steady rise since President Trump’s inauguration, as reported by Al Jazeera in April earlier this year. During the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville last August, one of the far-right protesters ran into a crowd of counter-protesters, injuring 19 people and killing one in what police called “a deliberate hate crime.”

The far-right like to claim that they’re only speaking simple political ideologies, but when these ideals call for mass race killings, such as the robocall that rocked Iowa earlier this month, it’s hard to take their claims to political peace seriously. We’re talking about a group of people founded on the belief that racial inequality and ethnic cleansing should be commonplace and legal.

Violence only ever begets violence, and I in no way intend to defend ANTIFA and their violent anti-protests against far-right groups.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best: “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon…which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”

The far-right violence has been going on for more than a century. Lynching throughout the South during the Jim Crow era, the Holocaust and the violence in Charlottesville are only a few examples in the long, violent history of far-right activists that Trump forgets to mention every time he attacks far-left activists.

An end to violence?

I hope that someday we can end the violence that permeates every news outlet today, but if it’s going to happen then both sides need to address their problems. The issue of political violence isn’t one that’s just Republican or just Democrat. It’s one that affects both sides of the political spectrum. We need to do our best to work together to make this country better.

And if we can’t agree on that, can the parties at least agree that the neo-Nazis aren’t the good guys in this situation?

Written by Ryan Smith.