Some really bad things went down this weekend. A white supremacists group was in Charlottesville, Virginia. They were met by
counter-protesters and violence ensued. A man from Ohio drove his car into a
group of counter-protesters killing a woman. Two police officers who were
working security at the event were killed in a helicopter crash. Now the entire
country is in an uproar over everything that has happened. And I believe
rightly so.
I think this may be a very unpopular piece, and I debated for a long time on whether or not to pursue it, but here is why I’m writing today. On Facebook, pictures of
some of the white supremacists have been posted with the caption, “Do you know
me? Are you my employer? I was at a Nazi rally in Charlotte, VA.” This meme got
me to thinking.
Let me first and very strongly say that I do not support
anything this group of white supremacists believes. I think they are horrible
for their beliefs. BUT, here’s the thing, do they have a right to believe
anything they want? Do WE have the right to make their lives miserable because
we disagree with them? Petitions have begun to have a University of Nevada man
expelled from his school because he attended the rally. The meme that was
posted on Facebook encourages employers to fire anyone who attended the rally.
Death threats have been made against anyone who could be identified that
attended.
My question is, “If we take these people’s rights away
because we disagree with their beliefs, who is to say that OUR rights won’t one
day be taken from us because someone disagreed with us?” The right to
education. The right to holding down a job. The right to assemble. The right to
believe anything we want to believe.
The rally organizers filed all the correct paperwork,
attained the official permits to assemble, etc. The counter-protesters did none
of these things. As much as most of us think their beliefs are disgusting and
wrong, they do in fact, have the right to assemble. The organizers claim that
the rally was going to be a peaceful protest, but when the counter-protesters
showed up, the entire situation took a turn into violence. It may have been a
peaceful demonstration, but now we will never know for sure. As long as the
white nationalists caused no harm to anyone, they indeed have the right to do
what they planned to do. Just because we don’t like what they planned, does not
give us the right to stop them.
As wrong as I believe this group’s beliefs are, I also
believe that their rights are not to be infringed upon. If they committed acts
of violence, then they need to be charged and punished to the fullest extent of
the law. But simply attending is not a violation of any laws. Your right to
attend a rally of ANY sort is protected by our Constitution. The rights of
white supremacists to attend a rally to promote “white power/heritage” is also
protected by that same Constitution. YOU or I do NOT have the right to take
that away from them.
If you pursue ways to keep them from holding a job, to
attend college, to attend any rally they choose, YOU are in violation of the
Constitution. I don’t agree with them either, but I do uphold everything the
Constitution stands for. This country was founded on the principles of freedom
and certain “inalienable” rights. No matter if we agree with them or not, their
rights are protected by the same Constitution that allows YOU and I to believe whatever we want to believe too.
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