After “Charlottesville”

Michael Habinsky
Aug 28, 2017 · 2 min read

I was unpleasantly surprised to see the racist Internet trolls of the right materialize into an angry and somewhat violent mob in Charlottesville.
After “Charlottesville,” there has been some soul-searching going on on the left. While we are all sad and disappointed, there is no shortage of fear. Some have started to think of “solutions,” which include everything from a more skeptical view of free speech to an abandonment of non-violent principles. Whatever your thoughts, it’s clear that the explicitly racist right is putting many on the left in a state of fight-or-flight.

Fear has been a growing force in our culture. Trump stoked people’s fears, and it got him elected president. The fear that fueled the election just grew, and now it is driving even more racism and violence. And that racism and violence has brought fear to the rest of us. People whose politics are based largely on hope and compassion are starting to feel the sinister effects of a toxic political climate. Our sense of fear is seeping in, deepening our divisions so much that our best principles are losing their luster in the face of our growing anger and spite for “the other side.”

Some on the left have started to wonder if we are wise to allow racists to protest and preach hate openly. Some are starting to wish for the German approach, where a Nazi salute can earn you three years in prison. Others are reacting to racism with violence. “Antifa,” whatever it may have meant before, is now a label describing a growing group of anti-racists that have abandoned non-violence for what they believe to be a more effective approach: fighting racism with their fists instead of their words.

Antifa chase a demonstrator on Aug. 27 in Berkeley, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

We turn to violence when words fail us, and words are certainly failing us lately. So I’m not terribly shocked that people are turning to violence, but I am deeply disappointed. When we turn to violence, we play into our own fears. And that violence is just another excuse for fear to grow. In our moment, when TV news networks are making billions by amplifying our fears and setting us against each other, we cannot afford to put fuel on the fire.

Reacting to fear with fear, using violence to fight violence, is like fighting fire with gasoline. When making decisions we need to get in the habit of asking ourselves at every turn: am I doing this out of fear, or out of hope? We need to admit that a peaceful mind is a precious thing. And to have a peaceful mind, we need to turn off the TV and the social media. In the silence that is left behind, we will learn to find hope again.

)

Written by

I’m a white man that likes to pontificate and mansplain. “I’m discovering all this too, as I say it.”

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade