[Magdalen] Tragedy in Charlottesville

[Ginga Wilder]

Grace, thank you for your clear reporting.  Thankful you got through and
around the angry crowd.  Our nation is in a mess!  Praying for
Charlottesville and abrewing hotspots in USA.

Ginga

On Sun, Aug 13, 2017 at 8:11 AM Ann Markle <ann.markle at aya.yale.edu> wrote:

> I agree with the other respondents.  Great description from the inside
> (literally!).  I saw the torches on TV, too, and it sent chills down my
> spine.  We're lucky nothing else got burned down, including the church you
> were in!  Wish I had been at that gathering at the church.  I'm so sorry
> this happened.
>
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> Ann
>
> The Rev. Ann Markle
> Buffalo, NY
> ann.markle at aya.yale.edu
>
> On Sat, Aug 12, 2017 at 11:05 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Well, you all are partly right about this awful situation...and "Tragedy"
> > is exactly what it is.  I live about 12 miles north of Charlottesville,
> and
> > when people ask where I live, I usually just say Charlottesville, because
> > nobody's heard of Ruckersville!
> >
> > This started out as a reaction to the decision by the Charlottesville
> City
> > Council to remove statues from two city parks--Lee and Jackson. For some
> > reason, Lee has drawn most of the headlines. Anyway, the Council voted to
> > sell the Lee statue, since no one could decide what to do with it.
> >
> > However, as various alt-Right and white supremacist groups got hold of
> > this, it was clear that the statue was just an excuse for them to come
> here
> > and cause trouble.  There was a small rally in July by the Klan, and that
> > shook folks out of their complacency a bit, but this weekend's
> rally--which
> > had already been planned by the time of the July event--was spearheaded
> by
> > a local neo-Nazi and his group, using the statue as a catalyst. They put
> > out a call for other groups to join them, and the event was called "Unite
> > the Right."  (I just wrote "Untie..." like that better). Most of those
> > participants were from out of state, especially North Carolina.
> >
> > In the meantime, local faith and social justice coalitions began
> preparing
> > for a peaceful counter-protest. They did non-violence training and held
> > meetings and services. There was a call for 1000 clergy to come to be
> part
> > of this. Our bishops asked the clergy in our diocese to come. The church
> > where I'm serving right now asked if we could have a prayer vigil, so I
> > stayed here for that. I had already decided I wasn't going downtown.
> >
> > But I did attend a large interfaith service last night at St. Paul's
> > Memorial Episcopal Church, which is across the street from the University
> > of Virginia Rotunda. The service was terrific, lots of good preaching and
> > praying and singing. Cornel West gave an address, and the national
> > president of the UUC preached. Brian McLaren was there, and there were
> > leaders from all three Abrahamic traditions.
> > At the end of the service the leaders started leading us in another song,
> > and then another, though that was not in the program--we were done.
> > It suddenly dawned on me that we were being kept inside, and when I said
> > something about that to the woman behind me, she said there were people
> > outside with torches. They finally told us what was going on and which
> > direction was safe to go in when we left the church. I had been able to
> > park close to the church, so we didn't have a problem getting out. But it
> > did give me pause.
> >
> > As far as a connection with UVA students is concerned, the university
> > president had urged students and faculty to stay away from the rally.
> > However, when the torchlight procession came onto the university grounds
> > and headed for the statue of Thomas Jefferson, a group of students
> formed a
> > barricade around the statue. I was stunned this morning, when I saw the
> > pictures of just how many torches there were.
> >
> > It's going to take the city a long time to get over this, I'm afraid, and
> > the current political climate isn't helping. The governor spoke at a
> news I
> > conference this evening and made a very powerful statement. He said he
> had
> > talked with Trump and told him that the hate speech and divisive rhetoric
> > has to stop--told him that twice. Trump made a very general comment
> > decrying violence, but not speaking out against the hate speech of these
> > white nationalist groups. I think they were emboldened by last year's
> > campaigns and the election, and feel they have permission for this kind
> of
> > speech and action. I don't see that getting better in the near future.
> >
> > As far as what should be done about Confederate statues, flags and other
> > memorials, that's a topic for another day. It's very complex, and
> emotions
> > run high. In many ways the Civil War has never ended, especially in
> > Virginia!
> >
> > Sorry for the length of this. I guess I was processing the whole thing.
> >
> > > On Aug 12, 2017, at 6:14 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
> > magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > In a message dated 8/12/2017 5:46:14 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> > > ann.markle at aya.yale.edu writes:
> > >
> > > one dead  and 19 injured when a car plowed into a
> > > group of counterprotesters -- and  nothing to do with the University,
> as
> > I
> > > understand it, but rather white  supremacist rallies centered around a
> > city
> > > park. I'm sure students were  present, but not a university event
> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> > >
> > >
> > > I appear to have conflated this sad event today in Charlottesville, VA
> > with
> > > some of the demonstrations around the attempts to remove Confederate
> > > monuments throughout the USA South.  There has been, for  example,
> > > much trouble in New Orleans.
> > >
> > > The Charlottesville ruckus appears to be a purely political
> > demonstration
> > > though it probably involves the same basic groups as the monument
> > > removals.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > David S.
> >
>