David J. Silva: Both sides guilty of the death in Charlottesville
I would like to start by saying that the White Supremacists, KKK and neo-Nazis are all despicable people and I do not agree with any of their racist views, I would prefer that they not even exist. That said, they are still Americans and they are entitled to all of the rights you and I have – including freedom of speech and assembly. They wanted to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general and, with the help of the ACLU, they acquired a legal permit and had every right to assemble and peacefully demonstrate.
If Antifa had not interfered, there would probably have been no violence and death. When we allow anyone to decide who can and who cannot exercise their constitutional rights, we are starting down a very slippery slope. If you don’t agree with a demonstration, stay away from it and you will deprive them of the attention they crave. If you try to interfere, you are giving them what they want. Violence does not help either side, it only hurts everyone. In this case, both sides share some responsibility for what happened in Charlottesville, Va.
David J. Silva, Los Banos
This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "David J. Silva: Both sides guilty of the death in Charlottesville."