GettyIn the aftermath of the terror acts committed at the Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ rally, where Klan members and Neo-Nazis congregated before a deadly clash, one man has perfectly condemned this unquestionable racism.
Nineteen people were injured, and one killed, in a car-ramming incident on Saturday. Another 15 people were wounded in separate clashes related to the far-right march on Saturday afternoon. Many have responded in outrage, grief and disbelief; none more eloquently than former President Barack Obama.
Needless to say, his nugget of hope and wisdom has now been elevated to the third most like Tweet in history:
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…" pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017
Violence originally broke out when white supremacists and members of the far right clashed with anti-fascist counter-protesters at the Unite the Right Rally, which was organised to protest the removal of a statue of Civil War Confederate General Robert E Lee.
Anti-racism protesters attended to condemn the swastika-toting display of Confederate flags and nazi-salutes, brazenly showcased by those in KKK robes.
Meanwhile, the 45th President, Donald Trump, has been widely criticised by both Democrats and Republicans for not explicitly condemning the White Supremacists and their transparent racism.
APHours after the violence erupted, Mr Trump said he condemned ‘in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides’, adding: “The hate and the division must stop right now. We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation.”
Neo-Nazis have since praised President Trump for his lax response to racist violence, which seemed to place blame at the door of the peaceful anti-fascist protesters.
Elsewhere on Twitter, users have profoundly pointed out their grandparents fought Nazism overseas, so our generation didn’t have to.
They too condemned the actions of American racists:
Thinking of my Jewish grandpa, who fought in WWII and saw the Nazis collapse
He'd be disgusted by any refusal to condemn white supremacists pic.twitter.com/fJDylOFnlx
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) August 13, 2017
In 1945 grandpa fought Nazis overseas. Unbelievably, 72 years later I'm protesting them in the nation's capital. pic.twitter.com/FaCgxiJfq0
— Brian (@ghfan1982) August 14, 2017
My grandpa Harold Landon fought Nazis in WW2 (and won). If that's a fight we still need to have tell me where to sign up. #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/2J8sDUTb3C
— Aaron Landon (@Coach_A_Landon) August 12, 2017
Perhaps the current President could take a leaf out of his predecessor’s Twitter feed, after his hopeful message was liked by 2.2 million people, at the time of writing.
Obama’s simple tweet of unity and love speaks to the fact that we are created equal and any differentiation between race or religion or class is a societal construct born out of ignorance and fear.
It is a call to arms against bigotry, at a time when we need it most.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.