At Montco Commissioners Meeting, Contrasting Responses To Charlottesville Reflect National Debate

NORRISTOWN, PA — The contrasting language used by leaders on opposite sides of the aisle to respond to the incidents in Charlottesville, Va. this weekend was reflected in the most recent Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting, during which all three commissioners spoke briefly on the incident and its aftermath.

While all denounced the violence, they did so in two different ways, a dichotomy that cuts to the core of the controversy of the comments made by President Trump in the wake of the events.

Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a man rammed a car into a crowd of counter-protesters during a “Unite the Rally” protesting the removal of Confederate statues from public spaces. Two police officers, H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Berke M.M. Bates, 41, were also killed during a helicopter accident as they responded to the scene of the unrest.

Democrats Valerie Arkoosh and Kenneth Lawrence denounced neo-Nazis and the other hate groups that marched in Charlottesville in unequivocal terms, while Republican Joseph Gale echoed President Trump’s statement that there are problems on both sides.

“There were not two sides to Charlottesville,” Arkoosh, the Chair of the Board, said. “Creating a moral equivalency between hate-mongers like the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups and those that stand up to racism and anti-Semitism is just plain wrong.”

Gale, meanwhile, cited a series of violent events caused by leftist groups.

“The hateful rhetoric on both sides must end,” he said. “Let’s not forget all the tragic events that have taken place in recent years. We’ve seen Black Lives Matter protests that turned violent…We’ve seen Dallas police officers murdered. We’ve seen Bernie Sanders supporters open fire on a baseball field filled with Congressmen.”

The differing responses from Democrats and some Republicans show a contrasting set of facts accepted by each side. Democrats have made plain that no evil compares to the kind of racism and Nazism on display in Charlottesville. Some Republicans, including President Trump suggest that not all of the individuals marching with the white supremacists were bad people, implying that not all of the marchers were neo-Nazis but that some were merely advocates of keeping the Lee statue. Some Republicans also characterize the leftist counter-protesters in Charlottesville as violent and aggressive.

Democrats, in turn, decry this as a weak response to the neo-Nazi activity which must be universally condemned.

Arkoosh and Gale both struck a hopeful note when discussing the number of peaceful rallies and vigils held in the county in honor of Charlottesville. Arkoosh spoke at a gathering of hundreds in Abington on Wednesday, while Lawrence was in Lower Merion on Sunday and Pottstownon Thursday.

“It was very reaffirming to me as a leader and as a citizen of Montgomery County to see how this county has rallied during this difficult time” Lawrence said. “Standing up, organizing, rallying together, to show that love does overcome hate.”

Image via Patch Editor Geoff Dempsey