August, 14 2017, 11:00am EDT
NIAC Condemns Nazi Violence in Charlottesville and Trump's Tolerance of White Supremacists
WASHINGTON
Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement in response to the Nazi violence in Charlottesville, Virginia and President Trump's tolerance of White Supremacists:
"The 'Unite the Right' neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia is both a national tragedy and a wake-up call to all who believe in a pluralistic, tolerant, and hate-free society. The National Iranian American Council condemns this intolerant ideology, the violence it espouses and the political support it unfortunately enjoys in the Trump administration.
"Those who are marching in Charlottesville under the banner of Nazi Swastikas, burning torches, and the Ku Klux Klan's grotesque rendition of the cross know full well the meaning of these symbols. They represent a history of mass graves, lynchings, and destruction. This demonstration by these White Supremacists is not one of cultural pride nor is it a genuine expression of First Amendment rights. It is a gathering of armed men who are terrorizing, looting, and destroying an entire community.
"Trump's condemnation of violence 'from all sides' only emboldens the true culprits by drawing a false equivalency between armed neo-Nazi thugs who have used such tactics as ramming vehicles into defenseless crowds with those who demonstrated peacefully against their hate. This Nazi violence has resulted in at least one death, numerous injuries, and the issuance of a state of emergency by the Governor of Virginia.
"The movement itself, however, and its new-found emboldenment, is the direct result of the hate speech, intolerance and divisiveness of president-elect and later President Donald Trump himself. From racist remarks about Latinos and Mexicans, to the Muslim Ban, to the shocking tolerance - and at times defense of - the intolerance and hatred of White Supremacists, Donald Trump has emboldened, enabled and empowered these domestic, radical terrorists.
"America, as a result of Trump's unholy alliance with White Supremacists, is weaker, more divided and less safe.
"We must stand united against this hate. We must recognize that hate in any form, whether it be Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, or racism, is unacceptable and incompatible with American values. These are but variant strains of the same cancerous ideology that separates people based on race, color, and creed.
"We stand in proud support of all those who are responding to this violent hate with peaceful assembly and call upon the institutions of our states and federal government to respond swiftly and harshly against anyone who incites or enables violence; including the President of the United States himself."
For interview with Trita Parsi, please contact Yasmina Dardari at 407-922-8149 or by email at yasmina@unbendablemedia.com.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to give voice to the Iranian-American community. From being the trusted voice on U.S.- Iran relations, to pushing forth legislation that protects individuals of Iranian heritage from systematic discrimination, to celebrating our cultural heritage, NIAC creates a lasting impact in the lives of the members of our community.
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On Kent State Massacre Anniversary, Progressives Decry Repression of Student Protests
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As U.S. Republicans push for the deployment of National Guard troops to quell nationwide student demonstrations against the Gaza genocide, progressive lawmakers marked the anniversary of the 1970 Kent State Massacre by condemning police repression of peaceful protesters and reaffirming the power of dissent.
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Fellow "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said that "54 years ago, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed students at Kent State."
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On May 4, 1970, 28 Ohio National Guard troops fired 67 live rounds into a crowd of unarmed Kent State students rallying against the expansion of the U.S.-led war in Vietnam into Cambodia. They murdered students Allison Krause, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder—all aged 19 or 20. Nine other students were wounded, including one who was permanently paralyzed.
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Protests against Israel's assault on Gaza—which according to Palestinian and international officials has killed, maimed, or left missing more than 123,000 Gazans—have spread to dozens of campuses across the U.S. and around the world. Police have been called in to break up protest encampments at numerous schools. Hundreds of students, faculty, and journalists have been arrested, sometimes violently.
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As law enforcement officials have tried to justify the crackdown by claiming "outside agitators" are behind the protests, some observers noted historical parallels.
"Watching what is happening at UCLA," Virginia state Sen. Mamie Locke (D-2) said on social media. "Old enough to remember Kent State, Jackson State, South Carolina State, and the dog whistles of 'law and order,' 'outside agitators.' So reminiscent of 1968."
On February 8, 1968, police shot 31 students—most of them in the back—at a protest against Jim Crow segregation at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, murdering three young Black men: Samuel Hammond Jr., Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith.
Eleven days after Kent State, police opened fire on a crowd of Black students protesting the bombing of Cambodia at Jackson State College in Jackson, Mississippi, killing Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green and injuring 12 others.
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UN World Food Program @WFPChief: “There is famine — full-blown famine — in the north of Gaza, and it’s moving its way south.”
pic.twitter.com/eyk0OeOEzr
— Waleed Shahid 🪬 (@_waleedshahid) May 4, 2024
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Republican Georgia Congressman Mike Collins came under fire Friday over a social media post applauding video of white University of Mississippi students racially abusing a Black woman participating in a campus protest for Palestine.
Collins posted the video—in which numerous people can be heard grunting like apes and one young man is seen jumping up and down like a monkey in front of the Black woman—with the caption, "Ole Miss taking care of business."
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