I promised I'd write about the winners of the Teen Choice Awards today. That's not happening, but I do have a report from the red carpet of the Teen Choice Awards: Teen Choice stars react to 'heartbreaking' Charlottesville events by the Associated Press.*
Yara Shahidi, Ashleigh Murray, Gigi Gorgeous and Grant Gustin react to the violent events in Charlottesville, as they arrive for the Teen Choice Awards.I found Shahidi and Murray to be very articulate and insightful about the event, while Gorgeous was merely adequate and Gustin a bit disappointing, if properly appalled. Then again, his character Barry Allen never fought Nazis during the Golden Age; that was the province of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash. If John Wesley Shipp, who plays Garrick on "The Flash," had made such an inarticulate response, I'd have been really disappointed.
Moving from entertainment to sports and from national to local, WXYZ reports on the Weimar moment in Charlottesville in Detroit Red Wings condemn use of logo during white nationalist rally.
The Detroit Red Wings are condemning the use of the team's logo by white nationalists during a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday.I hope the Red Wings and NFL find the person responsible for infringing on the logo and punish him to the full extent allowed under civil law, which means (probably) he will be bankrupted. That's a small thing compared to the one death and 19 injuries, but it will be something. Speaking of which, WXYZ has more on the vehicle (murder weapon) in How metro Detroit is connected to deadly white nationalist rally in Vi[r]ginia.
The white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. that is being linked to three deaths has two metro Detroit connections. A woman from Canton Was at the rally this afternoon an[d] captured video of the crash on Facebook Live, moments after the car ran into protestors.Yes, the car used to belong to someone in Michigan. If the Detroit media find any connection to Detroit or Michigan in a story, they'll promote it. At least the former owner is not responsible, while the driver is from over the state line in Toledo, Ohio.
Finally, I called the incident a Weimar moment earlier. That's because it's another step up in violence from 1968 has arrived with a Weimar moment in San Jose. There, the political violence was relatively disorganized, partisan mob on partisan mob. Here, the organized attacks and counter-attacks and the first stage of uniformed political militias (logos on shields passed out to the alt-right demonstrators, along with helmets and batons) reached the stage I first described in The torches and pitchforks came out for Trump last night, complete with actual Nazis.
The protests and the conflict afterward stuck me as just one step short of Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold fighting with the Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten during the Weimar Republic.The counter-protesters weren't that organized, but they were more organized and ready for violence than I had seen them since Trump declared he was running. I think we've gone beyond 1968 to something the U.S. hasn't seen since the Silver Shirts were active in the 1930s. That's frightening.
ETA: It's not just the Red Wings and NHL objecting to the misuse of their images and products by the alt-right. Now The Hill reports Tiki brand denounces use of torches by white supremacists.
*I'll post the winners later this week, perhaps beginning as soon as tomorrow. Stay tuned.
These creeps need to learn their lesson from the fact that absolutely nobody wants to be associated with them. Not the NHL, not Tiki, nobody. Nazi rally attendees who can be identified from the widely-circulated photos are getting fired from their jobs. Everyone just recoils from them.
ReplyDeleteWhatever they think, they're still just a tiny minority of freaks.
They are a tiny minority of freaks, but they have allies in the White House, including one with tiny hands. That emboldens them.
DeleteI trust Senator Stabenow will chew up and spit out little bits of Kid Rock next year. The Republican primary, presuming there is one, should be a show for the ages.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. Thanks for mentioning that. I really have been neglecting a big story in my own backyard. I'll have to remedy that in the near future.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how I finished last month with an odd number of views. It was because I didn't see, respond to, and delete this spam. Now I'll likely have an odd number of comments this month, too.
DeleteLucky you, spammer. Your comment is just on topic enough that I'll keep it.
ReplyDelete