Echos on Charlottesville racism from Tulsa World Oklahoma

Echoes: My blogs, a series highlighting opinions found in randomly picked newspapers

#1:  Trump failed in moral leadership by Al Langer, Tulsa

I found President Trump’s initial response to the violence that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, very disappointing.

Especially galling was his statement that there were fine people on both sides. There are no fine people among the KKK, neo-Nazis and racists. They hate blacks, Jews and other minorities.

Hate is what they know best. This was the time for moral leadership, which in this case was sorely lacking.

#2 Hate: What is really bothering us? by Martha S. Kuzilik, Jenks

Hate is the ugliest word and emotion in our vocabulary, yet it has taken hold of this country, state and cities and does not appear to be letting up at all.  It is past time that we work together to assure that all lives matter, regardless of color or religion.

#3 Racists must be called out- by F.L. Dunn III, Tulsa*

...hatred based upon racial bigotry or prejudice becomes a political issue when politicians fail to confront fellow politicians for their failures to condemn bigotry and prejudice.

Acknowledging that our country was founded upon principles directly in conflict with racist belief or that such a belief is immoral is not enough. It must be stated unequivocally that race superiority does not exist, nor should it exist as a concept.

No race is superior to another. A politician, who gives lip-service to the notion that people or groups who harbor bigotry are terrible people, but who then states that there are “very fine people on both sides” of a dispute has revealed his true racist sentiments. “Very fine people” do not believe in race superiority.

A politician who ignores the actions or words of another politician by failing to openly condemn that individual tacitly endorses that belief.

Evil must be identified and condemned, not coddled by inaction. ....failure to condemn President Trump by name for his actions and words regarding the Charlottesville incident (of racial violence) allows the concept of race superiority to go undenounced, for what it is: a pernicious evil concept that persists.

No “national conversation” will remove this evil from society. 

The only conversation that will help is for individuals who harbor such belief to have a conversation with themselves and acknowledge their racism and vow to overcome it by prayer or by self-awareness.

*Editor’s note: Dunn is former first assistant to the Tulsa County district attorney and former first assistant to the United States Attorney, Northern District of Oklahoma.