RACISM

15 August, 2017

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,

101 Main Street #380

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Dear Congressman,

Re: Trump, again

It was grating to watch Trump mouth the words he had been virtually forced to say, yesterday, to include the neo-Nazis and the KKK explicitly in his indictment of violence. It was clear to anyone watching that this was simply an exercise in political expedience, not a sincere expression of his personal beliefs.

Besides, the correction—certainly not an apology, God forbid!—came two days too late. His message to the “alt-right” thugs in Charlottesville was already clear enough to them: what you did is okay with us. The Former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan said as much, publicly, on national television, claiming a kind of victory for the demonstrators in their support for his agenda; as did a prominent Nazi newsletter. These people embrace him as one of their own—and the man does not have the guts to disown them.

Speaking of which, I searched online to see if you had had anything to say about the events in Charlottesville, but I was unable to find a word. Nothing on Twitter, that I could see, nor even on Facebook, where you touted your visits with Boy Scouts and “Vietnamese friends” in the past few days. You also mentioned office visits with your constituents, but from your report they seemed to be all of a supportive nature. Your mentioned the dissatisfaction of some with progress on the health care issue, but reading between the lines I gathered the progress they wanted was on “repeal and replace,” not support for the ACA.

Anyway, I would like to hear you voice an opinion on Charlottesville. In these increasingly difficult times, we need to know that our Congressman stands with us against the ugliness of racism.

Respectfully,

Peter Clothier, Ph.D.