Charlottesville: An American Story

I picked up this book at my library a week ago -- Charlottesville: An American Story, by Deborah Baker. I could not put it down and I STRONGLY recommend it to everyone.

The book was released this past June. Baker spent seven years interviewing people on all sides of the Charlottesville insurrection; reviewing hours of video; months of text messages; transcripts; you name it -- excellent research.

The book is damning.
-- Police at every level -- the Univ of VA campus cops, City of Charlottesville, county cops, and Virginia State Police did NOTHING -- they stood by while Nazis attacked counter-protestors, and shrugged their shoulders when asked for help.
-- The Charlottesville city government did next to nothing.
-- The national press did their usual "both sides" bullshit.
-- Several individuals and groups caught on to what the Nazis were about but no one listened to them.

I've spent the last week buried in this book except for the many times I had to put it down, I was so goddam angry. And it will happen again.

One of the local pastors -- a Black woman -- preached a sermon only minutes before the violent tiki torch parade on Saturday night in which she re-told the story of David and Goliath. Only she focused on the part of the story that is left out of our Sunday School lessons. You see, after little David killed the giant Goliath with his slingshot, David CUT OFF GOLIATH'S HEAD. The pastor's sermon concluded that this is exactly what had to happen to the Nazis who were invading Charlottesville -- CUT.OFF.THE.HEAD. No one listened and no one is listening still.