Debunking again the Charlottesville Lie

A recent letter published in The Citizen argued that racism in the U.S. is more prevalent and problematic than was suggested by David Epps in his column. While there are numerous assertions in the letter I feel are wrong, there is one that is particularly egregious:

As part of the author’s argument, she refers to President Trump’s “equivocation” about Charlottesville. Unfortunately, she appears to have fallen for “The Charlottesville Lie.”

I will give her the benefit of the doubt that she is repeating something she heard or read and doesn’t know otherwise, as opposed to many people who repeat this lie who know better.

After the violence at Charlottesville, President Trump did say that “there were very fine people on both sides.” However, he was clearly talking about the disagreement over removing the statue of Robert E. Lee. He made this abundantly clear.

Further, he said (note the quotation marks), “I’m not talking about the Neo-Nazis and the White Nationalists. They should be condemned totally.”

At least the letter writer didn’t use Jussie Smollett as an example.

Steve Metz

Peachtree City, Ga.