If you personally know me, you know I don't comment at all on political events or what's going on in the world. After what took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, August 12, 2017, I feel the need to speak up for once. Sure, I am just another voice in this world that nobody gives a sh*t about, but you never know, right?

If you do not know what I am talking about, here is a short summary:

Saturday, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists marched side-by-side in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. While making their way downtown (Sorry, I had to try and be a little funny...) they were heard chanting "We will not be replaced!" and other racist phrases along with tiki torches and swastika flags. Not sure what a Neo-Nazi is? Neo comes from the word new so it is more of a present day Nazi. They are a group of alternative right (alt-right) people who believe that Hitler wasn't screwed up in the head for having the idea on killing innocent people. White supremacists are people such as the KKK, but are not completely the same thing as Neo-Nazis. Although as of today, they have both adopted the same Nazi symbology.

When first hearing about the news on Saturday, I was pretty much disgusted. I am of white decent and hearing other white people protesting to "Unite the right" is absolutely gut wrenching. Why are white people the "right" people? This is called white supremacy, is it not? In other words, it's terrorism. It's a modern day KKK, and it sickens me! People, it is 2017, not 1865! I believe that the group of white supremacists should have never been a thing in the first place. Unfortunately, there are such sick and disgusting people in this world. What makes white people so much better than other races? You guessed it: nothing! Everyone in this world is equal and should be treated as such.

Late night hosts such as: Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers have spoken upon this horrible event. It is pretty upsetting to say that late night television hosts can speak more profoundly on this situation and care about it more than our own president can. By the way, why is he trying to blame both sides? Clearly he is too afraid of the back lash he will get from American citizens if he were to be honest and say he was on their side. I'm not confirming that is how he feels, but I believe that if you're going to say there is blame on both sides, you're trying not to say what you really want to say. I will say this though: we should no be fighting hate with hate.

Boston's own Mayor Marty Walsh is getting back lash for saying he does not want any hate groups in his city. When saying that, he means he does not want any violence to break out in the city. He does not welcome alt-right protesters nor violent counter protesters. Those who want to violently counter protest are not so happy, though. Mayor Walsh has a point: what is fighting hate with hate going to do? Cause more incidents. We do not need another Heather Heyer or 19 injured people.

I asked a few peers about their opinions on the event and here is what I got:

"I didn't think it would develop into violence. I didn't even know about the protest until it happened, honestly. When I heard that things had happened, I didn't want to listen until I had all of the facts. I'm saddened and disheartened that it developed into violence, and I stand in direct contrast with all those that the alt-right support. I'm disgusted at the tepid response by the administration. As a white male, I don't feel threatened as they report to feel. I remember that we are a nation of immigrants. I plan to attend the counter protest in Boston against these facists." -Anonymous male.

"I was born in 1994. A time where people ran outside, called each other on the telephone and did not condone Nazi’s. My generation has been privileged for the most part in terms of national crises. At least until 2001 when 9/11 hit us all like a proverbial train, or an airplane into buildings (bad joke, I know but this isn’t a happy opinion so I may as well get out my offensive jokes now). I’m a Jew. A 23 year old, female Jew. I was raised in a medium-sized town on the outskirts of Boston. When I was five years old, the kids on my bus dubbed me the Grinch. When I was 13, this boy Moe, called me a Kike. I cried. When I was 15, I was told to 'go back to the homeland.' Why? Because I’m Jewish. When I was 23, I, along with the rest of the nation, watched Neo-Nazi’s, white supremacists and, honestly, evil people march across Charlottesville chanting hateful speech saying 'Jews will not replace us.' I’m not going to speak on Black Lives Matter because I am not black. I cannot fathom the hell that they have been put through due to systemic and racial oppression. I cannot do that. I would be a hypocrite. What I can speak on is being Jewish. When I was five years old, in Hebrew School, I asked my rabbi how we knew God was real. He fed me the classic, 'you have to believe, He is all around us.' I never accepted that as an answer. Since I couldn’t believe in God, I had to believe in the morals and the values. 'Be kind.' 'Be respectful.' 'Accept what you cannot change, and change what you cannot accept.' 'Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.' I learned about the Old Testament times. I learned about the Holocaust. I learned that Jews have never been accepted by society at large. Anti-Semitism is still alive. I may have a job, I may go to school, I may take whatever white privilege I can get. It’s subtle and it’s harsh. It’s the face of your friend’s parents slightly falling when they realize I have never been baptized. It’s the look on new peoples faces when they realize my beliefs may not align with there’s. It’s the hate and judgement that I have never been able to give, despite feeling it. It’s the rage I feel when I see people who are supposed to be 'good Christians,' abandon that. I’m not religious, by any means. I don’t have a one-on-one relationship with God. I don’t pray for forgiveness. I don’t pray for success. I don’t pray for mankind to fix itself. I ask for forgiveness. I work for my success. I accepted that mankind is ugly. What happened in Charlottesville, I can’t fully comprehend. I can’t even fully articulate how I am feeling because there is so much to feel. I normally keep my opinions to myself, and I normally accept other's beliefs as their own. I know that the things I say, or the people I meet- they will be different from me. Who am I to try and dissuade them from that? I get it. Different upbringings foster different people. ‘Hate is taught and love is inherent.’ Okay, Next thing I want to yell from the rooftops: COLIN KAEPERNICK PROTESTED USING HIS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT. WHAT THESE A**HOLES DID—IS NOT. This rally is not 'freedom of speech.' Freedom of Speech implies that yes, you can talk a WHOLE BUNCH of sh*t and not be arrested or prosecuted by the government. What happened this weekend, was a call to action. The Supreme Court decided this in Chaplinsky V. New Hampshire, 315, U.S. 568, a category of expression unprotected by the First Amendment. It states that: 'It prohibits the display of a symbol which one knows or has reason to know 'arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender.' When this case was first brought to trail, the court threw out the charge based on the ordinance at the time. The Supreme court reversed that decision. It rejected the overbreadth claim because the phrase 'arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others' had been construed in earlier state cases to limit the ordinance's reach to 'fighting words.' The court also concluded that the ordinance was not impermissibly content-based because it was narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest in protecting the community against bias-motivated threats to public safety and order.' In other words, the ordinance was facially invalid. '(b) A few limited categories of speech, such as obscenity, defamation, and fighting words, may be regulated because of their constitutionally proscribable content. However, these categories are not entirely invisible to the Constitution, and government may not regulate them based on hostility, or favoritism, towards a nonproscribable message they contain. Thus, the regulation of 'fighting words' may not be based on nonproscribable content. It may, however, be underinclusive, addressing some offensive instances and leaving other equally offensive ones alone, so long as the selective prescription is not based on content, or there is no realistic possibility that regulation of ideas is afoot.' Basically, breaking it down— it’s not freedom of speech if it’s meant to incite violence or hurt others. People were injured. A woman died. And we have a bumblef*ck of a president who is okay with this. We already fought this war. The whole world was in on it. We came to the mutual understanding that Nazi’s are bad. Hating someone because their beliefs differ from you is f*cked. Hating someone because they look different than you is f*cked. Hating someone because they come from a different place than you is, you guessed it—f*cked. What happened to the land of the free? The home of opportunity? What happened to 'give me your tired, your weak, your huddled masses'? What happened to the constitution and the right to freedom of religion? This is a bad time to pretend that things are okay. This is a time where you have to decide what part of history you want to be on, because history is repeating itself." -Rachel Redlich (@rredlich on Instagram)

The next two photos have to do with the last opinion I received from a peer I attended high school with:

"The last two cartoon like posts I shared pretty sum up my feelings about it - I have to be careful though because I'm not an African American, and I can't imagine living in a society where there are monuments of men who enslaved their ancestors. I think what happened in Charlottesville wasn't directly about a group angry about the confederate monuments being removed but more that these hate groups used the recent political climate and this recent widespread debate over the meaning of the confederate flag and symbolism to get their message of hate out there. They will do anything they can to spread their white supremacy, and I feel strongly about not tolerating their intolerance. The difference between black lives matter and Neo-Nazis is that black lives matter speak out and fight for equal rights, inclusion into society and awareness of current inequalities. Neo-Nazis are looking to rid non-whites of their current standing in society. One is preaching awareness of current hate, looking for acceptance and love. The other is preaching hate and fear mongering to scare and manipulate." -Anonymous female.

As you can see from the few insights I received from peers, this is such a serious matter, and I cannot stress that enough. As you also may have heard, the Holocaust Memorial in Boston has been vandalized twice this year. It absolutely sickens me to know that this kind of hatred is happening so close to home. I can honestly say I am scared for the children who will one day be our future presidents, lawyers, government, etc. Who knows what will happen to this world before they can be able to enjoy it?

I say, stop the hate and spread the love. If only it were that easy.