In the recent article, “Christians Must Stand Against Racism and with Christ“, writer Jonathon Clay de Hale, decries the “lump[ing] of conservatives and Republicans in with white nationalists.” Then he turns around and lumps all the counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia, with antifa, an anarchist group which does not rule out violence to achieve its ends. He implies that all who were there protesting Nazis and white supremacists were aligning themselves with antifa, proclaiming it “unconscionable for a Christian.”
Yes, that’s what he really said: “While the white supremacists must be rejected and categorically condemned for their ungodly ideology, the counter-protestors—known collectively as antifa (short for “anti-fascist”)—are just as ungodly.”
The writer goes on to fault those who support the removing of Charlottesville’s Robert E. Lee statue, saying, “Excising history calls to mind the communists of Stalinist Russia or current U.S. nemesis Kim Jong-un, who airbrushed allies-turned-enemies from photos and purged state records of any evidence they ever existed. Where will such a purge end here in America? Will Mt. Vernon or the Jefferson memorial be next?”
I wonder how de Hale feels about the toppling of Lenin’s statue in Red Square, or Saddam Hussein’s in Baghdad. Does he feel those actions were wrong, too?
Removing monuments which glorify people who tried to destroy the United States for the purpose of preserving the right of white human beings to own black human beings has nothing to do with “excising history”. Even descendants of some of those Rebel leaders feel that the statues would be better placed in museums, where context could be provided. The heroes of the Confederacy were not equivalent to the fathers of our country, who, while they may have been deeply flawed, put all of their highest ideals into the founding documents, which still inspire and guide today.
Publishing a piece like this can greatly damage your credibility. My hope is that IFI will keep its focus on being “a bold voice for pro-family values.” This article did not serve that end.
Ruth Scott
Boone County
