Stand Back and Stand By

Yet another mistake by Trump raises questions about his feelings toward White Supremacists


Who Are The Proud Boys, The Group Behind The Controversial Portland Rally?

Wait, what? Background please...

At the first Presidential Debate Donald Trump neglected, yet again, to take an easy opportunity to denounce white supremacy. Instead, Trump used the phrase "Stand back and stand by" toward the burgeoning racist militia group known as the Proud Boys. The next day, Trump did actually manage to denounce white supremacists and the Proud Boys, but the damage had already been done. So what should we take from this...to the media!

This is ridiculous and the only person that needs to denounce someone is Joe Biden

Nick Arama, over at Red State, insists that the President has done more than enough to denounce white supremacy. According to Arama, Trump has never had any connection to white supremacy and has already spent too much time denouncing it. The real problem, then, isn't Trump and his fake refusal to denounce white supremacy, the problem is Biden and his refusal to denounce BLM/Antifa. Arama goes on to make a spurious comparison between the active harms of white supremacy and BLM/Antifa. He makes this comparison via the relatively few incidents of violence that have happened at BLM protests, ignoring the fact that studies have shown that 93% of BLM protests were peaceful.

This is serious and Trump is enabling racist right wing militia groups

The New York Times, and several other outlets, raised immediate concerns over Trump's comments. Many felt that the statement, intended or not, would be seen as more of a rallying cry than a rebuke. Turns out they had good reason to be concerned, as the New York Times reports Proud Boys groups immediately started printing the phrase "stand back and stand by" on t-shirts. McInness, the former chairman of the organization even called out the statement as a direct call to action, claiming Trump was telling the Proud Boys to be ready to fight. More recently the current chairman Enrique Tarrio has been seen in a shirt with Trump's statement harassing Biden supporters:
 

There are direct echoes to Trump's statement and his past statements praising white supremacists that marched in Charlottesville. This is especially true of his remarks the next day when confronted by reporters. Trump at that point did claim to denounce white supremacy, but then immediately rebuked BLM and Antifa, much like his "both sides" comments after Charlottesville. Trump seems incapable of making the distinction between people who believe entire races should be eliminated and people who actively oppose fascism and racism. 

So why does all of this matter?

Trump's apparent willingness to tolerate support from white supremacists is a problem, and given that his political past started with his support of the racist birther conspiracy, it is no surprise that white supremacists see him as their candidate. There is also an alarming rise of white militant groups across the country throughout Trump's presidency, and their threat to Americans should not be taken lightly.

At the same time, the violence and looting that erupted during the early parts of the nationwide BLM protests were unacceptable and hurt the movement. However, that happened in the extreme minority of protests, and was roundly denounced by Democratic politicians nationwide when it happened. 

It is important not to get stuck in an echo chamber, and we need to be able to admit our own mistakes if we're going to call out others for theirs. That doesn't mean that there is any moral equivalency between organizations like the Proud Boys and BLM/Antifa (there isn't), but overly defensive denials of any wrongdoing will do nothing but hurt the overall argument about the potential harm of racist militias gaining power. 

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