As most everyone knows, white supremacists descended upon my city of Charlottesville, VA, this past weekend, and chaos, violence and tragedy ensued. I’ve been thinking since then about the concept of supremacy and how odious it is–as if one race were purer and better than another, as if one color of skin were of a higher virtue than another.

But it has also crossed my mind that most Americans are American supremacists, thinking that their country is the greatest in the world, believing that America has the wisdom and the right to decide the fate of every other nation in the world, and that those decisions should be based on American interests alone.

The idea of American supremacy is as odious to me as the idea as white supremacy. As American supremacists, we don’t even negotiate with other nations anymore. We impose sanctions and call that diplomacy. Sanctions are a form of force.

As American supremacists, we don’t try to see another country’s point of view. Our message is: Do it in the way that best supports American interests, or else we will crush you economically and militarily.

1. Let’s start with the obvious. Charlottesville, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, are actually two completely different places in the world. The flood of concern and good wishes for those of us here in Charlottesville is wonderful and much appreciated. That people can watch TV news about Charlottesville, remember that I live in Charlottesville, and send me their kind greetings addressed to the people of Charlotte is an indication of how common the confusion is. It’s not badly taken; I have nothing against Charlotte. It’s just a different place, seventeen times the size. Charlottesville is a small town with the University of Virginia, a pedestrian downtown street, and very few monuments. The three located right downtown are for Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Confederacy. Neither Lee nor Jackson had anything to do with Charlottesville, and their statues were put up in whites-only parks in the 1920s.

Columbus turned out by the hundreds to protest the rally by the KKK, neo-nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville and the subsequent terror attack on the counterprotestors. On Sunday, August 13, a large group gathered at the gazebo in Goodale Park for speeches and a report from some activists who were on the scene in Charlottesville.

The Franklin County Green Party unequivocally condemns the attack on anti-racist and anti-fascist protesters yesterday in Charlottesville, Virginia and are saddened by the death and injuries. The Green Party is an anti-racist organization continually working to create a just and fair society for all.

The Green Party fully supports the fundamental right of counter-protesters to free speech, freedom of assembly and redress of grievances.

The Party holds, as the Black Caucus states, that “In recognition of the central role of racism in the creation of our country's governmental, social, and economic systems and the use of race as a means of dividing and destroying progressive movements for fundamental change, we are actively antiracist. We oppose institutional, interpersonal, and cultural racism.”

We vigorously condemn the President of the United States for using the phrase “on many sides” after a right-wing terrorist attack upon democratic progressive forces lawfully demonstrating. The President’s words embolden and empower the far right. Let our actions as a counter force to liberate the people.

Campaigning for the presidency, Donald Trump argued that blacks and other people of color should vote for him.