#  We Haven’t Seen a ‘Group Rights’ Battle this Bad Since the Civil War

     Details    Richard Lee Abrams   ![logo](https://mail.citywatchla.com//templates/ja_teline_v/images/logo.png)         October 08 2018      [  ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Oct-2018/081g.png)    ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/16351-we-haven-t-seen-a-group-rights-battle-this-bad-since-the-civil-war)

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> CORRUPTION WATCH-From the outset, Europeans bought the evil of Group Rights to these shores.

 In some admirable respects, we rose above the tribalism of “my group right or wrong” in order to establish a nation based on individual inalienable rights and the rule of law, but with significant, deadly lapses. The Civil War was the bloodiest result of Group Rights and its specter is returning.

Group Rights reared its head again in the demand that statues of Confederate soldiers be demolished as they were offensive primarily to one group of Americans. There is no gainsaying the offensiveness of the false Lost Cause narrative of the Civil War which these statues were erected to honor. Bluntly speaking, they were physical lies white washing American history. There was nothing noble about slavery and the Group Rights mentality from which it sprung.

**Two Wrongs Do Not Make a Right**

What child does not learn that two wrongs do not make a right? The destruction of the Lost Cause monuments concealed a dark portion of American history and their removal was as much a lie as their erection had been in the early 20th Century. Their destruction makes it impossible for future generations to graphically teach crucial lessons about American history. It is vitally important for our national integrity to publicly document how the evil ideas of slavery had contorted the minds of millions of people so that they turned history upside down. These Confederate monuments showed the mental tricks which people play upon themselves by spinning myths in order to avoid facing the truth.

**The Tragedy of Charlottesville**

In addition to the needless death of Heather Heyer, Charlottesville’s multi-racial multi-cultural commission’s peaceful solution was derailed. In December 2016, the Charlottesville Commission, which had convened to resolve the troubles surrounding Lost Cause statues, stated:

“We need to transform them (statues) in place so that they may serve as a public reminder of the visibility and scale and endurance of those harms (slavery and its aftermath), while at the same time making clear our rejection of those harms. -- Commission Report, December 19, 2016

Charlottesville Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy, however, wanted a violent confrontation with the White Supremacists and he knew that agitating for the statues’ destruction would anger the KKK and other Alt-Right Groups. A reasonable re-purposing of the statues was not part of his agenda. Against the advice of other civic leaders in Charlottesville, Wes Bellamy provoked Jason Kessler to stage a huge Alt-Right rally in Charlottesville. University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan had warned Bellamy against fueling the confrontation**. [http://bit.ly/2t0DQlm ](http://bit.ly/2t0DQlm)June 28, 2017, Associated Press, *UVA President Urges Charlottesville Community to Avoid KKK Rally***

Charlottesville’s [newspaper](https://www.dailyprogress.com/opinion/opinion-editorial-councilor-should-speak-up-now-to-calm-raging/article_0406c3c0-7d4c-11e7-a735-8f3723c8d985.html) called upon Wes Bellamy to quell the storm which he had initiated, but he refused**.** The online comments which followed this editorial reveal the passion, hatred and irrationality of Group Rights. Contrary to the Left’s characterization of *[The Daily Progress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Progress)* as being a KKK tabloid, it has an established reputation for journalism.

**Kavanaugh Recapitulates Charlottesville**

The Senate hearing on Brett Kavanaugh was Charlottesville gussied up in fancy attire – well not so fancy if one considers Kavanaugh’s temper tantrum and attack on people who voted against Trump. This time the death that occurred was the Constitutional requirement that the Senate be the body to Advise and Consent. This work requires exhaustive fact gatherings. An investigation which excludes ab initio people with relevant evidence is a constitutional fraud.

The Senate has trashed its “Advise and Consent” role by refusing to allow a comprehensive FBI investigation. They also lowered the standard for their White Rights champion to that of a criminal. Kavanaugh gets a life time appointment to the Supreme Court because he has not been convicted beyond a reasonable doubt of the attempted rape of Dr. Ford. But the standard for evaluating all other judges is that they are beyond the appearance of impropriety.

**Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges:**

Canon 1: Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary

Canon 2: Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities

Canon 3: Perform the Duties of the Office Fairly, Impartially and Diligently

Canon 4: n/a

Canon 5: Refrain from Political Activity

Throwing a temper tantrum, engaging in partisan attacks on the Democrats, and acting like an entitled brat demonstrated that Kavanaugh fell far short of 4 of the 5 canons, as former Justice Stevens remarked. That is the nature of Group Rights warfare.

**“Might Makes Right” Tramples All Other Values**

Kavanaugh became the standard bearer for the White Right Wing marching under the banner of “White is Might and Might Makes Right.” In case anyone thinks the Senate’s battle was not about White Might, Trump emphasized that point when he declared a “great victory.” Over whom was the victory? Other Americans!

**The Existential Threat to Whites

But for the incessant Democratic Identity Politics which promised to make White people strangers in their own land as soon as the minorities gain enough votes, the White Right would not have mobilized. When people’s lives and homes are threatened, they will follow anyone who promises salvation. Kavanaugh’s appointment fulfilled the Charlottesville chant, “Jews shall not replace us.” The Alt-Right understands Trump’s complaints about Soros as a code word for Jews.

Anyone who thinks that the Supreme Court with Kavanaugh will have moral authority is living in LaLa Land. When White is Might and Might Makes Right, the Constitution means whatever the White Right wants it to mean. During a civil war, no one gives a tinker’s damn about the Declaration’s inalienable rights of the individual. Instead, we are plunging into decades of internecine warfare.

Let’s remember the Fort Sumter of this current civil war: Hillary Clinton’s labeling the suffering White people in the Rust Belt as “Deplorables.” That brought out enough White voters to make Trump President and Gorsuch and Kavanaugh Supreme Court justices.

*(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney and a CityWatch contributor. He can be reached at:* **<Rickleeabrams@Gmail.com>***. Abrams’ views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.*

  - [  Previous Article **What Kind of Women Supported Kavanaugh and Why?** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16353:what-kind-of-women-supported-kavanaugh-and-why&catid=312)
- [  Next Article **This is My Street and You’re Sleeping On It!** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16350:this-is-my-street-and-you-re-sleeping-on-it&catid=312)
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