Charlottesville

Today, three people died in Charlottesville.

Heather Heyer was struck by a car and killed during a protest at the Unite the Right rally. Two state troopers died when their helicopter crashed.

And all I can think of is Crispus Attucks.

It feels as if I'm watching a slow motion car-crash, except in this case, it's a culture crash that's going to cause another civil war.

Let me give in to my most paranoid ramblings (I've seen Cabaret often enough, I know how this goes):

1) The Racist Right is emboldened and holds more rallies with fresh-scrubbed young men singing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me"

2) Protesters show up. Violence ensues. Media savvy Rightists make sure to capture people of color committing violence, and avoid killing more blonde white women, like Heather Heyer. Social media rages, but nothing of import happens.

3) The violence increases. Alt-right numbers grow out of fear created by the videos of black violence.

4) Street clashes start happening regularly in every major city. The death toll skyrockets, and the Racist Right starts targeting minority neighborhoods, doing genocide sweeps. No official denunciation from the White House.

5) Martial Law is finally declared, after someone too prominent is murdered, ostensibly to keep people from being killed but more to shut people up. Alt-rightists are absorbed into police departments and deputized to help end the violence.

So we end up with a totalitarian nightmare.
Or the government just decides to let it run its course and ends with a de facto civil war in the streets.

Laying it out sounds paranoid. But as I said, I've seen this show. And even jazzy John Kander music doesn't make it less terrifying.

I believe America as a free republic is teetering. I think fascism is impossible to avoid at this point. I think it's time for my queer pagan family to arm up or pack up, one of the two.

Because Heather Heyer is our Crispus Attucks.