It was with an overwhelming sense of sadness that I sat glumly at the kitchen table Saturday and watched what was unfolding Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.
It reminded me of something I often state - sometimes much to the chagrin of those around me.
I wonder exactly how far we've come in this country when it comes to race relations.
Yes, I know we have made great strides. But no one who watched the tension slowly ratchet up - and then explode in violence when a man rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters at a rally of white nationalists, killing one person, can now say race problems do not continue to perplex this country.
What was on display in Virginia is just hate, pure and simple.
They have been emboldened by a man who has consistently mouthed similar sentiments - and who now just happens to reside in the White House.
They see people they identify with in the inner circle of President Donald Trump.
They see the man who championed the groundless "birther" movement that demeaned and belittle the nation's first African-American president.
They see the misogyny.
They see the war on immigrants.
They see the cheers for building the border wall.
They see the president seemingly telling police officers not to be so nice in locking up criminal suspects.
It would have been nice to see police take a little more active role in getting between these two factions Saturday, perhaps trying to defuse the situation before it exploded.
And I was struck by this thought. Reverse the situation. Make those marching in the streets black, or perhaps wearing Muslim garb. What do you think the police presence would have been then?
If a Muslim had driven his car into a group of people, what do you think the reaction would have been?
And how long would it have taken the president to chime in?
Instead, we got hours of silence from the president.
The man who loves Twitter could not bring himself to expend 140 characters on an American tragedy.
Eventually, President Trump emerged to read a statement, but he could not have looked more disinterested. And he could not resist using a phrase that left many enraged, saying the violence was shared "by many sides."
Do you think the president would have been so reserved if this had involved a Muslim?
Trump's aides are now scrambling to define the message. The White House put out a statement condemning the violence, but it did not carry Trump's name.
Many of the white nationalists, KKK members and others on the alt-right seemed merely emboldened by the lack of condemnation from Trump. They boasted on social media that the president was not specifically blaming them.
This is America in 2017.
What happened Saturday in Virginia was shameful.
What happened afterward was even more troubling.
This is where we are.
Race continues to be at the center of unrest in this nation.
Have we come a long way on race relations? Absolutely? Do we have a long way to go? What happened this weekend in Charlottesville, and what happened afterward, suggests we do.
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