Arizona’s Governor Ducey has indicated that even if Confederate memorials don’t belong on public land and are linked to white supremacy groups, don’t expect him to do anything about it.
The Alt-Right interpretation of his statement is, “He supports our cause.” Like the President, Ducey sends encouragement to the Alt-Right Movement by not calling them out or taking action against the hatred they disgustingly represent.
Since June 2017, Phoenix Civil Rights leaders and the clergy have expressed their concerns to the Governor, asking him to remove six Confederate memorials in Arizona. Their reason was clearly expressed by Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Phoenix; “We can’t go through our daily lives honoring symbols of hate, symbols of separation, of segregation designed to tear us apart and deepen our wounds.”
The Governor’s response: He doesn’t care, and thus his view of history is the only view that will be counted.
Confederate memorials and statues are highly symbolic to the White Nationalist movement and attract their warped, race-based ideologies. Continuing to honor Confederate memorabilia shines a beacon of acceptance for racists, bigots and fascists from all walks of life.
We don’t need to “relive” the past with memorials to the evils of our history. If they were initially meant as a reminder of how far we have come, that concept failed in Charlottesville, Virginia, when the White Nationalist movement took the public stage.
Governor Ducey ignores what Phoenix Civil Rights and clergy have been urging since June. The Governor’s response has been—nothing.
The leadership of Governor Ducey is simply non-existent. It is a detriment to the people of Arizona. His inaction on these serious issues actually sends an invitation that the Alt-Right movement is welcome in Arizona.
