Charlottesville

When you see shit like what's going on in Virginia today, you should be thankful.

It's not like anyone with half a brain didn't know that this crap exists in America. These hideous people are exposing who they really are, and proving the point that there's a real problem, and identifying themselves at the root of it. That's the silver lining you can take away from the whole Trump fiasco. It's forced America to look at what it really is. It's brought the worst of us out into the light, and you can't start to change until you look at the problem in the eye. No more denying that there's serious racism on the right.

I have to believe in people's better nature, that this will spur change for the better. Maybe people will start to see that they don't want to be identified as something this vile. Perhaps we can find what makes people turn into this. Maybe in the future we can look back at stuff like this the way we look back in shame at some of the things that took place during the Civil Rights Movement, and use it to teach kindness. Perhaps it will make those who are already on the fence about joining the fight finally mobilize and make a difference.

Everything horrible has a gift within it, a lesson, something to glean from it, and to craft into a tool for future use. Rather than wring our hands or feel defeated, look for that positive, and build on it. Not just here, but everywhere. The key to life is to take something from every experience, not to just ignore the bad ones.

The enemy has crawled out into the light. Now is the time to defeat it, not with shadow, but with more light.