I just came across this article from RawStory in my Facebook news feed and felt it was important enough to share. This is because, while this is just one family, we really have no idea how many others — especially those living in former “Confederate” states — share these views.
A short time ago I posted a diary about the Governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin, who made similar comments at the Values Voter Summit. In that case, Gov Bevin said that the “blood of patriots” might need to be spilled to protect he and his fellow “values voters” from whatever depredations (which he failed to identify) he thinks Hillary will wreak on their “Christian Nation”. He also failed to provide any clue about how he thinks a Trump presidency might be different — in fact, he never even mention’s Trump’s name at all. In a move that surprises no one at all, once the reports of his comments got out, he tried to walk them back by claiming he was talking about “military service”, not armed insurrection… but he never once mentions military service in the actual speech.
Now we have this family in Georgia. The article states they recently had some kind of incident involving a Muslim woman allegedly “attacking” them with a (presumably) relatively small US flag that had been on their mailbox. Frankly, the story, which is not fully detailed in the above article, sounds a bit strange to me (ie: why would this woman go after them with a small flag rather than a weapon? Why did she go after this particular family at all — was there a history between them, or provocation? Is there any “evidence” of this alleged attack? — lots of questions to be asked there!!)
Although they seem to be implying that this incident has been the impetus for their concerns over a potential Hillary Clinton win, their arguments don’t seem to be connected (again, unsurprisingly, since they are Trump supporters) to reality:
“If you go to a movie theater, you’re liable to get shot, you go to a mall, you’re liable to get shot,” Jimmy Arno said. “If you go to Atlanta or a major city, you’re liable to be shot or attacked.”
Dani Arno expressed concern about a Black Lives Matter protest at the local high school, and Jimmy Arno expressed dismay at the demonstration against the display of Confederate flags.
The Arnos used to fly a Confederate flag but took it down out of courtesy after some of their daughter’s friends said it made them uncomfortable, although they still hang a framed portrait of Robert E. Lee over their living room couch.
Jimmy Arno blames President Barack Obama for the increase in racial tensions that worry him
“I know that we were a whole lot further along racially eight years ago than we are today,” he said.