@Lash,
You make an interesting point.
Arguably, whether at Berkeley or Charlottesville, there would not have been violence if the people who wished to express their viewpoints had been allowed to without the interference of those who were present for the sole purpose of either opposing or preventing their doing so.
This is not to suggest that counter-demonstrations should be outlawed, but it would seem wise for city governments to at least plan and manage these
events better.
The groups that wanted to demonstrate in Charlottesville were required to obtain some form of permission from the city (in fact they needed to have a court intervene so that the permission couldn't be unreasonably withheld), but what about the counter-protesters? I can't understand why they wouldn't have needed a permit from the city, so for the sake of discussion, I'll assume they did need one and it was granted. At that point, wouldn't it have made sense for the city to keep the two groups separated? The videos I've seen show violence breaking out after members of the two groups were nose to nose, taunting, cursing and threatening one another.
Over the last three years during which peaceful protests transformed into violent riots once the sun set and punk kids took to Cosplaying revolutionaries and smashing Starbucks storefronts and setting fire to trash cans, I predicted several things that have since come true:
1) The leftist thugs would be emboldened and the violence would continue and escalate.
2) At some point right-wing thugs would decide that it had become necessary for them to confront the left-wing thugs because the police wouldn't
3) At one of these clashes, someone would be very seriously injured or die
5) If the seriously injured or dead could be identified as a
liberal or
progressive and the perpetrator could be identified as a member of the
Alt-Right, or a
White Supremacy group the Left would respond as if the whole nation was in flames.
For sometime now, the Left has offered luke warm criticism of violent mobs if the source of their righteous rage was oppressive police, hate spewing conservative authors or the 45th president of the United States. Throughout their flaccid condemnation, were inserted numerous
"buts" and
"howevers" and rationalizing the irrational was the rule. Now that the fascist beast has broken its chains and struck, breasts will be beaten, clothes will rend, and teeth will gnash. Hollywood twits will tweet profanity laden calls to take to the streets, Congressional investigations will be demanded, and in Blue States, the National Guard will be put on alert.
Above all else though, woe betide the soulless ghouls who don't support a National Day of Mourning for the slain martyrs, or who reveal their utter lack of humanity by attaching
any blame whatsoever to the counter-protesters.
In other words...Ooooh you're in trouble Lash!
