City Councilman Jim Clarke was talking about right-wing white supremacists, who suddenly seem to be flooding the country.

“We fought World War II against the Nazis,” he said. “So where is it in our American tradition to even support the concepts of Nazis, Nazism and the white supremacists?

“I get the white supremacy from the days of slavery – but it is not any part of our tradition. We fought a war against it.”

Mr. Clarke said the popular imagery of the white supremacists is contrary to the truth.

“You think these are a bunch of uneducated country bumpkins,” the Councilman said. “They are not. You find out the guy leading the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville graduated from the University of Virginia.”

Mr. Clarke believes “all of this is being spun out of a middle class that is very fearful about what is happening.”

The fear that takes various forms runs wide and deep, he asserts.

He drew an historic parallel.

“I heard about an interesting article,” said Mr. Clarke.  “After World War I, in the 1920s, the Klan was in its heyday. There was a feeling after the war that the world was changing. More people than usual were moving. There was a fundamental change that made people more apprehensive.

“Obviously, people in our country are apprehensive today.”

Does Councilman Clarke believe that white supremacy is a threat?

“I think so,” he said without hesitation.

(To be continued)