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Virginia rally victim's message 'magnified,' mother tells memorial

By Scott Malone

 

A member of the clergy holds a picture of Heather Heyer, who was killed at in a far-right rally, as they stand outside of her memorial service in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Reuters) - With tears and defiant tributes, hundreds of purple-clad people packed an historic Charlottesville theater to remember the 32-year-old woman killed when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into anti-racist demonstrators.

 

Heather Heyer, a paralegal whom colleagues said was devoted to social justice, was killed after clashes on Saturday between white nationalists attending a "Unite the Right" gathering and counter-protesters. James Fields, a 20-year-old Ohio man, has been charged with her murder.

 

"They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well guess what? You just magnified her," Heyer's mother Susan Bro said to long and loud applause from those gathered at the city's 1930s era Paramount Theater.

 

Bro told the audience that her daughter's favorite Facebook post was "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

 

"She paid attention. And she made a lot of us pay attention," Bro said. "I want this to spread. I don't want this to die. This is just the beginning of Heather's legacy."

 

The crowd later fell silent for the hymn "Amazing Grace" sung while the sound of the sea played in the background. The singer, Barbara Edwards, wife of the pastor of the city's Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church, said it evokes the singing of the anthem in the belly of a slave ship.

 

In the crowd were Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, U.S. Senator Tim Kane and Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer. At the request of Heyer's family, many of those in attendance wore purple, her favorite color.

 

The theater's marquee outside read: "Heather Heyer, gone but not forgotten."

 

Wearing a violet-hued polo shirt, his voice breaking with emotion, Heyer's father Mark Heyer told the gathering how truly proud he was of his daughter.

 

"I came here today and I was overwhelmed by the rainbow of colors in this room," he said. "That's how Heather was."

 

STATUES AND SLAVERY

 

Fallout from Heyer's death and the street fights among protesters has become President Donald Trump's biggest domestic challenge. Trump was assailed from across the political spectrum over his initial response blaming "many sides" for the violence.

 

On Monday, the Republican president bowed to political pressure and denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan by name, but on Tuesday he again inflamed tensions by insisting counter-protesters were also to blame.

 

Residents of the usually quiet, liberal-leaning Virginia city were horrified by the violence they said was brought by outsiders.

 

White nationalists called Saturday's rally to protest plans to remove a statue of General Robert E. Lee, commander of the pro-slavery Confederate army in the U.S. Civil War.

 

Undeterred by the clashes, state and city leaders in several southern U.S. states have vowed to step up efforts to remove such monuments from public spaces.

 

Amid concerns trouble could erupt outside Wednesday's memorial, a small group of anti-racist protesters wearing pink helmets and carrying baseball bats and purple shields stood quietly near the theater.

 

One of the group, who declined to be identified, said they brought weapons to defend themselves in case the white supremacists returned.

 

"The cops didn't protect us on Saturday and we don't trust them to do so today," the group member said.

 

Also outside the theater, near where Heyer died, artist Sam Welty was chalking a large portrait of her on a memorial wall that features many tributes to her.

 

"The way she lost her life, doing what she did, really stood for Charlottesville," said Welty, 42.

 

In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump described Heyer as "beautiful and incredible ... a truly special young woman. She will be long remembered by all!"

 

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Frances Kerry and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-17

[phantomfiddler]

"If you,re not outraged you are not paying attention" ? What a ridiculous title obviously aimed to incite impressionable people beyond the normal barriers of reaction ! My favourite author is William Faulkner, and anyone who reads Faulkner will definitely pay attention, and come away with a deeper understanding of social problems existing around the country, but enraged ? definitely not !

Any death, especially for such a trivial cause as to erase American history, is tragic, but why don,t these unliberal fanatics just enjoy their lives like normal people ? They have turned into the nation,s trouble makers.

[iReason]

1 hour ago, phantomfiddler said:

"If you,re not outraged you are not paying attention" ?

What a ridiculous title obviously aimed to incite impressionable people beyond the normal barriers of reaction !

My favourite author is William Faulkner, and anyone who reads Faulkner will definitely pay attention, and come away with a deeper understanding of social problems existing around the country, but enraged ?

 

Typical hysterical Trumpeteer bombast.

 

outraged becomes : enraged

 

Apparently your reading comprehension leaves much to be desired...

 

Some people are just beyond the normal barriers of reaction.

[iReason]

 

This crybaby "sgt. at arms" was outraged too: