今回のバージニア州での事件をどうとらえているか？
歴史的な背景に詳しくない方は、白人至上主義の時代は終わっていると思い、社会現象の表面を見てびっくりしているかもしれませんが、実際には今まで潜んでいた「恨み」が出てきたかと思います。おそらく、これで終わりではないと思います。
Those who do not understand the history of the United States—both those who live in America and those who do not—tend to assume that “white supremacy” ideas are a thing of the past. However, that kind of white racism has continued under the surface for close to 400 years, in America alone. Unfortunately, it will probably never disappear.
「オバマ政権への反動だ」という説 Is this a reaction to Obama’s policies?
そういう見方はあまりにも簡単すぎるではないかと思います。問題の原因はもっと複雑です。オバマ政権のせいにすることで「一件落着」となって便利ですが、オバマ大統領の政策で黒人の方々の状況がすごく進歩したとは言い難い。オバマ本人の tweet （8月17日のブログ参照）のように、「皆がすべての人のために」「生まれつきの racismはない」とは彼の個人の立派な立場ですが、例えばアメリカの黒人、マイノリティだけに特別なものを与えたとは言い難い。ただし、今の白人至上主義者は違う見方を取っています。Black Lives Matter 運動に反抗して White Lives Matter のように主張することになっています。
Taking such a view is, to my mind, much too simplistic. The causes of the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and other places is much more complicated. The policies of the Obama administration were definitely a step forward for America. However, the progress was for blacks and whites, and many of the lower-class blacks and whites made no progress at all. Obama’s recent tweet about how no one is born racist is absolutely true. We learn to be racist. We learn how to hate other people, often for reasons that are hard for other people to understand. What I think we can say is that certain minorities did not receive “special treatment” under his administration, and those “minorities” were not limited to minorities of color. White supremacists, however, believe “the others” got more benefits than they did, and they are angry about it. Therefore, when one side says “Black Lives Matter,” the other side counters with “White Lives Matter.” The people who say the latter are completely missing the point that “All Lives Matter,” regardless of skin color, gender, class, occupation, and religion.