Reason: the Awful Trajectory of Political Violence

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To be clear, Fields—or whomever was driving the car that careened down Charlottesville's Fourth Street on Saturday afternoon—is singularly responsible for the carnage he caused, and he should be held criminally accountable. He was charged with second degree murder, according to multiple media reports, and other charges are likely to follow.

Still, Charlottesville fits into a disturbing cycle. Beginning with protests at Donald Trump's campaign rallies last year, continuing through and beyond the inauguration the far left has met the violent rhetoric of the alt-right by glorifying political violence. The reaction has only reaffirmed and escalated the very fascist tendencies the left supposedly opposes.

As Robby Soave wrote shortly after alt-right ringleader Richard Spencer was punched in the face on Inauguration Day, "Striking Spencer isn't just morally wrong—it's tactically foolish."

Punching Nazis in the public square might make you feel good but it puts you a half-step closer to accepting that it's all right to run down the Nazi-punchers in the public square. What happened Saturday was not inevitable. I hope Heyer's death will generate a massive backlash against the alt-right. I hope it will cause the far-left to reconsider how they engage with fascists, white nationalists, and other enemies of freedom.

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