On July 4th, a Reuters photo went viral on X for its apparent racial connotation. The professional photojournalist captured the image of a solitary black woman sitting in a train car filled with white supremacists. The racist members of “Patriot Front” were dressed in their standard uniform: khaki pants, navy shirts, and white balaclavas covering their faces. The woman appears to be traveling along and has an apprehensive look on her face. The white supremacists were on their way to a march in D.C. There were no reports of any incidents during that train ride, and the black woman likely arrived at her destination with mild anxiety as her only discomfort.
Several progressives posted the photo along with their commentary lamenting that after 250 years, America could still be so unsafe for black people that they must endure such experiences. Governor Tim Walz (D-Minnesota) posted on X that it was “A haunting image.”
In response, many conservatives posted a contrasting photo of a white woman sitting in a black train car. In the 2025 photo taken from video surveillance, a young Ukrainian American woman is pictured sitting in a relaxed posture scrolling on her phone. A black man named Decarlos Brown Jr. is sitting directly behind her. In the full video, there is a brief incident in which Brown makes contact with the 23 year old Iryna Zarutska. She appears to become upset afterward but then calms down and falls asleep within minutes. Some reports suggested that Zarutska passed away later that day by total coincidence. Brown was investigated for the altercation but charges were dismissed. He had a lengthy criminal history and suffered from mental illness, which would have excused his behavior if he actually harmed Zarutska.
Conservatives offer no evidence that the train ride was more uncomfortable for the lonely white woman than it was for the black one in the more recent photo. Going even further into conspiracy theory territory, some right wingers claim that the Neo-Nazi groups were not genuine and are being backed by the political left or the feds. To support this, they cite a recent grand jury indictment of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for allegedly funnelling millions of dollars to racist groups like the KKK and Nazi Party. While it’s true that the group has been indicted for fraud and similar crimes, the witch-hunt is just another conservative attack on anti-racists. The SPLC has merely infiltrated hate groups with their own paid secret agents in order to dismantle them from the inside. The deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally was just one of the unfortunate results of the SPLC’s righteous tactics to subvert right wing extremism.
https://twitter.com/RepDonBacon/status/2073512553439797670/photo/1
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Liberty Block or any of its members. We welcome all forms of serious feedback and debate.
0 Comments