国际英语资讯:Silence, speech, song at San Franciscos vigil for Charlottesville victims_时事

国际英语资讯:Silence, speech, song at San Franciscos vigil for Charlottesville victims

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12 -- It was mostly silent in an hour of vigil Saturday evening in downtown San Francisco, a city on the U.S. West Coast, for those who fell victim to the violence earlier in the day in Charlottesville, Virginia, in eastern United States.

For about 50 minutes, hundreds of people gathered at Union Square, a public plaza in a shopping, hotel and theater district of the city, sitting or standing silently, some holding a lighted candle and some with duct tape over their mouths.

Against street noises, there was no speech, no chant, no talk.

For a moment, a street artist with a trumpet at the corner of the plaza played the tune of Amazing Grace, one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world, whose writer was involved in slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean in the 18th century and whose message was about forgiveness and redemption.

Hours ago, news broke out that three people were killed and 19 wounded in Charlottesville, as a supporter of the so-called alt-right movement rammed his car into a crowd of protesters against a white nationalist rally. Then, a local group known as Indivisible SF, short for San Francisco, called for the vigil "to stand in solidarity with Charlottesville."

"In light of the events in Charlottesville today, please join us to show that love will prevail," noted the group in a posting on the Facebook social media network, "Bring signs of hope, peace and love. Let's show the world what love and tolerance can do."