It’s been done elsewhere, including here and is effective. Turn the lemon into lemonade.
Schedule a meeting on the other side of town and invite like-minded folks to show up in support of human rights. Make sure to leave out a few cans for impromptu donations to go to human rights organizations.
Invite the press and sit back. The media loves it and will cover your much bigger get together rather than the idiots looking for attention.
Our local supremacists have pretty much given up because every time they hold a rally, the local human rights organization makes tons of money and gets all the press!
I was always partial to the signs saying “Hitler is dead and you’re stupid”.
I derive much gratification from the fact that every time the Fourth Reich tries to rise in my area, the rally consists of about fourteen neo-Nazis and eight hundred counter-protestors. The important thing is not to appear as ridiculous as they are; fortunately this is not difficult.
Mockery works better than serious protest. These are not serious ideas, and you do better to make fun of these mouth-breathers than to act as if they were worthy of serious consideration.
YMMV.
And WSLer - the First Amendment says nothing about how private citizens may regard the opinions of others. Even stupid opinions. Their display may not be prohibited, but it certainly deserves to be mocked unmercifully.
How about I come and bring about 40 of my buddies from El Paso (my town). We’ll drive over in our big ass trucks while playing Los Tigres de Norte, Selena, and ABBA (well one of us) music full blast, and go to Gerogia and throw a pachanga - carta blanca, tecates, chela bien elodia…cook up some fajitas and cabrito on a grill, have a huachas contest for the old folks, pin dollar bills on las prettygirls, and set up a brinca-brinca for the kiddies.
Que chido eh?
The Georgia people might have too much fun to listen to some shrivelled up neonazis wag their tongues. And for some real fun, I could tell them I am a part-Jewish part Indian Mexican and challenge them to play “Spell That Big Word” against me.
So the ignoring them actually has been working and you want to rile them up again and let them believe they are “persecuted”?
Real life events:
The Klan took out a parade permit in Cleveland and mayor Mike White blew several hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing for some massive, violent demonstration.
The NA took out a parade permit in the most lily-white, working-class suburb and was promptly ignored by the politicians and news media.
Guess which group got more publicity (including national exposure)? Guess which group got more donations? Guess which group has soundly failed in four separate recruiting drives in the last seven years?
To be a reluctant Devil’s Advocate, he does hold a PhD in physics.
Thus far, my favorite has been “Hitler rose/Hitler fell/Neo-Nazi’s go to hell.” Hitler lost. The CSA lost. Fascism is a lost cause. These fools seem to have a tendancy for supporting losers (literally).
“Excuse me large group of Albino Skunk Felchers, why don’t you run out to the local interstate and play a nice, long game of ‘Hide and go Fuck yourself’”
or
“Hey Cletus, let’s see who can shoot themselves in the head first. Winner gets a nice, prrrty washing machne to put in their front yard.”
cuate: cabrito and tecates is the best idea I’ve heard in ages. We must co-host a party sometime. If the assholes see who’s having more fun, they’ll un-brainwash themselves and get with it. (Except for the leaders, of course, who will find themselves the most debased of people: leaders without followers.) We’ll have a tremendous drunkards’ spelling bee as well.
No, I think the citizens of webguy’s community believe the First Amendment protects their right to openly display their opposition to speech and ideas they disagree with, and to confront those who espouse those ideas if they feel it necessary.
I just can’t get my head around the argument that greater active resistance people present to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, the easier it is for them to grow and organize. To me, it’s like saying it would be far easier to move a ten-ton boulder out of a doorway than a five-pound weight.
Most of us here (by that I mean “everyone except the total dipsticks”) agree that the ideas espoused by fascists and white supremacists are unmitigatedly stupid. But those ideas have to be countered at their source, and that’s why counter-demonstrations are vitally necessary. Big shmeal that the press and the politicians ignored the NA when they came to Cleveland. I’m not concerned with what the press and the politicians think of the NA’s ideas. I’m concerned about the people who might come across that demonstration in the street and listen to the NA’s answers to their questions. There need to be people right there who actively show their opposition to those ideas and who have arguments as to why those ideas and answers are false.
You don’t fight a sinus infection with Pepto-Bismol. You don’t fight a roach infestation with a weedkiller. Why, then, would anyone think it effective to fight the Nazis with a counterdemonstration across town? It makes no sense to me.
cuate: Pachanga? I’m there, mijo. Carnival contra fascismo, que bien!
A while back, there was a group in Topeka that found a brilliant way to work against Fred Phelps: they set up a pledge drive around his demonstrations. For every hour the demonstrations went on, people would pledge to donate a certain amount of money to gay & lesbian organizations. (Sort of like how you pledge to donate to medical research for however long somebody walks in the MS walk.)
I think that sounds like a great strategy to use against the neo-Nazis. Get people in the neighborhood to pledge to send a certain amount of money to the United Negro College Fund or Jewish Defense League or some similar charity for however long the march lasts. Then send the bastards a letter to let them know what they’ll be raising money for.
Okay. You want creative? I’ll give you creative. Here’s what you do:
Get the word out to as many people as you can, and tell them to pass it on too. When these clowns come marching down the street in their ridiculous costumes everyone LAUGH at them! There is nothing more humiliating than being laughed at when you’re trying to be taken seriously. Belive me, this is more effective than confrontation as it may even make some of them realize how foolish they are and actually re-evaluate their thinking.
You could try hiring a bunch of performance artists and holding an unrelated but MUCH stranger demonstration nearby, to distract everyone from the Nazis. I mean, who’s going to pay attention to a bunch of white-sheeters when there’s a “National Squid Fetishists Acceptance League” demonstration being held fifty feet away? Complete with costumes and Mardi Gras-style puppets?
Ranchoth
I mean he is a moron because basicly said “We support free thinking only if you think like us.”
You could get as many minorities in the area together go to the protest and shout together at the NA “We love you!” as loud as the can. Make sure it involves a lot of cute kids. Sure it might not solve anything but it might be fun to watch their reactions.
Just found out the NA plans a rally here in DC on August 24th. In other words, they plan ahead like other organizations. It just doesn’t seem to me like they’d cancel their Washington demonstration if they got totally ignored in Georgia.
