At Richard Spencers Florida Rally, Protesters Drive Out the Alt-Right, One by One

[babylonsister]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/at-richard-spencers-florida-rally-protesters-drive-out-the-alt-right-one-by-one

At Richard Spencer’s Florida Rally, Protesters Drive Out the Alt-Right, One by One
Live-streaming broadcasts showed Spencer being met with a barrage of criticism and chants for him to ‘Go home.’
James LaPorta
10.20.17 7:20 AM ET


GAINESVILLE, Florida—If you’re thinking about attending a Richard Spencer lecture in the future, don’t be surprised by the pissed-off crowd waiting to greet you outside.

So was the scene here at the University of Florida as hundreds of protesters gathered in solidarity against Spencer, the white supremacist and self-proclaimed founder of the alternative right, or alt-right for short.

The lecture by Spencer would once again bring out into the open a live-action version of Internet chat rooms: full of bigotry, anonymous Twitter profiles sporting “Pepe the Frog” bio pictures, and modern-day white supremacists. It would be Spencer’s first planned speech on a college campus since the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left Heather Heyer dead after James Fields Jr., 20, reportedly rammed his silver Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counterprotesters.

Overcast skies loomed overhead Thursday afternoon, as if to signal the proverbial calm before the storm—students, faculty members, and protesters gathered by the hundreds outside the Curtis M. Phillips Performing Arts Center with posters proclaiming “Love Not Hate” and chants of “We don’t want your Nazi hate,” amid an army of law-enforcement officers, hovering police helicopters, and a swarm of media coverage.

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University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs denounced Spencer’s visit in a letter to students, but said the school could not stop him from renting the Phillips Center. “For the record, I don’t stand behind racist Richard Spencer. I stand with those who reject and condemn Spencer’s vile and despicable message.”

As protesters waited outside the Phillips Center for alt-right supporters to emerge, conversations within the crowd ranged from Spencer racially profiling who could enter the building to hear his lecture, to anger directed at the massive police presence for providing protection for the event, sparking debates within the crowd of police brutality and racial oppression.

“This is what happens, you protect the fascists,” said one counterprotester. “I’m aggrieved, I’m appalled, I’m angry. I feel betrayed by my state, by my city, by my university. Nobody is standing up for us and our rights. This person wants to come in and kill me, kill me and my family… using your right to free speech… to take away my right to exist… that is not free speech, that is hate speech and that’s where I draw the line.”

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/at-richard-spencers-florida-rally-protesters-drive-out-the-alt-right-one-by-one

[Siwsan]

1. History taught us that you can't stand by, passively, when evil marches into your town

If ignored, they won't go away.