August 19 and 20, 2017


News and Views


WHAT IS THE COLFAX MASSACRE? SEE THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE BELOW. “.... HISTORIANS HAVE PAID RENEWED ATTENTION TO THE EVENTS AT COLFAX AND THE RESULTING SUPREME COURT CASE, AND THEIR MEANING IN AMERICAN HISTORY."

THE MEANING OF THIS SOCIAL REVERSAL BROUGHT IN BY TRUMP’S RIOTOUS PRESIDENTIAL TROOPS, I.E. YAHOOS, IS NOT LOST ON THE HISTORIANS MENTIONED ABOVE. VOTER RIGHTS OF MINORITIES OF AT LEAST TWO KINDS IS UNDER ASSAULT AGAIN. WHITE SUPREMACY IN GENERAL IS INVOLVED IN THIS FIGHT OVER CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS, AND I EXPECT IT TO GO ON. I DON’T KNOW IF SEN. BOOKER’S BILL WILL BE ACCEPTED BY CONSERVATIVES AND PASSED, BUT AT LEAST IT’S AN ATTEMPT.

THE CHARLOTTESVILLE EVENTS HAVE BROUGHT BEFORE OUR EYES THE FACT OF HOW QUICKLY A TRUE “RACE WAR” COULD IGNITE. STARTING A “RACE WAR” IS THE STATED GOAL OF SOME OF THE WHITE SUPREMACY GROUPS. SOMEHOW, I JUST CAN’T IMAGING DESIRING SOMETHING LIKE THAT. TO ME, WE ARE APPROACHING A LEVEL OF HUMANITY THAT FRIGHTENS AND DISGUSTS ME. I DON’T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE, NO MATTER WHAT THEY WANT, WILL BE ABLE TO IGNITE SUCH A WAR OR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE. IF THE STATES WERE TO GET INVOLVED IN A NEW ATTEMPT TO SECEDE FROM THE US, THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-cory-booker-to-introduce-bill-confederate-statues-bill/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS August 17, 2017, 10:13 AM
Sen. Cory Booker to introduce Confederate statues bill

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker announced that he will be introducing a bill in Congress to take down Confederate statues in the Capitol as calls continue to grow for confederate monuments' removal across the U.S., in light of the violent Charlottesville clashes.

"I will be introducing a bill to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol building. This is just one step. We have much work to do," the Democrat tweeted on Wednesday.

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Cory Booker ✔ @CoryBooker
I will be introducing a bill to remove Confederate statues from the US Capitol building. This is just one step. We have much work to do.
10:52 PM - Aug 16, 2017
4,146 4,146 Replies 12,723 12,723 Retweets 62,182 62,182 likes

Booker went on to retweet followers' stories about Confederate monuments and statues in their own states, including one state's historical marker highlighting the 1873 Colfax massacre in Louisiana where 150 black men were killed by white Southern Democrats.

"Most do not know of this tragic episode in American history and how it was rewritten by white supremacy," Booker wrote.

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Cory Booker ✔ @CoryBooker
Most do not know of this tragic episode in American history and how it was rewritten by white supremacy. https://twitter.com/xirzon/status/897992490027851776 …
12:10 AM - Aug 17, 2017
336 336 Replies 801 801 Retweets 1,721 1,721 likes

Confederate statues erected in the U.S. Capitol currently stand in Statuary Hall, the Capitol Visitor Center and the Hall of Columns where visitors from across the country and lawmakers pass through every day.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump addressed the issue of taking down the monuments, tweeting Thursday morning, "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments."

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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You.....
9:07 AM - Aug 17, 2017
46,719 46,719 Replies 34,061 34,061 Retweets 131,274 131,274 likes

He added, "You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!"

Mr. Trump went on, saying "the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!"

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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
...can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also...
9:15 AM - Aug 17, 2017
42,205 42,205 Replies 33,918 33,918 Retweets 133,503 133,503 likes

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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
...the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!
9:21 AM - Aug 17, 2017
54,768 54,768 Replies 26,898 26,898 Retweets 111,011 111,011 likes

States across the country have begun to respond similarly to Bookers call, taking down confederate monuments in their respective cities, including ones in North Carolina and Baltimore. Speaking on "CBS This Morning" on Thursday, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe called the statues "divisive symbols."

"It's time for these monuments to come down, it's time for us to move together after what happened in Charlottesville," he said.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colfax_massacre
Colfax massacre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Colfax massacre, or Colfax riot as the events are termed on the 1950 state historic marker, occurred on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, the seat of Grant Parish. Southern Whites (comp. White Southerners) saw recently freed people as threats to Democratic hegemony. Approximately 150 black men were murdered by white Southern Democrats.

In the wake of the contested 1872 election for governor of Louisiana and local offices, a group of white Democrats, armed with rifles and a small cannon, overpowered Republican freedmen and state militia (also black) trying to protect the Grant Parish courthouse in Colfax,[1][2] white Republican officeholders were not attacked. Most of the freedmen were killed after they surrendered; nearly 50 were killed later that night after being held as prisoners for several hours. Estimates of the number of dead have varied, ranging from 62 to 153; three whites died but the number of black victims was difficult to determine because bodies had been thrown into the river or removed for burial. There were rumors of mass graves at the site.

Historian Eric Foner described the massacre as the worst instance of racial violence during Reconstruction.[1] In Louisiana, it had the highest fatalities of any of the numerous violent events following the disputed gubernatorial contest in 1872 between Republicans and Democrats. Foner wrote, "...every election [in Louisiana] between 1868 and 1876 was marked by rampant violence and pervasive fraud."[3] Although the Fusionist*-dominated state "returning board," which ruled on vote validity, initially declared John McEnery and his Democratic slate the winners, the board eventually split, with a faction declaring Republican William P. Kellogg the victor. A Republican federal judge in New Orleans ruled that the Republican-majority legislature be seated.[4]

Federal prosecution and conviction of a few perpetrators at Colfax under the Enforcement Acts was appealed to the Supreme Court. In a key case, the court ruled in United States v. Cruikshank (1876) that protections of the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to the actions of individuals, but only to the actions of state governments. After this ruling, the federal government could no longer use the Enforcement Act of 1870 to prosecute actions by paramilitary groups such as the White League, which had chapters forming across Louisiana beginning in 1874. Intimidation and black voter suppression by such paramilitary groups were instrumental to the Democratic Party regaining political control in the state legislature by the late 1870s.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, historians have paid renewed attention to the events at Colfax and the resulting Supreme Court case, and their meaning in American history.



FORTUNATELY, THE RADICALS WHO ARE MARCHING AROUND RIGHT NOW ARE NOT REALLY ORGANIZED, I DON’T THINK, BUT WITH THE INTERNET, THEY COULD BE SOON. BREITBART HAS JUST RECENTLY BEEN BANISHED TO THE DARK NET, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY WON’T JUST CONTINUE THEIR ACTIVITIES THERE. IN FACT, IF THEY REALLY WANT TO STRUCTURE A SERIOUS PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE US GOVERNMENT, OR HOLD SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY HOSTAGE AS THE BUNDY GOONS DID, THEY CAN DO IT BETTER IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHICH IS DIFFICULT FOR MOST NET FOLLOWERS TO REACH. I UNDERSTAND THE “DARK NET” IS JUST AN AGGREGATE OF SITES WHICH ARE NOT LOCATED ON THE MAIN SEARCH ENGINES. RIGHT? MORE OR LESS, ANYWAY. THAT MEANS THAT IT IS “DARK” FOR THE SAME REASON THAT THE SO-CALLED “DARK AGES” WERE. THERE WERE VERY FEW WRITTEN RECORDS, EXCEPT THOSE FROM MONKS AND SUCH PEOPLE WHO WERE LITERATE.

IN MY VIEW, OR IN THE PAST ANYWAY, “THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN” IS HALF WISHFUL THOUGHT AND HALF SEDITIOUS. WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I DIDN’T CONSIDER WHITE SUPREMACY TO BE ABLE “RISE AGAIN,” BUT TODAY I NO LONGER FEEL SO CONFIDENT OF THAT. AFTER THE EVENTS AT CHARLOTTESVILLE, THOUGH, I BELIEVE THAT MY ORIGINAL OPINION IS ACCURATE: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE NOT BY AND LARGE SADISTIC BEASTS, AND THEY AREN’T WITHOUT COURAGE, EITHER. THEY WILL FIGHT BACK.

IT REALLY DOES APPEAR TO ME THAT TRUMP’S DESIRE WAS TO FOMENT A REVOLUTION WITH HIMSELF AS THE EMPEROR, BUT I DON’T THINK HE’LL MAKE IT. TOO MANY PEOPLE FROM LEGISLATORS TO NEWS PROFESSIONALS TO THE ORDINARY MAN AND WOMAN ON THE STREETS WILL STEP FORWARD AND TRY TO STOP HIM. WE MAY HAVE TO DEPART FROM THE PATH OF MORE OR LESS BLINDLY FOLLOWING EXISTING LAW, AND GO TO WRITING NEW ONES. HOWEVER THINGS TURN OUT, THOUGH, I DON’T THINK HE WILL HAVE AN EASY TIME OF IT.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/37opck/serious_what_does_the_south_will_rise_again/
[Serious] What does 'The South Will Rise Again?' really mean?serious replies only (self.AskReddit)

submitted 2 years ago by sundoon
As a northerner, I am familiar with the phrase 'The South Will Rise Again'. What does this dream of a 'Risen South' look like? What kind of reality could be plausibly expected if this dream were indulged? Does it include secession? What would happen?

[–]silverblaze92 3 points 2 years ago
Originally it meant that the South would once again someday rebel against the US.

[–]StupidSTUPIDLogin 1 point 2 years ago
They've been beaten, but only in round one. Round two, they'll win.
It's a ye olde phrase still thrown around, mostly in jest. There are probably some people that believe it, but I doubt many of them graduated in the top half of their class. If you catch my drift.
It would probably involve secession, possibly another war...but again, we're so far removed & there's no one really interested in having another civil war. Or slaves.


FUSIONIST PARTIES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_Party

Fusion Party is a name for multiple political parties in United States history. The different parties that used the name don't share any particular political positions; instead, confederations of people from disparate political backgrounds united around a common cause individual to their situation—often opposition to a common enemy—and used the name Fusion Party to reflect the aggregate nature of their new party.


ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1870, OR SEVERAL OTHER NAMES FOR THE SAME LAW

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enforcement_Act_of_1870
Enforcement Act of 1870
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Enforcement Act of 1870, also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1870 or First Ku Klux Klan Act, or Force Act was a United States federal law written to empower the President with the legal authority to enforce the first section of the Fifteenth Amendment throughout the United States. The act was the first of three Enforcement Acts passed by the United States Congress from 1870 to 1871 during the Reconstruction Era to combat attacks on the suffrage rights of African Americans from state officials or violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan.[1] . . . .

The Enforcement Act of 1870 prohibited discrimination by state officials in voter registration on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It established penalties for interfering with a person's right to vote and gave federal courts the power to enforce the act. The act also authorized the President to employ the use of the army to uphold the act and the use of federal marshals to bring charges against offenders for election fraud, the bribery or intimidation of voters, and conspiracies to prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional rights.



I AGREE WITH SENATOR SCOTT, HERE. I DON’T SEE TRUMP EVER MAKING A SINCERE APOLOGY, THOUGH, OR BETTER, TAKING ACTION TO REMOVE HIS HIGHLY “CONSERVATIVE” PEOPLE OUT OF CRUCIAL GOVERNMENT POSITIONS AND REPLACE THEM WITH THOSE WHO ARE AT THE VERY LEAST MODERATES. I THINK IT WILL END PAINFULLY, VERY LIKELY IN AN IMPEACHMENT. I JUST HOPE IT HAPPENS SOON ENOUGH TO PROTECT THE COUNTRY. DO LISTEN TO SENATOR SCOTT’S ANSWERS ON FACE THE NATION.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-tim-scott-questions-trumps-ability-to-lead-if-moral-authority-remains-compromised/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS August 20, 2017, 12:35 PM
Sen. Tim Scott questions Trump's ability to lead if "moral authority remains compromised"

Republican Senator Tim Scott is calling into question President Trump's ability to lead the country following his divisive comments on violence that erupted at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend, saying his moral authority has been "compromised."

"As we look to the future, it's going to be very difficult for this president to lead if, in fact, that moral authority remains compromised," Scott said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"His comments on Tuesday that erased his positive comments on Monday started to compromise that moral authority that we need the president to have for this nation to be the beacon of light to all mankind," he added.

Transcript: Sen. Tim Scott on "Face the Nation"
In Mr. Trump's first remarks after the clashes on Saturday, he condemned hatred and bigotry on "many sides." This was later revised after outcry over not explicitly calling out white supremacists. He called racism "evil" at a White House press conference on Monday. Then Mr. Trump, for a third time, addressed the weekend violence, placing blame Tuesday on "many sides."

When asked what the president should have said instead of his remarks, in which he said some "very fine people" were among those participating in the white supremacist rally, Scott said "it's not what the president says next. It's what he does."

The South Carolina Republican suggested that Mr. Trump should instead sit down with those who have "endured the pain" of racism and bigotry in the United States.

timscott.jpg
Sen. Tim Scott on "Face the Nation." CBS NEWS

"This would be an opportunity for him to become better educated and acquainted with the living history of so many folks, from John Lewis to my mother and so many others who have gone through a very painful part of the history of this country, so that when he acts, when he responds, and when he speaks, he's not reading the words that are so positive that he's breathing the very air that brings him to a different conclusion, a conclusion that comes from the wells of his heart," Scott said.

Scott added, "If the president wants to have a better understanding and appreciation for what he should do next, he needs to hear something from folks who have gone through this painful history."

"Without that personal connection to the painful past, it will be hard for him to regain that moral authority, from my perspective," he said.

Scott called the rise of counter-protests in the U.S. a powerful moment for America, saying "these are good times for those who believe that darkness must be put out and light must shine even brighter."

And Scott had a message to his own party: "We all must reject hatred, racism, and bigotry, and do it in such a clear and unambiguous way that there leaves no doubt, period."

"The Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan," he said. "We believe that all men and women are created in the image of God."

"We believe that we were all equally created," he said. "So the fact of the matter is that we should assume, by default, that we reject the support of those who do not support the theory, the notion, the fact that all men are created equally. So that, to me, seems like the starting point and should not be a leap."



THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING NEWS ARTICLE, AND THOUGHT PROVOKING. IT’S ABOUT THE INTERNET EXACTING A JUSTICE OF ITS’ OWN. IT IS A SAD STORY FOR SEVERAL REASONS; FOR ONE THING, WHAT THE VICTIMS OF THE PUBLIC SHAMING DID TO PROVOKE THE ATTACKS WERE INDEED WRONG. THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK KILLING A WILD ANIMAL THAT HASN’T EVEN EATEN A FARMER’S CROPS OR THREATENED A VILLAGE, AND SMILINGLY POSING FOR A PHOTO BESIDE IT IS OKAY; THE FACT THAT JAMES DAMORE THOUGHT HIS POSTING OF A DIATRIBE ON HOW WOMEN DON’T BELONG IN TECHNICAL JOBS WAS SOMETHING THAT NEEDED TO BE SAID, MERELY SHOWS HIS SMALL-MINDED CONCEIT; THAT ADAM SMITH THOUGHT HE WAS DOING A GOOD THING BY VERBALLY AND EMOTIONALLY ASSAULTING A POOR YOUNG FAST FOOD WORKER OVER HER COMPANY’S POLICIES, TAPING IT, AND PUTTING IT ON THE NET FOR ALL TO SEE, IS ONE OF THE WORST OF THESE. THOSE THINGS ARE WRONG.

THAT’S LIKE THE SOCIAL FAD OF SOME TWENTY YEARS AGO OF LAUGHING AT PEOPLE WHO SAY “HAVE A NICE DAY,” INSTEAD OF SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE POLISHED. “THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU WILL COME BACK AGAIN,” WOULD PERHAPS BE BETTER; BUT WE AREN’T SO ELEVATED IN THIS COUNTRY AS WE OFTEN THINK, ANY OF US. AND BESIDES, THIS IS A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY. A PERSON WHO EXPRESSES GENUINE GOOD WILL SHOULD NOT BE SHAMED OR EMBARRASSED ABOUT THE WAY HE OR SHE SAYS IT. BEING TREATED RUDELY TIME AND AGAIN IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES BLACK PEOPLE HATE WHITES. “HAVE A NICE DAY, IS A LOT BETTER THAN “GET OUT OF HERE, WHITEY,” OR “MOVE ON. YOU’RE HOLDING UP THE LINE.”

EVEN SO, PEOPLE NEED TO BECOME AWARE OF THE KIND OF THOUGHTLESSNESS AND INJURY INVOLVED IN ESSENTIALLY INCITING A MOB ATTACK ON SOMEONE OVER THEIR, SOMETIMES CRASS, ONLINE BEHAVIOR. EVEN THOUGH IT ISN’T PHYSICAL ASSAULT IN THESE CASES, IT IS THE PROVERBIAL SNOWBALL ROLLING DOWN A HILL OF FRESH SNOW. IT CAN BECOME PHYSICAL IN A FEW SECONDS TIME.

ALSO, PHYSICAL THREATS HAVE BECOME A PART OF SUCH SITUATIONS. BESIDES, IN ONE CASE HERE, ENRAGED NET SURFERS ACTUALLY FOUND OUT WHAT THE OFFENDER DID, AND PUBLISHED THEIR TARGET’S HOME ADDRESS. IN ANOTHER INSTANCE, A MAN’S VERY YOUNG CHILDREN’S SCHOOL ADDRESS WAS REVEALED, AND FECES WERE MAILED TO HIS HOUSE. HOW LOW CAN WE GO? I REALLY DON’T WANT TO FIND OUT.

EXCEPT FOR THE ONE CASE OF TRUE MISTAKEN IDENTITY -- THE COLLEGE PROFESSOR BELIEVED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE WHITE SUPREMACY MARCH -- I THOUGHT ALL OF THE OTHER INDIVIDUALS WERE PRETTY MUCH TO BLAME FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, BUT THE EXTENT OF THE REACTION AGAINST THEM WAS DEEPLY WRONG AS WELL, AND SOMETIMES CRUEL. THE FRUSTRATING ANONYMITY OF THE INTERNET, AND THE APPEARANCE IN OUR MIDST OF A DANGEROUS NUMBER OF DECIDEDLY FASCIST PEOPLE WHO (AND, SADLY, NOT BY COINCIDENCE) ARE FOLLOWERS OF DONALD TRUMP, HAS BROUGHT OUT A RAGE AND CONSIDERABLE FEAR IN OTHERWISE LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE. THAT’S WHY THE NEW GROUP “ANTIFA” HAS COME INTO BEING. THEY’RE A REACTION TO ASSAULT.

INTERNET VIOLENCE WILL NOT BE THE ONLY VIOLENCE, I’M SURE. THE SOONER CONGRESS ACTS TO FORBID HATE SPEECH AND VIOLENCE AS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE ON ITS’ OWN -- EACH AND EVERY TIME IT OCCURS, AND YES, EVEN BY BLACKS AGAINST WHITES -- WE WILL HAVE TO LIVE THROUGH THIS AS IT REAPPEARS TIME AFTER TIME. EVEN THOUGH THE CASES OF POLICE OFFICERS BEATING OR SHOOTING BLACK PEOPLE FOR “FAILING TO OBEY AN ORDER” ARE EVIL; SO IS THE BLACK MAN WHO STOOD ON A ROOFTOP IN DALLAS NOT MANY MONTHS AGO, AND SHOT 5 OFFICERS IN TEXAS, “LIKE FISH IN A BARREL” FOR DOING NOTHING WHATSOEVER. THE ONLY GOOD NEWS THAT I SEE, IS THAT CONGRESS IS ALREADY BEGINNING TO SPEAK OF NEW LAWS; AND I KNOW JUST BY THE LESSON OF HISTORY THAT A CONFLAGRATION, ONCE IT CONSUMES ITS’ FUEL, WILL DIE DOWN TO ASHES. IT’S JUST THAT IT CAN BURN DOWN MANY HOMES BEFORE THAT HAPPENS.

IN GERMANY IT WASN’T HOMES, BUT PEOPLE WHO DIED IN HORRIBLY CRUEL WAYS DUE TO MINDLESS SOCIAL REACTIONS. WE SIMPLY MUST NAME THE HATE AND DANGEROUS LACK OF INTEREST THAT IS INFLAMING SO MANY OF US NOWADAYS, AS A SIN RATHER THAN A CIVIL RIGHT, AND WORK TO REPLACE IT WITH TOLERANCE, EMPATHY, INTROSPECTIVE THOUGHT AND FAIRNESS. I THINK PERHAPS AFTER CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY, OR SYNAGOGUE ON SATURDAY, WE SHOULD HAVE A SELF-LED GROUP THERAPY AS WELL.

WE NEED AS INDIVIDUALS TO INCLUDE EVERYONE IN THE HUMAN RACE, AS HAVING RIGHTS AND FEELINGS. WE HUMANS, UNTIL THE DAY WE DIE, MUST CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR OWN VIEWPOINTS, EMOTIONS, AND THAT DEADLY DISINTEREST OR OBJECTIFICATION OF OTHERS, THAT IS BEHIND THE “BYSTANDER EFFECT” AND THE LACK OF CONSCIENCE OF SERIAL KILLERS. THE REASON BULLIES DOMINATE IS BECAUSE THE AVERAGE JOE ON THE STREET JUST DOESN’T CARE ENOUGH TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. HE MAY EVEN ENJOY THE SPECTACLE BECAUSE HE DOESN’T LIKE THAT PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUP, EITHER. THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS TACIT APPROVAL, THE FUEL OF THE RACIAL DIVIDE. BY THAT, I MEAN THAT IT GOES BEYOND INDIVIDUAL CASES INTO GROUP FRICTION AND HATRED. CAN’T WE SOMEHOW GET PAST THE FACT THAT BLACK PEOPLE HAVE FULLER LIPS THAN WHITES?

THESE INTERNET ASSAULTS ARE THE RESULT OF THE FACT THAT MANY OF US DO CARE, WHICH IS GOOD, BUT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE, WE MAY BE HEARTLESS IN THE WAY WE “PUNISH” THE BAD DUDES, WHICH IS THE MAIN POINT IN THIS NEWS ARTICLE. THE INTERNET IS BECOMING A WAR ZONE. AS FOR THOSE TORCHLIGHT MARCHES THAT THE KKK, ETC. LIKE TO USE TO STIR UP FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF THE INNOCENT OR SUPERSTITIOUS, I THINK THE TIME HAS COME WHEN IT ISN’T GOING TO WORK ANYMORE. THE TIDE IS TURNING. PEOPLE ARE CALLING TRUMP AND HIS PEOPLE OUT.

ANTIFA IS A GROUP WHO HAVE EMERGED TO PROTECT US FROM THE NEO-NAZIS, ALT-RIGHT, ETC., BECAUSE THEY DO CARE. STILL, WHAT I WANT TO SEE IS LAWS WITH TEETH IN THEM TO STOP THE FASCISTS IN THEIR TRACKS AND, I THINK, A FIVE YEAR PRISON TERM AT LEAST WITH A MANDATED COURSE OF PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT WOULD BE GOOD; BUT WHICH WILL ALSO PUNISH OTHER VIOLENT GROUPS, EVEN IF I MAY LIKE THEIR PURPOSE. WAR ALWAYS HAS TWO SIDES. ANARCHY OF ANY KIND IS PROFOUNDLY DANGEROUS.

I WANT TO SEE THE TWO MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES ADDRESS RACISM AND OTHER GROUP-BASED UNFAIRNESS AND VIOLENCE, IN ALL FORMS, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS LEADERS. THEY NEED TO TALK TO THEIR CONSTITUENCIES ABOUT REMAINING WITHIN THE RULE OF LAW AND THE SPIRIT OF FAIRNESS, TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS. BERNIE SANDERS TOLD US TO REMAIN NON-VIOLENT AND EVEN TO VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON IN ORDER TO PREVENT TRUMP’S WINNING THE ELECTION. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WERE SOME OF US WHO DIDN’T DO THAT; AND THERE IS SUSPICION, ALSO, THAT TRUMP BY NEFARIOUS MEANS SUCH AS AN ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA TO HACK HILLARY’S EMAILS AND PUBLISH THEM, HELPED CAUSE HER LOSS IN 2016. COMEY’S HANDS AREN’T CLEAN ON THE MATTER EITHER, IN MY OPINION. THE TIMING OF HIS LETTER TO CONGRESS WAS VERY SUSPICIOUS.

TRUMP’S DEFENDERS HAVE LOUDLY PROTESTED THAT IDEA, BUT HE HIMSELF HAS MADE A NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS TO DERAIL THE FBI AND MUELLER’S INVESTIGATIONS OF THE RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT. THERE’S SOMETHING, PROBABLY MANY THINGS, THAT HE DOESN’T WANT TO BE BROUGHT OUT INTO THE LIGHT. THE FACT THAT SOME DOZEN OR MORE OF TRUMP’S APPOINTEES HAVE HAD TIES WITH RUSSIA DOESN’T HELP HIM, EITHER, AND THAT REALLY ISN’T COMMONPLACE IN OUR ELECTIONS.

I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO BLAMES DONALD TRUMP FOR MOST OF THIS VERY HEATED UPRISING OF FASCISM, AND WHAT I CAN’T HELP CALLING EVIL. THE “BULLY PULPIT” IS NOT TO BE USED TO FOSTER SUCH THINGS; NOR TO GAIN A POSITION AS A DICTATORIAL “PRESIDENT,” WHOM NOBODY WILL DARE TO “CONTRADICT” OR QUESTION IN ANY WAY. NEWS REPORTS YESTERDAY SAID THAT BANNON, FOR WHOM I HAVE VERY LITTLE LOVE, WAS OUSTED BECAUSE HE MADE A PUBLIC SPEECH CRITICIZING TRUMP’S NORTH KOREAN STANCE. THAT’S WHAT WE DON’T NEED. I HAVE TO STAND UP FOR BANNON ON THAT ISSUE. HE WAS, AFTER ALL, ONE OF TRUMP’S PRIMARY ADVISERS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/internet-shaming-when-mob-justice-goes-virtual/
CBS NEWS August 20, 2017, 9:39 AM
Internet shaming: When mob justice goes virtual

Video -- Adam Smith confronted an employee of Chick fil-A, in a video he then posted online. Online bit back. YOUTUBE

The words FOR SHAME have long been spoken to people accused of offensive behavior. Now, thanks to the Internet, those words (and worse) can be sent, sometimes unjustifiably, to millions around the world. Our Cover Story is reported by David Pogue of Yahoo Finance:

Last Friday night, Kyle Quinn, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, was enjoying a pleasant night out with his wife at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Ark. "I saw some nice art exhibits with my wife, and we went to dinner up there and just had a lovely evening," he told Pogue.

Suddenly, there was an inkling that something was amiss. "A lot of frantic emails from the university, trying to reach me. And I thought that my weekend was about to be ruined."

kyle-quinn-misidentified-on-instagram-244.jpg
A white nationalist marching in Charlottesville was misidentified on social media as University of Arkansas professor Kyle Quinn. The hate mail started pouring in. INSTAGRAM

While Quinn was at that museum in Arkansas, white supremacists were gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia -- and on the Internet, outraged onlookers misidentified Quinn as one of the participants.

Did he think there was a resemblance? "Not really. I understand, I've got a beard!" he laughed. "I understand that some people could see a resemblance there. But anyone that knows me knew right away that that's not me."

But people who didn't know Quinn decided that he had to be punished. He began receiving "really vulgar messages that you could never air. There were messages coming to my email, messages on my work phone. Things on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook as well." The messages implied that he was a racist.

That was Kyle Quinn's introduction to a modern form of public humiliation known as Internet shaming, where online mobs descend upon one person in a wildly out-of-proportion attack.

Quinn felt his personal safety was threatened. "The most troubling thing to me and my wife, really, was, someone identified where we live, our home address. Any time you have an angry mob and someone says, 'Hey, this is where the guy lives,' that's a threat in my book. So we decided to head over to a friend's house for the evening."

The Internet mob was so aggressive that the real man in the photo -- Andrew Dodson -- came forward, expressing guilt that attacks were directed at Kyle Quinn.

"I'm certainly an example that mistakes can be made," Quinn said.

Michigan man in fear for life after mistakenly identified as deadly driver from white nationalist rally in Virginia (CBS Detroit, 08/14/17)
Teen stunned at portrayal as Boston bombing suspect (CBS News, 04/18/13)
Spike Lee retweets incorrect address of George Zimmerman (CBS News, 12/13/12)
The brutal reality of online hate (CNET, 07/06/17)

Internet shamings have become sadly routine. Even President Trump joins in.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Crazy Joe Scarborough and dumb as a rock Mika are not bad people, but their low rated show is dominated by their NBC bosses. Too bad!
9:20 AM - Jul 1, 2017
62,309 62,309 Replies 24,147 24,147 Retweets 101,147 101,147 likes

Sometimes, the public piles onto someone famous, like comedian Kathy Griffin who posted a gruesome anti-Trump photo. One critic tweeted, "It's cute how #kathygriffin is dipping her toe back into the Insult Trump pond. I hope she gets her leg bitten off. Or her head. Whatever."

But other times, it's a non-celebrity, like Walter Palmer, a dentist who shot Cecil the lion in 2015. [One Twitter user tweeted, "Dear #WalterPalmer ... Haven't you died a slow, gut-sickening death yet?"]

Or James Damore, the Google employee who was fired after writing that men are more biologically-suited to technical jobs than women.

Follow
Amy Siskind ✔ @Amy_Siskind
James Damore is every white male Trump voter feeling threatened that women and PoC, if given an equal chance, will reveal his mediocrity.
9:16 AM - Aug 8, 2017
274 274 Replies 668 668 Retweets 2,066 2,066 likes

"It's profoundly traumatizing," said author Jon Ronson. "And people kill themselves. I know of four suicides in the last couple of months."

so-youve-been-publicly-shamed-cover-riverhead-244.jpg
RIVERHEAD

Ronson's book about Internet shaming, "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" (Riverhead Books), tells the stories of regular people who become the target of intense Internet harassment.

It all begins when something you post intended only for your circle of friends makes its way to the wider online public.

"It can just go around the world," he said. "Millions of people will know about this human being that nobody had heard of an hour earlier."

The phenomenon of Internet shaming ("CBS This Morning," 03/26/16)
Peering into the psychology of online trolls (CBS News, 07/05/17)
Cybertrolls increasingly target women ("CBS This Morning," 03/20/15)

Cyberbullying pushed Texas teen to commit suicide, family says (CBS News, 12/02/16)

Which brings us to Adam Smith. He became a target in 2012 after he recorded a tense exchange with a cashier at a Tucson Chick fil-A on his phone. The plan had been to be part of a protest against the company.

Smith: "Chick-Fil-A is a hateful corporation. This is a horrible corporation with horrible values."

Clerk: "I hope you have a really nice day."

Smith: "I will. I just did something really good. I feel purposeful."

adam-smith-confronts-chick-fil-a-employee-youtube-620.jpg
Adam Smith confronted an employee of Chick fil-A, in a video he then posted online. Online bit back. YOUTUBE

"I never yelled or called her names or anything, but it got a little heated, a little bit," Smith told Pogue. "And I thought, I'll just upload it."

The mob soon descended. "We received letters that had pictures of people having sex, and hate, and swastikas, and someone mailed feces through the mail," he said.

And then it got really bad.

"They put my kids' elementary school address online," Smith said. "And they were kindergarteners and first graders. So that's when we moved out of the house."

Adam lost his job as a CFO. He wound up on food stamps, and then separated from his wife. "I started questioning things that I never had questioned in my life," he said. "Whether or not I should even be alive."

If you're a woman, though, the abuse can go to a whole new level of viciousness.

Kendall Jones was a Texas cheerleader who enjoyed big-game hunting with her father. Her hunts were licensed and legal, and big game hunters routinely take trophy pictures. But Jones' photos went viral.

And the messages poured in: " 'Hi. I am going to find you, and I'm going to rape you, and torture you, and rip each of your limbs off one by one until you have the most painful death.' 'You're disgusting.' 'You're ugly.' 'You're fat.' 'Your hair is ugly.' 'Your eyes are too far apart.' 'You look like a horse.'

"Can you say that to someone? Much less say it to their face?" she laughed.

psychology-of-the-digital-age-cover-cambridge-up-244.jpg
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

The goal of Internet shamers is to destroy the person, says John Suler, a clinical psychologist at Rider University in New Jersey, and the author of "Psychology of the Digital Age" (Cambridge University Press).

Pogue asked him how people can treat strangers this way. "A lot of this boils down to a lack of empathy for someone online," Suler replied. "There's a tendency to see that person not as a real individual, but as an object, as a target."

Internet shamings follow patterns. The victim's post or tweet is taken out of context. That was true for Kendall Jones ("Someone said I shot a tiger. They don't even have tigers in South Africa") and for Adam Smith ("Lot of people didn't know that it was an organized protest").

Or, people are mis-identified, like Kyle Quinn, who wasn't anywhere near Charlottesville.

The shaming usually dies down after a week or so. But according to Ronson, for the victim, it's not over quite so soon. "A year-and-a-half is when they get a new job, and they're not thinking about it every morning, and they're not waking up in the middle of the night," he said.

But even then, a shaming is tied to the victim forever, with their Google search results always listing this transgression at the top.

Pogue asked Smith what advice he would give to a shamee. "I know what it's like to be you," he sighed. "And I'm sorry."

"Can you say it does get better?"

"It can get better, if you face what has happened, and you really come to terms with what happened," he said. "You really did get ostracized and publicly humiliated. And it probably wasn't fair."

Smith added: "I would tell them that they are deeper than the comments. That they are loved. That they don't need to question their worthiness."

So, is there any hope that the Internet might become a kinder place? "I wish that I could say that Twitter will be a haven where nothing abusive will ever happen. But we're not always going to get it right," said Del Harvey, the vice president of Trust and Safety at Twitter. In the last few years, she's overseen a range of improvements designed to rein in Internet shamings.

"We now allow you to report multiple tweets at a time," Harvey said. "So if you are being actually abused, then it's not sort of this one, by one, by one, by one …"

Twitter has also tried to make life more difficult for the attackers. "The vast majority of the worst of the worst content, it's not a hundred people; it's one person who created a hundred accounts," she said.

Twitter's algorithms shut some of these people down. And the progress isn't just taking place at Twitter, whose staff communicates with counterparts at other social media companies like Facebook and Reddit.

"It's a long road to go, and there are still a lot of things that we already know that we want to work on," Harvey said.

Twitter takes new steps to curb abuse, hate speech (CBS News, 02/07/17)
Neo-Nazis tag (((Jews))) on Twitter as hate speech, politics collide (CBS News, 06/10/16)
Twitter makes it easier to report harassment (CBS News, 12/03/14)

Kyle Quinn was lucky that his shaming ended quickly. "Clearly I think, this is a demonstration that an online mob that forms is probably not the best way to carry out justice," he said.

As for Adam Smith, he is happily employed and still married. But even five years later, his Internet shaming still haunts him.

"Emotionally, I'm a very different person today than I was before the protest and before the shaming," he said. "I know what it's like to get hurt. And I don't want that to happen to anybody else anymore. Like, we need to stop it. Like, we gotta stop it."

For more info:

"So You've Been Publicly Shamed" by Jon Ronson (Riverhead Books); Also available in Trade Paperback and eBook formats
jonronson.com
"Psychology of the Digital Age: Humans Become Electric" by John R. Suler (Cambridge University Press); Also available in Trade Paperback and eBook formats
John Suler, Rider University
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THE POLICE CLEARLY DID A BETTER JOB OF SEPARATING THE GROUPS -- AND NOT SHOWING FAVORITISM TO ANYONE -- IN BOSTON THAN IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, THOUGH I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THE CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS OR TRAINING AS A LARGE CITY LIKE BOSTON. THIS ARTICLE, ALSO, DIDN’T MENTION ANTIFA OR OTHER LEFT-LEANING VIOLENT PROTESTORS. THAT IS A RELIEF TO ME, THOUGH THERE ARE TIMES WHEN A GROUP WHO ARE READY AND WILLING TO FIGHT WILL BE NEEDED.

IT INTERESTED ME THAT ONLY 50 SOME PROTESTORS FROM THE FAR RIGHT SHOWED UP AT THIS EVENT. I SUSPECT THAT THEY HAD A GREATER RESPECT FOR THE ANTIFASCISM GROUP AFTER CHARLOTTESVILLE. SEEING THAT GAVE ME A GOOD AND MORE HOPEFUL FEELING. A PEACEFUL PROTEST IS REALLY MORE EFFECTIVE, ANYWAY. I AM GLAD AND RELIEVED THAT ANTI-SUPREMACIST PROTESTORS ARE MOBILIZED, BECAUSE I WOULD BE WILLING TO GO OUT MYSELF TO PREVENT OUR COUNTRY FROM SIMPLY GIVING IN TO THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT WE ARE SEEING NOW.

I AM ALSO DELIGHTED THAT THERE IS TALK IN CONGRESS ABOUT MAKING MORE APPROPRIATE LAWS, IF NECESSARY. WHAT I DON’T GET IS WHY “HATE SPEECH” IS NOT BEING PROSECUTED AS A CRIME RATHER THAN GROUNDS FOR A PERSONAL LAWSUIT. IT IS, I THOUGHT, SPECIFICALLY NOT COVERED UNDER THE FREE SPEECH AMENDMENT. SURELY HATE SPEECH IS “FIGHTING WORDS?”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-boston-march-20170819-story.html
'Thank God nobody got hurt': Boston protesters gather peacefully a week after Charlottesville violence
Kurtis Lee and Vera Haller
August 19, 2017

They arrived by trains, buses and cars, carrying signs and wearing T-shirts in defiance of bigotry and hate.

“I'm Jewish and have never confronted this kind of hate,” Sarah Lutz, 29, of Quincy, Mass., said as she marched in downtown Boston on Saturday. “And then to come here and see all these people supporting each other was overwhelming in the most positive kind of way.”

Lutz joined tens of thousands of counter-protesters who peacefully descended on Boston Common, the nation’s oldest city park, on Saturday as far-right speakers held a so-called free speech rally claiming their 1st Amendment rights to assemble and express their views.

The rallies came a week after violent clashes in Charlottesville, Va., between far-right activists — including white supremacists and neo-Nazis — and counter-protesters. One woman was killed and several injured when a white nationalist rammed his car Aug. 12 into a crowd of counter-protesters.

With the Charlottesville violence still fresh, Boston police said they took extra precautions, implementing a tight security plan to stave off any bloody battles. The plan was largely successful and there were no major incidents.

Officials deployed 500 police officers, extra security cameras and barriers to separate the opposing rallies. The city also banned participants from carrying sticks or flagpoles — which were used in the Virginia violence.

Trump tweets about 'anti-police agitators' as counter-protesters confront far-right rally in Boston

William B. Evans, Boston’s police commissioner, said 27 arrests — mostly for disorderly conduct — were made on Saturday.

“Thank God nobody got hurt,” Evans said during an afternoon news conference. “We didn’t want what happened in Virginia here. … We didn’t want that.”

Earlier in the day, even as the protests were largely peaceful, tensions were running high.

Scenes from the ‘free speech’ rally in Boston
President Trump assailed the counter-protesters of the free speech rally. (Aug. 19, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

Police helicopters circled overhead as officers kept the groups separated. The free speech group — about 50 in total — were dwarfed by counter-protesters associated with a “Fight White Supremacy” rally in which participants marched from Roxbury, a historically black neighborhood in Boston, to the Common. A little before 1 p.m., the free speech demonstrators were escorted from the Common by police in the opposite direction from the huge crowd of counter-protesters.

“Go home, losers,” chanted the counter-protesters, many of whom carried signs with anti-racism slogans. “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,” read one. Another protester carried a sign with a photo of Heather Heyer, the woman killed at the Charlottesville protest. It read, “American hero.”

As a group of police officers escorted what appeared to be a member of the free speech group from the park, several counter-protesters swarmed around yelling “Nazi scum” and “go home.” Officers placed the man in the back of a police van and drove off to applause from the crowd.

Some of the counter-protesters claimed their message had attracted more support than the one heard at the free speech rally.

Myiesha Wilson, 28, of Boston, said she came out to show her sons, ages 5 and 8, that opponents of racism were speaking out.

“It’s about Black Lives Matter. It’s about everyone out here coming together, taking a stand for peace in a nonviolent way,” Wilson said. Noting the thousands of counter-protesters, she added, “It’s great. It’s making me a little emotional.”

Pat Scalon, 70, of Andover, Mass., had attended the counter-protest with about 30 members of the Massachusetts chapter of Veterans for Peace.

Scalon, a Vietnam vet, said that the group included veterans from Iraq and one man who fought in World War II. Referring to the far-right activists, he said: “These people are not going to come back because we lost too much blood over the centuries to make this country.”

Organizers of the free speech rally said they don’t condone racism, and some far-right speakers who attended last week’s rally in Charlottesville were uninvited from the Boston event.

On Saturday afternoon, President Trump seemed to assail the counter-protesters of the free speech rally.

“Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you,” Trump said on Twitter.

Trump has faced strong pushback from Democrats, Republicans and the business community for blaming both sides for the violence in Charlottesville. (Later Saturday afternoon, Trump sent a follow-up tweet to “applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!”)

Demonstrations to show solidarity with the city of Charlottesville and to push back against racism were planned for Saturday in cities across the country, including New Orleans and Dallas. Authorities in both cities said they planned to deploy extra officers to maintain order.

But Boston was by far ground zero for protests on Saturday.

Far-right activist Kyle Chapman, a Bay Area resident who has developed an online following using the moniker “Based Stickman,” was among those who spoke at the free speech rally. He’s the founder of the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, a fringe right wing group that has shown up to rallies prepared to fight. Chapman, who sometimes carries a stick and shield during protests and wears a motorcycle helmet, was arrested after he clashed with protesters in Berkeley earlier this year.

“I will not stand down,” said Chapman, whose speech was streamed on his Periscope account. “As long as I’m free, I will continue to show up at these rallies, and I will continue to support my right-wing brothers and sisters.”

Evans, who has been police commissioner since 2014, said “99.9% of the people here were here for the right reason.”

“And that’s to fight bigotry and hate,” he said.



“AHEAD OF THE SCHEDULED RALLY GIANT CROWDS OF COUNTERPROTESTERS GATHERED IN THE CITY, HOLDING SIGNS LIKE, "HATE SPEECH IS NOT FREE SPEECH" AND "WHITE SILENCE IS VIOLENCE." AN ESTIMATED 15,000 COUNTERPROTESTERS MARCHED THROUGH THE CITY ....”

“WHITE SILENCE IS VIOLENCE” HAS A GREAT RING TO IT, AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. WE NEED TO STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT, OR IF WE CAN, MARCH IN PROTESTS. FAILING TO PUT UP A FIGHT MAY BE AN HONORED TRADITION IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, BUT AS A PRACTICAL MATTER IN A REAL FIGHT, IT’S SUICIDAL.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/thousands-expected-boston-free-speech-demonstrators-counter-protesters/story?id=49303084&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_hero_headlines_bsq_hed
Counterprotesters swarm Boston after police deem free speech rally over
By JULIA JACOBO EMILY SHAPIRO BLAIR SHIFF Aug 19, 2017, 2:14 PM ET

VIDEO -- Thousands march through Boston week after Virginia bloodshed

One week after violent protests rattled Charlottesville, Virginia, a scheduled free speech rally in Boston this afternoon was deemed "officially over" by police ahead of its official end time, but thousands of counterprotesters are continuing to descend on the city.

In a tweet from Boston police at 1:30 p.m ET, the rally set to take place from noon to 2 p.m. at the Boston Common was deemed "officially over."

"Demonstrators have left the Common," Boston police added.

Libertarian congressional candidate Samson Racioppi, who was set to speak at the free speech event today, told ABC affiliate WCVB, "I really think it was supposed to be a good event by the organizers, but it kind of fell apart."

PHOTO: Organizers depart a Free Speech rally staged by conservative activists on Boston Common, Aug. 19, 2017, in Boston. Michael Dwyer/AP

An organizer of the event said the group has no affiliation with the white supremacists involved in the violence in Charlottesville, but a small number of Ku Klux Klan members were expected to attend, ABC affiliate WCVB in Boston reported.

While the free speech event has concluded, counterprotesters are still swarming Boston this afternoon.

PHOTO: Counterprotesters hold signs and chant at the Statehouse before a planned Free Speech rally by conservative organizers begin on the adjacent Boston Common, Aug. 19, 2017, in Boston. Michael Dwyer/AP

Ahead of the scheduled rally giant crowds of counterprotesters gathered in the city, holding signs like, "hate speech is not free speech" and "white silence is violence." An estimated 15,000 counterprotesters marched through the city, The Associated Press reports.

PHOTO: A large crowd of people gather ahead of the Boston Free Speech Rally in Boston, Aug. 19, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters

PHOTO: A large crowd of people march towards the Boston Commons to protest the Free Speech Rally in Boston, Aug. 19, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters

A large crowd of people march towards the Boston Commons to protest the "Free Speech Rally" in Boston, Aug. 19, 2017. more +

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Sangita Chandra @sangichandra
Counter protesters with #FightSupremacy groups gather on MLK Blvd in #Roxbury before heading to the #BostonCommon. #counterprotest #WCVB
11:12 AM - Aug 19, 2017
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Near the entrance to the free speech rally, counterprotesters this morning chanted "no fascists, no KKK, no racist USA."

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David Bienick @BienickWCVB
"No fascists" chants near entrance to #freespeechrally entrance. #Boston #wcvb
10:52 AM - Aug 19, 2017
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While many counterprotesters marched peacefully, some angry counterprotesters scuffled with armed officers.

PHOTO: Protesters face off with riot police escorting conservative activists following a march in Boston against a planned Free Speech Rally, Aug. 19, 2017 in Boston.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

And in one tense scene between a man and a counterprotester at the Common, the counterprotester followed the man, saying, "We only hate hate." The man shouted, "Get away from me. Stay right there! You're not even a me [sic], you're not even a woman, you're an it!" As the man walked away, he kicked and punched into the air, leading one counterprotester to yell "Get your bigotry out of here, a------." The man shoved another counterprotester, which caused more people to step in to make sure the situation didn't escalate.

Boston city officials said they planned to deploy about 500 police officers today to prevent violence similar to what took place in Charlottesville last weekend, where a rally by white nationalists, including neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members demonstrating over plans to remove a Robert E. Lee statue, ended in the death of a counterprotester after a car was rammed into a crowd that was marching through the streets.

PHOTO: A counterprotester holds a photo of Heather Heyer on Boston Common at a Free Speech rally organized by conservative activists, Aug. 19, 2017, in Boston. Michael Dwyer/AP

"We're going to respect their right to free speech,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday, but "they don't have the right to create unsafe conditions."

Walsh tweeted this morning, "I ask everyone to be peaceful today and respect our city. Love, not hate. We stand together against intolerance."

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Mayor Marty Walsh ✔ @marty_walsh
I ask everyone to be peaceful today and respect our City. Love, not hate. We stand together against intolerance.
11:17 AM - Aug 19, 2017 · Boston, MA
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Scheduled to speak at the free speech rally, which was organized by the Boston Free Speech Coalition, were Kyle Chapman, who caused controversy online after photos emerged of him hitting anti-Trump protesters, Joe Biggs, who previously worked at the website InfoWars, run by conservative radio host Alex Jones, Republican congressional candidate Shiva Ayyadurai and Racioppi.

Walsh said that some of those invited to speak "spew hate," The Associated Press reported.

Boston ready for 'free speech' rally but 'we don't want hate groups'
Recent flashpoints in the controversy over Confederate symbols
Confederate monuments taken down in Baltimore overnight
Charlottesville attack suspect denied bail

John Medlar, who said he is an organizer for Boston Free Speech, said the group has no affiliation with the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Boston.com reported.

"While we maintain that every individual is entitled to their freedom of speech, and defend that basic human right, we will not be offering our platform to racism or bigotry. We denounce the politics of supremacy and violence," the group wrote on its Facebook page.

The group is largely made up of students in their mid-teens to mid-20s, Medlar told Boston.com.

WCVB reported that the KKK’s national director, Thomas Robb, said as many as five KKK members from Springfield and possibly more from Boston were planning to attend today's rally.

“They might be holding signs about free speech, but they're not going to say anything about the KKK or anything," Robb said ahead of the rally, according to WCVB. "I mean, they might. I don't know. They didn't really say."

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said Friday that while he believes "a few troublemakers" will attend the rally, police will be "working the crowd real closely."

Anything that can be used as a weapon, including backpacks and sticks, have been banned from the rally, WCVB reported.

Demonstrators should even avoid using sticks to hold up their posters, Evans said.

PHOTO: Thousands of protesters prepare to march in Boston against a planned Free Speech Rally, Aug. 19, 2017, in Boston. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Several other rallies are planned across the U.S. today. Many are in response to the Charlottesville direct action last weekend, as well as the movement to remove Confederate statues across the country, and in reaction to President Donald Trump’s controversial press conference on Tuesday.

The "Rally Against White Supremacy" will take place in Austin, Texas, while the “Black Lives Matter Protests to remove Confederate statues” is set to take place in Houston, and the “United Against HATE: Demand Racist President Trump Resign” rally will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Events are also planned in cities including Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas.

ABC News' Meghan Keneally contributed to this report.


“THE SIGN ON THE FRONT OF THE WALKER SHE WAS USING READ, “DON’T LET THIS THING FOOL YOU. I WILL CHASE DOWN A NAZI IF I HAVE TO.”

http://kxan.com/2017/08/19/mayor-adler-to-speak-at-austin-rally-against-white-supremacy/
More than a thousand people gather at Austin’ ‘Rally Against White Supremacy’
By Rosemond Crown and Chris Davis
Published: August 19, 2017, 9:38 am Updated: August 19, 2017, 9:43 pm

AUSTIN, (KXAN)—Upwards of a thousand people gathered at a rally against white supremacy Saturday morning, organizers said, to hear activists and Mayor Steve Adler speak on the plaza at City Hall.

It comes a week after a woman was killed in Charlottesville, Va., while protesting a white supremacist rally there. Organizers put the gathering together in a matter of days in response.

They called the event “a thoughtful, peaceful rally to denounce the race-based hatred that happened last weekend in Charlottesville, Va., and the refusal of President Donald J. Trump to denounce the hate groups that sponsored the event.”

People started filling the plaza, hoisting signs and singing songs a little before 10 a.m. Oren Rosenthal, a local activist, brought with him a box of foam-board signs to sell to people. “It says, ‘Hate has no home,’ in Urdu, Arabic, Korean, Hebrew, and Spanish,” he explained.

“I came with 50, and I think this is it right here,” he went on, handing over the last one to a rally-goer.

Organizers estimated at least 1,200 people packed under the shade on the plaza to make their voices heard. “It’s just absolutely ridiculous that in this day and age we’re still having to fight for people to be respected as human beings,” Amy Williamson said.

“My daughter was like, ‘What is this rally about?'” Desiree Williams, from Bertram, said. “I was like, ‘It’s a rally of love.'”

Dixie Freedom Rally scheduled for Sept. 23

Williams and her partner, Verice Lewis, brought their two daughters, ages 6 and 16 months, to the rally. She saw it as a teaching opportunity. “You can love people,” she said. “You don’t have to judge people for what they look like, what they are.”

Leaders of the Austin chapter of Black Lives Matter, faith leaders and other activists spoke to the crowd for more than two hours and read off the names of people who have been victims of race-related violence. The woman killed in Charlottesville, Heather Heyer, was on that list.

“Where they seek division, we come together and we find unity,” Christina Tzintzun, a local activist, said.

“Fight hate with every inch you got,” Nichola Deahl, 68, said. She’s been staying with her daughter in Austin the last couple months while she recovers from a stroke she had last year. The sign on the front of the walker she was using read, “Don’t let this thing fool you. I will chase down a Nazi if I have to.”

East Austin activist Richard Franklin, president of the group Youth Unlimited, wants the group to fight elsewhere — in meetings and in local government.

“Say the words,” he told the crowd. “How does that undo racism? How does your budget undo racism? How does your policies, practices and procedures undo racism?”

The activists hope the rally is a sign of things to come. “And hopefully more people are opening up to understand everyone experiences life differently,” Lewis said.

The rally remained peaceful, and KXAN didn’t see any counter-protests materialize.



IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM, LIE ABOUT ‘EM!

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/photo-antifa-man-assaulting-officer-doctored-analysis-shows/
NATION
Photo of ‘Antifa’ man assaulting officer was doctored, analysis shows
BY JOSHUA BARAJAS August 16, 2017 at 7:15 PM EDT

snopes.com ✔ @snopes
VIDEO -- Fact Check: Antifa Member Photographed Beating Police Officer?

Full Report: http://www.snopes.com/antifa-member-photographed-beating-police-officer/?utm_source=twsnopesvideo …
8:48 PM - Aug 14, 2017
22 22 Replies 478 478 Retweets 439 439 likes

An image that appeared to capture a member of an anti-fascist group beating a U.S. police officer with a club during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, is fake.

RELATED LINKS
White nationalists see violent Charlottesville rally as successful turning point

How should U.S. address white supremacist extremism?
After Charlottesville rally, these U.S. cities say they’ll take down their Confederate statues

The doctored photograph, the Associated Press and Snopes.com found, turned out to be a Getty Image shot in 2009 during clashes between police officers and protesters in Athens, Greece. An “Antifa,” or “antifacist,” logo was digitally superimposed onto the jacket of a protester, who is seen attacking an officer with a blunt object.

The image was widely shared shortly after Saturday’s car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, which followed a rally organized by neo-Nazis and white nationalists to protest the relocation of a Confederate statute. Some users flagged the photo on Twitter.

The fake image circulated among social media accounts that opposed anti-fascist activists and was often used to support President Donald Trump’s statement that “both sides” were to blame for the Charlottesville violence.

READ MORE: How the term ‘alt-left’ came to be

Anti-fascists comprised a small portion of the counter-protesters who opposed the white nationalist rally over the weekend. NewsHour reporters in Charlottesville said they did not see a large Antifa presence in the crowd of counter-protesters, who were largely peaceful.

Charlottesville native Heather Heyer, 32, was killed in the car attack. Authorities charged suspect James Alex Fields Jr., 20, with second-degree murder in Heyer’s death.