Portland fears planned rightwing rally could be 'another Charlottesville'
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Fears of violent protest are rising ahead of this weekend’s rally in Portland, Oregon, by the conservative group Patriot Prayer.
Almost a year on from the death of the activist Heather Heyer, as she protested a gathering of white nationalists in Virginia, some groups are warning the protest on Saturday risks turning into “another Charlottesville”.
And as a Trump-era wave of rightwing street protest continues, it is not clear that American cities, or police forces, are willing or able to prevent the violence that accompanies them, some experts and activists say.
Patriot Prayer was founded by the rightwing Senate candidate Joey Gibson and its stated beliefs are not neo-Nazi or white supremacist. Like the Proud Boys group, with whom Patriot Prayer’s membership often overlaps, Gibson’s positions are best described as conservative Republican, or Trumpian.
But his critics say his events have attracted white supremacist elements and have frequently brought serious violence to the streets of Portland, and other cities in the region.
Related: Who are the Proud Boys, 'western chauvinists' involved in political violence?
The last Patriot Prayer rally, held on 30 June, was declared a riot by Portland police after counter-protesters and rally-goers exchanged missiles, officers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fired nonlethal rounds and the march through downtown Portland degenerated into ugly brawls.
Video from the event shows large groups of rightwing protesters kicking and punching lone, prone counter-protesters. One video, widely shared online by rightwingers, shows the Proud Boy Ethan Nordean flooring an anti-fascist assailant with a single punch.
As in previous rallies, Patriot Prayer claimed leftwing provocation.
In the weeks since that rally Gibson has promised that buses carrying attendees from Washington state to Portland for their “freedom march” will be manned with armed guards.
He has also warned that just as at previous Patriot Prayer rallies in the Pacific north-west, participants will be carrying firearms, saying “it’s not a big deal to have guns”, and “we’ve always had guns”.
A still from the Nordean video has been used by the Proud Boys on their official, verified Twitter account to encourage members to go to Saturday’s rally in Portland. The picture of Nordean flattening an anti-fascist is accompanied by the promise that the event has “more of everything you’re looking for”.
Violence, and the threat of violence, has long attended Gibson’s events, where clashes between anti-fascist and counter-protesters have been the norm.
A rally on 3 June also featured a series of running brawls. Rallies last June and August in the waterfront area – the planned venue this weekend – also led to an afternoon of punch-ups and mace attacks. A rally last September was followed by an alleged car attack on counter-protesters.
The violence has also moved beyond protests. On 8 June a Proud Boy closely associated with Gibson’s movement, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, allegedly attacked a stranger in broad daylight on a Portland shopping strip. The previous month he allegedly attacked a teenager outside a Vancouver mall.
Despite this history, the city of Portland has said that there is nothing it can do to prevent the rally going ahead.
A spokesperson for Portland’s mayor Ted Wheeler pointed out that while the mayor has previously criticized Patriot Prayer’s events, “federal law and first amendment protections have consistently found that a jurisdiction cannot deny permits, based on free speech, and a protest cannot be preemptively banned based on the occurrences at a prior protest”.
But experts suggest that local authorities can do more to moderate the behavior of armed protesters.
Mary McCord, a professor and senior litigator at Georgetown University’s Institute for Constitutional Protection and Advocacy, recently authored a report which shows how local authorities can proactively respond to potentially violent protest.
“There are provisions under Oregon’s law that would allow authorities to prohibit paramilitary conduct,” McCord said, pointing to a statute defining “unlawful paramilitary activity”.
The first amendment protects speech, MccCord said, but not “violence, threats of violence, and incitement to violence”.
The second amendment protects the bearing of arms, but “it does not protect the coordinated use of arms”.
“You can carry a firearm for personal defence,” McCord says. “But you can’t gather together in groups of two or more and use firearms together in furtherance of a civil disorder.”
She added that organized use of weapons across state lines may break not only Oregon’s anti-paramilitary laws, but related federal statutes.
Portland’s police bureau and the Oregon US attorney would not comment specifically on the Oregon paramilitary statutes, but earlier confirmed that carriers of an Oregon concealed handgun license would be able to go armed down to the waterfront.
Ted Wheeler’s office, the Portland city attorney, and the Oregon’s US attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
Groups organizing Saturday’s counterprotests to Gibson’s rally, meanwhile, have evoked Charlottesville, and Heyer, in their own statements about the rally.
In a statement, Rose City Antifa, who have consistently organised counter-protests against Gibson, said: “We will continue to stand by our policy of no-platforming to prevent fascist and white supremacist from organizing in our community.”
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An interesting read:
So this group is wanting and encouraging violence and you all jump on a group that wants to counter them. Typical.
Typical? you all?
Did not expect to read such sweeping generalizations from you..
Shall we discuss the suppression instead, the walking on others rights because 'you all' do not agree with them?
HA, sorry. I get tired of what seems to be just a constant back and forth. There seems to be a constant us against them attitude with a lot of people in today's world.
This group is known to bring violence. What it sounds like they are planning is basically bringing their own armed police force. IMO they are looking for trouble.
I do not see any suppression as they are allowed to hold their rally. I do not see a counter protest as suppression, I see it as just that, a counter.
I actually have no idea what this group is supposed to stand for or what cause they are trying to promote. Their cause seems to be just wanting things done their way and the trump way.
They intentionally set their rally's in predominately Liberal areas, likely looking to cause as much trouble as possible.
This is why I try to make the point that 'counter' protesters should turn their backs (it would accomplish far more than trying to shout them down) and let those that are said to be looking for trouble not find it... but that is not going to happen - because now Trump is President and supremacy is emboldened etc etc ….
I understand some of what is happening, but I do not understand why after decades of white nationalist rally's there has to be such a clash now...
True. It would be better to not give some the attention they crave. Which yes, both sides are guilty of.
I do think it would be better if some groups were just ignored. It would take some of the fire out of them.
Having said that, I can understand some not wanting what they deem divisive rhetoric in their own, so called, back yard.
Sort of a catch 22. Seem indifferent or complacent.
Good points..
Having lived with the Aryan Brotherhood in my backyard for years .. I dug deep into knowing who they were, and what made them tick. Intimidation was their goal, that way they were left alone in their compound.. yet they all knew their rights, and liked to make their presents know at the same time..
I guess I just fail to see why so much attention is being given them, supremacists have been obtaining permit to march for decades - I see the media coverage and the constant sky is falling thought process being expressed by so many as what is emboldening them .. white nationalist have always been out spoken .. the dislike of Trump created a narrative that gave supremacy a spotlight... in my opinion
The reluctance to reject white supremacists by Trump and the right wing conservatives is what gave white supremacy a spotlight. If Trump and Republicans had come out immediately and harshly condemned the white supremacists and those marching to preserve the confederate monuments chanting "Jews will not replace us!", then this would have disappeared. Instead they hemmed and hawed about it, said "Good people on both sides" and proclaimed the anti-fascists as the real threat instead of the actual Nazi's marching in the street waving swastikas. That is what gave the white supremacists not only a spotlight, but a ready defense making the Republican party a comfortable place for white supremacists to join and feel welcomed.
As far as trump and others, I just keep seeing the adage, any coverage (good or bad) is good coverage, as long as they are getting it.
I blame a lot of it on our 24/7 news cycle. We didn't have that back in the day. Now they can broadcast from anywhere, instantly. Instead of reporting on just what is happening, or has happened, some look for stories. If a dog took a shit on the Whitehouse lawn it would be headline news for two days.
Okay, so this leads me to question … does condemning supremacy stop the racism? Do harsh words and a good scolding send them packing or just send racism underground?
I prefer the racism to be above ground, it is the only way it can be addressed. To ignore racism and leave it lurking in the shadows only causes festering of the wounds racism leaves on our society .. yet it is always going to be here - and this country grants rights to its citizens like no other country in the world does.. one has to take the good with the bad … at this stage of the game supremacy is feeding off that which the counter protesters might do next - they are counting on counter protesters to stop them from marching and violating their rights ………………... Tis a vicious circular cycle
Ok, (sorry for a quick derail here) Right after I posted my comment this add was on the front page.
These algorithms freak me out.
Agreed, 24/7 news is not helping the situation … yet during the Confederate flag removal, white nationalist, KKK .. neo -Nazis etc were protesting in the streets and no one heard about it is the news .. why do you suppose that is? Could it be that Antifa was not organized at that time to counter protest …
Whoa .. what the heck?
Smearing the First Lady? For what? When?
Or are you referring to the prior First lady? You know, 'Moochie, Gorilla in Heels, Transgender, etc., etc?
These kinds of clashes are nothing new.
Here is a look at how the Jewish Defense League 'countered' the 77' KKK 'rally' in the town of Skokie, IL.
Fair enough .. yet the march never took place and Skokie was a town with a Jewish community that consisted of like 40 thousand people and a high number of Holocaust survivors - not exactly the same thing as a group of right wing individuals marching in liberal areas..
I just feel that by placing a spotlight on the white nationalist will not cause them to scatter like cockroaches .. but will gain strength, if the media keeps giving supremacy a broader audience for their message.
That's because they got their rally in Chicago.
Actually, it was a town of 70 thousand with 40 thousand Holocaust survivors and their decedents. The LASTING effect of the NSPA litigation in Skokie can be seen today in places like Charlottesville, where they made a point of marching with torches past the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, which the Charlottesville police refused to protect.
So is it your posit that the media and the people of Portland should just say and do NOTHING?
I refer to the Martin Niemöller for guidance on that.
'Prayer Patriots' and the 'Proud Boys' will be recording their own media and disseminating their own edited version of the events, just as Richard Spencer and David Duke did with their Charlottesville footage? Do you really think that having only THEIR version of the truth is the solution?
My hope is that by exposing them to a 'broader audience' they will be revealed for what they are and that their agenda can be debated in the light of day.
Many 'protestors' from the Charlottesville 'torch march' and 'rally' have suffered consequences for their actions there and as more are identified, I hope that more will suffer the same. Without media coverage, that wouldn't have happened.
I did not look up number of Jewish people, it was a number that stuck in my head from a clip of Skokie in an old documentary I recently watched... the word Nazi is bad enough for a survivor .. add marching in Nazi like uniforms ….. words cannot express
...
I agree with keeping racism in the light .. completely agree with that ……….. your vision is more optimistic than my .. I do not see giving broader exposure to the supremacist as a way of stamping them out... providing a broader audience is giving them what they want
I have said it before, I do not understand the need for the conflict at this time - seems to me that there is so much attention being focus on supremacy it is creating a feeding frenzy - and adding to the strength of the supremacy message .. this is how the weak get recruited, white nationalist numbers are low at this time .. do 'we' really desire to add to their numbers individuals that do not even know what they are fighting for - they are just hearing the message being sent...?
Really? We're you asleep during the Obama presidency?
I don't think it's an easy question with an easy answer, but while violence and publicity are what these white supremacist really want I also think that the historical results are clear when there's a failure to confront and counter them.
My view on this has changed a lot from when I first started donating to the ACLU in 1977 to support the right of neo-Nazis to march in Skokie.
I have to disagree. The left has been white supremacist's best friend in giving them a spotlight.
I remember growing up. I live in an area that had a white supremacist problem. I remember occasionally seeing on the news a bunch of people doing some sort of "rally" in some city somewhere. A bunch of guys in bedsheets or neo-Nazi uniforms standing around or on some place's city hall steps. It seems most people were just walking by in the background, pretty much ignoring them. What I remember most is how stupid I thought I would feel if I had been out there with them. As if I had decided to walk around naked or something. But mostly I remember how little anyone seemed to pay attention. Even the news program offered it as a short segment of something unusual but nothing more.
Through patience, and without all this Antifa crap, we eventually got rid of the problem. There were no violent counter protests. No big deal at all. We hardly gave them any attention at all except waiting for them to do something stupid and we could send them to prison. My guess, like a flower denied the water it needs to grow, they just eventually faded away because nobody cared about them or their beliefs.
Not now. The left, reaching for any tool with which to attack President Trump, practically carried the white supremacists and neo-Nazi's down the red carpet to the spotlight they craved. They are gleefully giving the white supremacist and neo-Nazi everything their heart's desire. Attention, violence, division. Labeling anyone not for their leftist ideas as belonging to these groups. These white extremists don't have to do hardly anything. The left is eager to do it for them. If you aren't for the left, then by default, you're a white supremacist of some sort.
And what amazes me most is those furthest on the left, like Antifa, become what they say they fight against. Fascists.
I agree, the litigation wasn't about their right to march, it was about their display of the Swastika in Skokie. The Nazis won in the courts [represented by the ACLU BTW].
I agree that it is what they think they want but IMHO, the 'light of day' is their worst enemy, and yes, I AM optimistic that will prove to be true.
I think that confronting their agenda is the ONLY way to get those who 'do not even know what they are fighting for' to evaluate their participation and support for these groups. They rely, in no small way, on the concept of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' which allows them to display an outsized 'fan base'. Each one of these groups could never stand on their own, but because each agrees a base agenda, their combined 'voice' is amplified.
There are many ways for those who don't want to 'hit the streets' to act. Picking them off, one by one, by showing them what the 'worst' of them are doing in their name, is the most passive way to oppose them. The death of Heather Heyer, some in the 'protest' group distanced themselves from group as a whole. They are more splintered today than they were before Charlottesville. Divide and conquer.
Ensuring consequences for those who participates in these 'rallies' has caused much teeth noshing by those who wanted to stay anonymous and certainly causes them to think twice before taking part in these 'marches' is also a 'passive' way to fight this scourge.
I had to look the population numbers up of Skokie in 1977,,
I think the article is worth the time taken to read it .. I learned a few things..
All very good points - I will work on being more optimistic!
Having a website to out individuals is not really a 'passive' way to fight .. it is an extremely aggressive way of taking a persons life away from them. Not saying I disagree with this action, just saying if that is the consequences you speak of .. 'passive' may be the wrong word... and this website could be used as a recruiting tool..
I'd call it passive. It's not actually doling out punishment. But if their employers happen to find out that they hold views that are unsavory, and would probably offend their customers, and choose to replace them with employees who represent them better, well, that's life. Maybe their families will be ashamed of them, and let them know it.
Their rights to protest aren't actively being denied, and government isn't actively punishing them. They're just suffering the consequences of their ill-considered views.
If white supremacists are so proud of their race, why should they want to hide that pride?
In what way are supremacists hiding their pride, they are not marching the streets in white hoods, nor black masks - thus allowing the website to post pictures, release those picture to the public to hunt down an identity to said person .. just does not seem passive to me..
When it comes to trying to remain anonymous that would be the counter protesters in this case .. masked vigilante justice : )
I'm not the one objecting to outing them
If they're not wearing hoods, what's wrong with a website that shows their faces? They're protesting in a public place, and are therefore fair game for pics. They're proud, until there are consequences, like the "crying Nazi" guy.
Or as a deterrent if wannabees see what happens to 'closet' white supremacists who think that they can just go back to their jobs on Monday without consequences for what they did on the weekend. Many of those that are being prosecuted for assault and weapons violations were identified though media visuals.
I am not objecting to them being out'd .. here I will compromise .. exposing supremacists identities is a 'passive aggressive' act
If these white supremacists don't want to be doxxed they can just stay home on StormFront.
Funny though.....you'd think these utter dimwits would be more proud of being the "superior race". From what I can tell doxxing is one of the most effective ways of dealing with the problem. Few employers today want to be associated with dumb bigots like these guys.
.
Is that what the NY Times was doing when they outed Trump's dad Fred as a likely KKK member due to his arrest at a similar rally? Or were they performing a public service?
How is exposing them a passive-aggressive act? If they are proud of their white race and aren't doing anything to be ashamed of, then why do they need to hide who they are? They act like cockroaches that run from the light.
You have great optimism, do not think I ever noticed it before ...
Yet I have to disagree, I think that loss of a job can fuel a fire within the unemployed, underemployed that could strengthen the supremacy cause - one cannot speak of supremacy as if it is a normal thought process.
So the meth dealing isn't bringing in enough and now these bigoted wingnuts need to find a real job but no sane employer wants to hire a bigot? Sad.
Supremacists put their masks away .. don't know what to say about it, but most supremacists do not wear signs that expose their private lives .. just as most of us prefer to keep out private lives .. private.
There are many among us that we do not know who they are and what they do .. 'we' formulate an opinion of that individual based on what 'we' are shown by them. Then comes the day their face is posted on the web as being a white supremacists...
These same folks used to wear dunce caps when they marched at night. Then during the day they'd go back to their day jobs as cops, judges and businessmen with a more respectable membership in the Council of Conservative Citizens.
Then I would suggest that they stop espousing racist and fascist ideas if they don't want their private lives to be exposed. People don't like fascists and racists.
I'm no spring chicken and I have seen my country in great despair and divided before.
I'm not thinking of the 'unemployed' but those who see the consequences and turn away from the 'movement'. Perhaps those who were previously arm chair 'supremacists' will have an epiphany motivated by unemployment. The most hard core may never be deterred.
Guys like this have a good shot at making a difference:
Is that why Antifa is cheered, because they fight the evil in the world, by acting like the evil in the world?
I bartended for long enough to know when the bump at the pool table is going to become more that just that bump .. I do not condone violence no matter who threw the first punch nor why they did it - I never chose a side, 'cept on the rare occasion that an individual chose to walk away .. but was attacked anyways.
Antifa and White supremacy seem to be becoming 2 peas in a pod arguing over which one is correct...
Good points again Dulay..
Thanks for the link .. I recently watched Dateline or 20/20. 48hours possibly 60 minutes on the after life of white supremacy - this man face was tattooed with supremacy symbols .. he now had a family and was getting his tats removed.
Which is why I brought up earlier the numbers that could be influenced and get involved and not know what they are fighting for - they are just being part of something .. that guys story really toughed me as the article you linked does as well
Some see that as the false equivalency that it is.
I am not so naïve to think that every member of Antifa is 'pure at heart' but they DO represent the 'right' side of this ideological issue.
Quite a few tattoo artists are doing covers for free now. There is also a group that helps with the cost of laser treatment for facial tattoos. It's a cathartic way of erasing hate and seeking redemption.
Agreed, it is … I used the terms 'seem to be' because their beliefs may be different, but their tactics to achieve the end results are the same .. allowed to collide there will be violence..
The program I watched did mention an organization that was assisting in having tats removed - just getting that kind of darkness off ones skin has to be a relief!!
Like none of this didn't happen under Obama? Pot, Kettle.
You first.
Any of this ring a bell?
One term president, Kenyan, Muslim, Communist, Socialist, Dictator, Moocelle, Barry, Oblama and, the list goes on.
No, it goes back at least nine years.
Hopefully, antifa let's them march peacefully this time rather than attacking the marchers and police officers like they did last time.
Hopefully the cops will use live ammo rather than rubber bullets to respond to any violence by the white supremacists.
I bet if everyone simply leaves them alone, there will be no violence.
But I don't see the Antifa folks doing it that way.
If past is prelude the white supremacists will be the first to use violence like they did in Charlottesville the night before their rally. Hopefully they'll be stopped or killed before they commit another act of terrorism. I also doubt that the Portland PD will be as patient with these terrorists as the Charlottesville PD was, particularly since the result of that patience was the death of two LEOs who were searching for the white supremacist who had murdered a civil rights activist and seriously injured 19 others.
So leave them alone during their little protest. no one gets hurt.
That's what many Germans thought would happen in the early 1930s. These people interpret silence as permission.
I am sure you have lots of personal insight into what Germans in the 1930's thought.
We all have good insight into how they thought, and how Hitler came into power. It's part of history.
LOL. The white supremacists in Charlottesville started threatening and beating people the night before the rally, then they killed people and beat many more people during the rally. And only a few weeks back there were white supremacists rioting and beating folks in Portland. So the best move would be for Portland to employ the Castle Doctrine against these right wing creeps.
'Patriot Prayers.' ? ? ?
Crap. Right wing hate is now besmirching the word patriot just like they defiled what ever honor, glory and historical significance the Stars and Bars may have held dear. Disgusting.
If they support Trump you know they mean Russian patriots.
Here's one of those white supremacist patriots and noble Trump voters:
Oh, but they are "fine people."
Way past my bed time .. thanks everyone .. I will unlock in the morning if anyone has more to say..
Good night...
I wonder if the right wingers here would be calling for tolerance and free expression if the rally were by an al-Qaeda affiliated group which sought the imposition of Islamic Sharia law, the subjugation of women, and the burning of Jewish and Christian houses of superstition? Or would they confront those nuts?
Or maybe the right wingers would simply realize how much ideology they share with Islamic extremists and thus march alongside them?
Patriot Prayer to carry guns at Portland rally as fears of violence rise
Joey Gibson
Gibson's political activity is frequently met with criticism. Many activists are referred to as being white supremacists. [22] Nine days after a Patriot Prayer-aligned protester allegedly stabbed three men on the Portland transit system, TriMet , Gibson hosted a rally met by thousands of counter-protesters. [23] The Proud Boys , a far-right group, [24] have also been present at several of his events. [25] [26] [27] Gibson has also drawn internal criticism from his habit of using violence against members of his own organization after consuming alcohol. [28]
Until the govt starts cracking down on people trying to keep people from exercising their rights this will continue. Not sure why people have not figured out to just ignore anyone's march you don't agree with. All your doing is strengthening their support by trying to silence them. Have you not heard of the Streisand effect?
You may not like them... but you don't have a right to keep them from having a public platform. Dox them sure. Counter protest sure. But you don't have the right to try and silence them as many are going with the intention of.
What specific group of people do you think the government needs to "crack down on"?
The antifa like groups. The ones who are going not to counter protest but to silence people. The ones who burn down and destroy property when someone speaks who even shows one opinion they could label right wing. The ones that anyone who isn't a communist is a nazi to them. As I said. Counter protest is one thing... going to attack people is another. They have openly stated there intention is to prevent them from having any platform.
Antifa hasn't silenced anyone but they have protected quite a few who were being assaulted or threatened by neo-Nazis, the KKK and other such white supremacist right wing nuts.
They publicly state their goal is to attack anyone they deem fascist, they already have. They have publicly stated they go to attack "nazis" and keep them from gathering in public. There are numerous videos of them attacking people just standing around. Don't play games with it. It makes your points weak.
I don't agree with what they say.. I'm not going to support someone silencing them, though. It's already been shown that will just be used to attack anyone they don't agree with under the guise they are "nazis".
And yet the only ones to actually inflict death and serious injury are the nazis but you want to "crack down" only on the anti-nazis. You couldn't even bring yourself to say "both of them" and at least pretend you weren't taking sides.
Guess you forgot about the left wing antifa supporter that hit several people with his lock. He was charged with felony assault
Doesn't mean that Antifa hasn't attacked otherwise peaceful people; just means they aren't very good at it.
What are you saying ? That it's bad if a group isn't good at committing violence against others who are peaceful ? That's so strange.
No Pat, I was replying to Atheist 's claim that Antifa hasn't killed anyone yet. My reply was that they haven't killed anyone, not because they don't want to do so, but because they aren't skilled enough to do so. In other (simpler) terms, they would like to kill but simply aren't competent enough to actually do it.
What is overlooked by the Antifa supporters is that it is not permitted to use physical violence in any way against those who have not themselves initiated physical violence. Those who do go physical should be immediately shut down by the police. if the police fail to stop that physical violence, then the ones who received the violence will have to respond physically in order to protect themselves. Like the right of peaceful protest, the right to protect yourself against violent attack is a protected right under the Constitution.
You call the fascists and nazis peaceful---I've shown a gif of one of them firing a gun point blank into a crowd (bad aim, luckily). Jeezus you people will stop at nothing to protect these scum.
So let's hear your excuse for the nazis being successful at it. Or do you admire their skill?
Lol don't care about the argument but since when does it take skill to kill someone
And these are the "people" who claim to be morally superior in our society. Severe mental health issues right there.
No no no no.
We must be hysterical. 24/7/365. We must be relentlessly, vigilantly hysterical. If we're not...people might say things.
This must have been the argument in the late 1930s in this country and even well into the Battle of Britain that Nazis really weren't much of a threat. And if we ignore them they'll just go away. Ford and Lindhbergh were big pushers that theme. Even the Jews in Germany let themselves get talked into that deadly complacency.
I forgot melodramatic.
Hysterical AND melodramatic.
The sky is actually falling, you know.
Let the debate begin … or shouting and name calling as the case may be - will there be signs saying this is a 'limited free speech' zone? Sad to see things possibly coming to this in America...
"Patriot Prayer" - - prototypical right-wing group I.D. that literally portrays itself as simultaneously "patriotic" and "religious" -- the guise-of-choice of white nationalism!
And the Russian hackers/Vladimir-Putin-propaganda-machine knows precisely how to use social media and, an apparently compromised Donald Trump, to exploit the haters' agenda and divide Americans through fear, deception … and, to attempt to steal future American elections (which is likely, at least to some degree, why Republicans appear spineless regarding standing up for democracy … and steal legislative positions of their own).
Donald Trump is the face and symbol and power of "white resentment," comprised primarily of a whining-scapegoating "base" which still buys the Trump litany of bullshit-faux-sympathy and promises of jobs and "winning"!
Even as Trump is FUCKING the very workers he promised to help … much of whom ARE TRUMP'S BASE, because he's their "Jess Willard," in their ignorance and stupidity, they look the other was as he …
• Takes billions out of workers’ pockets by weakening or abandoning regulations that protect their pay
• Blocks workers from access to the courts by allowing mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts
The Trump administration has taken a number of extreme actions that will hurt all workers, including pursuing and detaining unauthorized immigrants who were victims of employer abuse and human trafficking —while they were trying to enforce their rights in court —and ending Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers, many of whom have resided in the United States for two decades. But perhaps the most inhumane and ill-advised example has been the administration’s termination of Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Ending DACA is forcing young immigrant workers out of the regulated labor market and into the shadow labor market, where they are easily exploitable by employers by virtue of losing their ability to work lawfully. While a federal district court in California temporarily enjoined the Trump administration on January 10, 2018, from continuing the phase-out of DACA, and ordered that it continue accepting applications for renewals, the impact of the decision is unclear . The government will quickly appeal the decision, the timeline for processing renewals is unclear, and no new applications from potential DACA beneficiaries will be permitted.
• Rolls back regulations that protect worker pay and safety
• Stacks the Federal Reserve Board with candidates friendlier to Wall Street than to working families
________________________________________________________________
Wake up boys! Being white and led by a Putin puppet won't improve your quality of life!
Think you have this seed confused with some other seed...
If you look at the Patriot Prayer crowd, note the various TRUMP paraphernalia … the self-ascribed "patriot-religionist" dragging his knuckles in Trump's America, does so to the detriment of his own REAL, rather than fantasized interests.
Look at my post as if you were at a sporting event …
You Can't Tell The Players Without A Scorecard.
Yeah okay, well enjoy your game.
Thank you … but it's not my game … I'm just an observant spectator.
It's pretty much a guarantee that every one of the white supremacists at the rally is a Trump supporter.
Yes they are about as bad as ANTIFA wouldn't you say? Please don't try to argue that folks that are covering their face are doing it for any reason other than they plan to commit crime and don't want to be identified.
You know, the really ironic thing here is that if ANTIFA didn't intervene there would probably be no violence, and if there was violence, then there would be no question who is to blame. If there is no violence, they don't get the attention they are after in the first place. Why give it to them?
Silly me. That would be too simple and intelligent.
I AM DELETING MY OWN COMMENT AS IT HAS JUSTIFIABLY BEEN FLAGGED AS "OFF TOPIC," WHICH IT IS (WAS). (A. MAC)
Lol, I think you need to go for a pint too Mac!
if antifa does not want their ass beat? they should stop using violence to try and silence the conservatives... simple.
antifa will get everything they deserve.
It is the 'conservatives' aka Rumps' base who are the ones inciting the violence, not anti-fa. Anti-fa aren't the ones holding an alt- right wing 'rally' in Portland in the first place are they now?
Feds: Portland ICE protesters spewed racist insults
Stay classy Portland Progressives.
So in your world the First Amendment is only allowed in certain places and only for certain groups .Please show me in the constitution it says that
That was certainly the case in Charlottesville but today in Portland it sounds like it was 1-1, with the first gashed head caused by a white supremacist (it's on video). Later on a reporter's head was hit by a bottle thrown from the counter protester's side. But the first incident was far more serious and very deliberate.
I never said that ark, you just did.
You certainly implied it by saying that the Right wing demonstrators incited the violence by holding their rally in Portland.
Typical violent progressive thugs.
I didn't imply dick.
Guess they know how Jim Acosta feels...
While it's not proven that they actually were inciting violence, under our laws inciting violence is NEVER a valid excuse for violence. For groups or for individuals, the ONLY valid excuse for the use of physical violence is physical violence being used against you.
I have no idea why you're making that comment.
For hating progressives, you seem to like to use the internet....an invention brought to you by a progressive. Perhaps, in your hatred, you should protest, and use the internet no more.
Looks like this guy already got a few too many bonks on the head so he's wearing a helmet for safety:
Hello everyone...
I want to thank all of you for a nearly NO PURPLE thread : ) Thanks for the civility shown over the past couple days..
I will leave this open the rest of the day ..
Peace!
This is actually a good debate, (for a change!) whether to ignore the Nazis or push back against their rallies. There is something to be said for both points of view, and both sides even seem to be listening to each other. Great seed Colour!
Thanks everyone .. this seed is done run its course .. Once again thank you all for the conversation...
Peace...