“A white supremacy demonstration is taking place at the courthouse on Saturday..It is in the afternoon but we are worried that ppl might be trickling into town earlier in the day.”
What? A white supremacy demonstration? I asked for more details.
“Apparently there is a woman in (Small Sister Town) that is organizing this event. It is to take place in front of the county courthouse from 2:00 p.m.-4:00p.m. followed by a BBQ at a park beginning at 4:30 p.m. They have called in every available officer from the City, County and even some State officers to be prepared for this event. Can't believe the stupidity and ignorance that is still out there.”
I immediately emailed Bombadee…what should I do? Do I take the girls downtown for some “see how much hatred and stupidity and ignorance exists” education? Do we leave town for the day? She suggested calling the news or writing a letter to the editor. Of course, great idea; have Mimi write a letter saying how she feels about it, and note that her Girl Scout event was cancelled. Stand up for what we believe. I wish I new more about it, like who the woman is that is organizing it and if it is in response to something specific or just your general everyday bigotry or a recruitment effort of their own.
I began to wonder how to broach the subject with my girls (Emi, 9 and Abi, 11). Did the Girl Scouts HAVE to cancel? No. Was it the right decision that they did? Absolutely. Emi’s BFF since preschool, Mags, is on her troop and is bi-racial; they most likely want to avoid a potential and scary conflict. I don’t think Girl Scouts can earn a "Beating Bigotry" badge for taking on a white supremacy group in the park. And, while I want my girls to arrive at their own conclusion (that these people are idiots), I also want them to realize and appreciate that this group has every right to demonstrate even if we passionately disagree with what they pronounce. We must hold sacred our freedom of speech, even if we have to “acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours” (The American President, 1995).
Then my parental instinct kicked in. Do I really want my daughter’s name (or my family’s name) in the paper or splashed on the TV news denouncing these people? Is this a bigger, more dangerous group than I realize? I could handle some eggs on my house or whispers in the grocery store, but could there be more substantial consequences for my family? I can’t begin to fathom the courage such people as Martin Luther King Jr. had to have, striving to make the world a better place for his children all the while trying to keep them safe from radicals who would harm them without thought or remorse. I’ve found that becoming a parent puts a new perspective and greater appreciation on many, many things.
What will I do? I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet. All I know is that my children are being raised in a loving, educational, accepting, and committed home that is full of laughter and silliness, where they can choose to have a BFF with curly hair and gorgeous brown eyes.
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From the local paper today
...Aryan Nations group plans to rally Saturday in front of the (smug town) County Courthouse in what the organization’s leaders are calling a nonviolent “voice of opinion about current immigration laws.
Members of the Aryan Anarchist Skins, a white nationalist group, will demonstrate at 2 p.m. between the old courthouse and the County Judicial Center, said Lisa Shultz, a “sergeant officer” for the group. Shultz said she expects up to 200 people to attend the rally, though the group itself has just 10 members.
“Illegal people are sneaking over here,” Shultz said.
Representatives of other Illinois white supremacist groups and possibly some from other states might convene with the Skins on Saturday, Shultz said, but she knew of no specific Aryan Nations groups planning to attend.
The Skins expect counter-protest groups to show up, too, Shultz said, though she wasn’t sure which ones.
The demonstration comes after a wave of immigrant-rights rallies that sprung up across the country in recent months, where Hispanics turned out in droves to show their numbers and to try to influence several proposed immigration laws in Congress.
Police Chief D. said he hadn’t communicated with any other protest groups, either.
The Skins did not need to apply for a permit to protest, D. said, because no one is sure how many people will attend the event. Events with more than 1,000 people require a permit, he said.
“We worked with the group to get them in safely and allow them their peaceful and legal rally,” D. said.
The New Jersey-based One People’s Project, described as an anti-fascism group, lists the rally on its Web site and invites people to counterprotest.
“If you plan to go out to counter this, be prepared for security to try to take you to a different area,” the Web site states.
The Skins want to protest in this County because they consider it an area with a large illegal-immigrant population, Shultz said. (Sister) and (Brother)counties have more undocumented residents than our County, said Joel Cowen, assistant dean of Health Systems Research at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford. From 2000 census data and a methodology prescribed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Cowen and other Health Systems researchers estimate that there are 924 undocumented residents, compared with 1,644 in (Brother) County and 5,629 in (Sister) County.
Shultz said Saturday’s protest is the first and only one the group has planned.
The Skins’ Web site states that the group’s purpose is to “bring white men and women back into power where they belong,” but Shultz said ending illegal immigration is the group’s top priority.
This does not link the group to the Minutemen Project, which supports the enforcement of existing immigration laws, said Rosanna Pulido, state director for the Illinois Minutemen Project. “Our cause isn’t the same,” Pulido said. She said the Minutemen don’t advocate hate or white supremacy.
Julio Salgado, a Hispanic activist from Rockford who has organized immigrant-rights rallies before, said he hadn’t heard about the group’s protest and that he didn’t know of any local immigrant-rights groups slated to attend.
“Everyone’s an immigrant in this country, and everyone has a right to improve their lives,” Salgado said.
If I may add my own insight into this..
You may or may not know I live in Toledo. You may or may not know that last October the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group, planned a demonstration here in one of the most oppressed neighborhoods. You may or may not know that this incited a riot, complete with burning buildings.
My church was VERY VERY pro-active in this... Pro active on two levels - communication, education and celebration and healing, education and rallying...
What the minister of my church did was set up an "Erase the Hate" party/celebration (it was cold here then but perhaps a picnic would be good in your situation?) in a rented hall complete with food, dancing, music, joyous acceptance and celebration on the same day and during the same hours (even a bit before and much after) the demonstration was to take place. They wanted to not only show that they were against what the group stood for, but that they actually celebrated our differences and uniqueness. We were out of town unfortunately but would have liked to attend.
The day AFTER the demonstration was scheduled he arranged an Erase The Hate Sweep/march. Unfortunately because of the riots the location was changed due to safety reasons but the IDEA was that we would go down to where the demonstration took place, positive message picket signs and banners and BROOMS in tow. And we would sweep the street in the place that the demonstration was to take place (the actual demonstration was cancelled because of the rioting) in a cathartic healing and to symbolize the sentiment that their thoughts and ideals were a tarnish on the human race and should be swept away along with the garbage.
As I said we changed the location but my son was 13 at the time and it was one of the proudest moments I have of him, seeing him hold a sign that said "Erase the Hate!" and singing songs of love and acceptance.
It wouldn't be hard to plan such an event, you could even do it with the other mothers of the girls in the troupe and then publicize it through contacting the newspapers. That way no one specifically would be named.. As in "the mothers of a local girl scout troupe have decided..." and it gives people a safe, happy, fun alternative to opposing hatred with anger. If that makes sense.
Please please consider this. It really made such an impact on all of us. Some people were actually crying tears of joy and would approach us and hug us (there were about 20 or 30 of us, maybe more.) ALL of the children that were there talked about all of the positive things we all contribute to society for months and months, some went on to continue educating themselves by learning things about a new culture every week and our church luncheons had a different ethnicity theme for two months or so.
one final note I forgot to add/stress. The "party" the day of the demonstration was intended to give people a PEACEFUL alternative of showing their disapproval for the neo-Nazi group to a counter rally. Counter rallies tend to get angry and sometimes even violent and it's not at all a place for children. But this does not mean children should not take part in ANY sort of counter demonstration. One that celebrates life and diversity is, imo, a GREAT way to lead little Americans toward the ideals of acceptance and love this country stands for, or at least SHOULD.
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