Above: Love Not Hate rally, Venice California. From the Los Angeles Times.
“The National Park Service has approved an initial request for
organizers to hold a second”Unite the Right” rally, this time across the
street from the White House in August [11-12]— one year after white
supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Va.” – N.P.R. News
What should be our response?
The racist Nazis are looking for a fight. Shall we give them what they want? I propose no. Let’s not stoop to their level. Instead let’s organize a “Celebration of Diversity” in another location, which will be a hundred times larger than their sorry rally. That will show how puny they are and how massive we are. Our “Love Fest” will be a stark contrast to their “Hate Fest.”
If we confront them with counter-hatred, it will just let Trump again claim, “There was violence on both sides.” If we plan to get in their face, it will keep our numbers a lot lower, removing the advantage of showing the world a gigantic rally for peace and love.
If we tempt fights, it will give the authorities an excuse to strengthen the police state. The corporate system wants a police state to suppress working class struggles, which are inevitable when the economic bubble bursts, which is a historical cycle. Let’s not give the corporate-controlled police an occasion to practice their crowd control techniques.
Most importantly, white nationalists are a decoy, a diversion from the more important institutions of racism, hate, and violence. Instead of venting our hatred on losers, let us vent our righteous indignation against the U.S. war machine, which killed 20 million people since WWII, mostly non-white. There is nothing more racist than war. War teaches Americans to dehumanize their foes, contaminating our society with attitudes of racial supremacy. War teaches people to hate. War teaches people to solve their problems with violence.
I, therefore, propose that our Celebration of Diversity (Love Fest) take place at the Lincoln Memorial for one hour of speeches and music. So inspired, we would then march to the Pentagon to vent righteous indignation against the primary institution of racism, hate, and violence in the history of the world.
If we ignore the decoys and confront the real enemy of humanity, the nation can be educated and the sorry bigots will not get the attention they seek. We will make the news, not them. We will set the agenda, not them. We will define the narrative, not them.
So let us not fall into their trap. Some among the left (the Antifa) and police provocateurs might create confrontations for different reasons, but the effect will be the same. It allows the police state to justify its existence. It allows the main racist culprits to remain invisible. It ignores war corporations getting rich by extra-judicial drone assassinations of Arabs who are defending their countries from oil-grabbing invaders. It ignores Americans being taught to hate Muslims.
Let’s not fall for the corporate agenda which is using white nationalists to shift our attention from the rapacious corporate directors. They are probably paying the KKK to rally. Let’s be smart and not play their game. Onward to a separate celebration of diversity and march against the institutions of war and racism when racist goons come to town!!
Richard Ochs, civil rights veteran and non-violent activist.