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[CrocMother]

People going out and confronting these assholes, in whatever capacity they feel appropriate, is something to be commended.

 

[Kebiinu]

Respect ol dude for his patience, but that couldn't be me, lol.

Of course we already have the namaste types in here, "See...lets cure their love with kindness!!"

No. That's not MY job. They want me dead, so fuck them and fuck you if you think black people need to be complacent to this bullshit. I'm more so happy he didn't get fucking stabbed the moment he hugged the dude.

 

[NoName999]

Also keep in mind, according to ModerateGAF, black people are suppose to risk their lives hugging a bigot. Nevermind that the Nazi might stab/shoot him/her and then claim self defense via protection from sexual harassment. And the jury will buy that.

But a black transwoman ranting about white racism on FB is somehow UNFORGIVABLE according to ModerateGAF.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Of course. It's certainly not your task to give people like that a hug.
That doesn't mean that showing people the way to love doesn't help though.
It's up to every person.

Personally, i would probably be more like you in this situation.

It doesn't help. How can I say that? Because we've done it. We marched. Layed flowers. Prayed. Begged. Tried to utilize the legally system.

I'm not going to waste my time praying when those same folks make the same excuses when we get murdered by the police and refuse to label their own that advocate terrorism and genocide as terrorist organizations. What am I even talking about? My thing is that Nazis, kkk could be shut down in a week if the majority in this nation demanded they be labeled as terrorist organizations and treated like ISIS.

People going out and confronting these assholes, in whatever capacity they feel appropriate, is something to be commended.

Agreed. I just roll my eyes to folks that will look at this and applaud and say "This is how you do it, black people!"

 

[Messofanego]

Yup.

Stuff like this always reminds me of that lady probation officer that turned one of her charges from a nazi by basically treating that person like a human being. Or that black musician, I think, that turned like a whole bunch of KKK members by befriending them.

And then I come over here, and I see people claiming that the only way to change people is through violence or treating those people like shit. It's cathartic, I'll grant you that, but I'm personally starting to doubt if that even works at all. When I think about someone trying change my opinion about something, not even remotely as deep-seated as I imagine racism to be, I don't think shouting at me or treating me like shit will ever manage to change my mind.

Maybe it works on a population-scale, with stuff like marches or even riots, to get the conversation kickstarted. In fact, I definitely think it works to get the conversation started. But when that conversation's kickstarted, I think it's far more productive and long-lasting to treat the individual like a person, and try to change their mind through kindness, even if that's really difficult to do. It's definitely not for everyone, so thank god we have people like the one in the OP doing it for us.

BTW that anecdote moderates like to use of the black musician Daryl Davis who claimed to have taken down Maryland's KKK chapter turned out to be false (and he had quite a heated spat against BLM members), and one of those KKK ended up in Charlottesville shooting at protesters.

Stop propping up these rare cases as the correct way to protest against. Violence gets shit done as well if not more, too.

Huh? They definitely changed. That probation guy got his tattoos removed. All those people that befriended Daryl Davis renounced the klan. It definitely worked.

No no, you've got that wrong. Those KKK members still had those views intact, they just liked Daryl Davis only i.e. one of the good ones.

 

[HStallion]

Why do I doubt that he doesn't know why he hates black people. Oh he's marching for fucking Neo Nazis.

 

[GhostTrick]

Guy doesn't know why he's a Nazi?

Mmmhmmm. Sure.

I guess it's more difficult to spout the bs he's fed with everyday about "my race purity is in danger" in public and in front of someone who's hugging you.

 

[captmcblack]

Every solution for challenging, shaming, and eradicating Nazis, KKK and related groups should be done simultaneously and tirelessly - hugging/questioning them to learn about them, beating them up, protesting them, shouting them down, flushing/rooting them out of hiding, defeating them in legal/criminal cases, imprisoning them, etc.

I'm not okay with this as the only tool in the "fuck Nazis" toolbox, as there is no acceptable universally moderate position on Nazis except "fuck all Nazis, get rid of all Nazis" - but it's a cool story.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

I'm not making that argument so we can stop talking now.

I never claimed that was your argument. Simply countering your argument that I'm making fun of dude for hugging someone.

Sorry if you were confused.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Also keep in mind, according to ModerateGAF, black people are suppose to risk their lives hugging a bigot. Nevermind that the Nazi might stab/shoot him/her and then claim self defense via protection from sexual harassment. And the jury will buy that.

But a black transwoman ranting about white racism on FB is somehow UNFORGIVABLE according to ModerateGAF.

Amazing how that works, eh?

 

[the_darkness]

I never claimed that was your argument. Simply countering your argument that I'm making fun of dude for hugging someone.

Sorry if you were confused.

I never engaged you in the first place so I would suggest it's you who is confused.

If you're not making fun of the guy then I'm not talking to or about you.

 

[Heckler456]

BTW that anecdote moderates like to use of the black musician Daryl Davis who claimed to have taken down Maryland's KKK chapter turned out to be false (and he had quite a heated spat against BLM members), and one of those KKK ended up in Charlottesville shooting at protesters.

Stop propping up these rare cases as the correct way to protest against. Violence gets shit done as well if not more, too.

No no, you've got that wrong. Those KKK members still had those views intact, they just liked Daryl Davis only i.e. one of the good ones.

Where are you getting it from that he faked the whole thing? Not really seeing any sources on that when I search.

At any rate, you're probably right. I can't use these two cases to support the argument that it'll work resoundingly on a large scale.

 

[ZealousD]

"I don't know."

Fuck, man, what else is there to say.

That kind of answer shows a crack. Maybe a subtle realization that what he's doing is wrong. A real opportunity for self reflection and change. You don't get this from a punch. Maybe it won't actually change the white supremacist. But it's a step to doing so.

But there's too many people in this thread, while not blaming or saying that this man was wrong to hug, instead strike out against the ramifications of what this means. They don't like the idea that this is the way to change things. This isn't the way they want to do it. They're more concerned about what they feel is "just" or "right". They don't want to do what works.

Also keep in mind, according to ModerateGAF, black people are suppose to risk their lives hugging a bigot. Nevermind that the Nazi might stab/shoot him/her and then claim self defense via protection from sexual harassment. And the jury will buy that.

You think punching a Nazi doesn't risk your life? Then they can claim actual self-defense. That's even more clear cut to a jury.

 

[MilkBeard]

Every solution for challenging, shaming, and eradicating Nazis, KKK and related groups should be done simultaneously and tirelessly - hugging/questioning them to learn about them, beating them up, protesting them, shouting them down, flushing/rooting them out of hiding, defeating them in legal/criminal cases, imprisoning them, etc.

I'm not okay with this as the only tool in the "fuck Nazis" toolbox, but it's a cool story.

I agree. I think this guy knew what he wanted to do, and in his situation he did it, knowing what he was doing, and it took place without negative effect.

At first, I was worried that he would be shot or stabbed. But it turned out well and the story is cool, but I definitely wouldn't recommend people just go hugging Nazis, for sure. There is a different answer for each situation. Some just need to be beat into oblivion, and that's the only way they will change.

It's an unfortunate state, really.

 

[Glass Shark]

Guy doesn't know why he's a Nazi?

Mmmhmmm. Sure.

Yep. He’s just a coward and afraid to say all the horrible, vile, hateful things he believes directly to someone’s face who doesn’t agree with him.

If that guy got something out of hugging a Nazi, fine by me. But I don’t think it’s advisable on a small scale and definitely not sustainable as a large-scale strategy for taking on white supremacy.

 

[Ozigizo]

I look forward to this article being quoted right next to Daryl Davis and MLK the next time a Nazi kills someone.

🙄

 

[GhostTrick]

Also, since when is it considered a "moderate opinion" that the solution is to hug and spread love between people with weapons and want to shut you down not for what you think but for what you look like ?

 

[Enzom21]

Agreed. I just roll my eyes to folks that will look at this and applaud and say "This is how you do it, black people!"

Which has already happened in this thread. It is always quite telling when people are more concerned with how black people deal with Nazis/racists than they are with the actual Nazis/racist.

That kind of answer shows a crack. Maybe a subtle realization that what he's doing is wrong. A real opportunity for self reflection and change. You don't get this from a punch. Maybe it won't actually change the white supremacist. But it's a step to doing so.

But there's too many people in this thread, while not blaming or saying that this man was wrong to hug, instead strike out against the ramifications of what this means. They don't like the idea that this is the way to change things. This isn't the way they want to do it. They're more concerned about what they feel is "just" or "right". They don't want to do what works.



You think punching a Nazi doesn't risk your life? Then they can claim actual self-defense. That's even more clear cut to a jury.

We must have hugged a lot of Nazis during WW2. I am not going to waste my trying to get a person who hates me to more progressive views, that is not my responsibility.

 

[Heckler456]

Every solution for challenging, shaming, and eradicating Nazis, KKK and related groups should be done simultaneously and tirelessly - hugging/questioning them to learn about them, beating them up, protesting them, shouting them down, flushing/rooting them out of hiding, defeating them in legal/criminal cases, imprisoning them, etc.

I'm not okay with this as the only tool in the "fuck Nazis" toolbox, as there is no acceptable universally moderate position on Nazis except "fuck all Nazis, get rid of all Nazis" - but it's a cool story.

That's reasonable. Just like I think it's counter-productive to think that we can defeat this idea with nothing but violence and ostracizing these people into secluded communities, I also think it's naive of me to think that we can change a critical mass of people through kindness alone.

 

[PMS341]

Which has already happened in this thread. It is always quite telling when people are more concerned with how black people deal with Nazis/racists than they are with the actual Nazis/racist.

It's true. This man is honestly very lucky, given far worse has happened at these rallies for much less. Nazis don't deserve sympathy, regardless. Take your /pol/ shit back home and find a new hobby.

 

[excelsiorlef]

As people lionize Daryl Davis please remember he seems to show more love for his converts or even non converts than BLM activists

In the film, the trio sat down at a Baltimore bar for a chat. Thing get heated when the two young men question why Davis has spent the past thirty years trying to get white people to overcome their racism instead of helping his own people.
“What does that do for people?” Rose asks of Davis in the film. “Infiltrating the Klan ain’t freeing your people.” He added, “Befriending a white person who doesn’t have to go through the struggles of you, me… that’s not an accomplishment. That’s a new friend. That’s somebody you can call.”
“And this is coming from a dropout,” Davis shoots back, condescendingly.

“You don’t tell Steve Jobs he ain’t successful. He don’t have no college degree. Bill Gates ain’t got no college degree,” Rose replies. “Neither does Monica Lewinsky,” says Davis. “OK, shit, and what?” Rose says. “She’s giving blowjobs in the White House and doing whatever she was doing…” “…Well, maybe you could give Obama a blowjob and make a lot of money, too,” interrupts Davis.
With that, the two young men call Davis “disrespectful” and leave. At that point, Black Lives Matter community organizer JC Faulk enters, and berates Davis for the “reprehensible” way he treated the activists.
“Just like the young man said to you, you could have done a whole lot more work in the black community from the ‘90s to now to move our people forward rather than coming in here trying to uplift somebody because you got a hood off of their head,” exclaims Faulk, adding, “I don’t give a shit about you, or your KKK hoods! Don’t come to Baltimore doing this shit again. Don’t come back here.”

During the post-screening Q&A session following the first showing of Accidental Courtesy at SXSW, things got testy. After an audience member questioned the BLM interaction in the film, Davis again took the opportunity to lay into Rose (who was not present) and defend the discourteous way he treated him on camera.

“As the man said, he’s a 21-year-old dropout,” Davis said of Rose.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s about race. There are many controversial topics out there—abortion, nuclear weapons, the 2nd Amendment, guns, whatever, the war in Iraq,” he continued. “You’re going to be on one side, somebody’s going to be on the other side. Invite those people to the table. Sit down and talk. Because when two enemies are talking, they’re not fighting. They may be yelling and screaming or pounding the table, but at least they’re talking, they’re not fighting.”

Davis then accused the Black Lives Matter activists—Rose, Toure, Faulk, and an unnamed party—of attempting to fight him (which is not shown in the film).

“It’s when the talking ceases that the ground becomes fertile for violence. You saw the violence almost erupt when the talking ceased,” he said, referring to the BLM Baltimore sequence. “We got a little loud, sure. The film did not show you that [the Black Lives Matter activists] came over to the table and it almost erupted in a fisticuffs. [Producer] Noah Ornstein here had to get in between us. Four of them wanted to beat me up. I didn’t want to stand up because I didn’t want to fight. And [Ornstein] prevented that.”
Then, the same audience member again challenged Davis on the way he treated the Black Lives Matter activists in the film, saying he sided with the members of BLM.

“They showed you respect, but you didn’t show them respect,” the man said. “You showed the Klan members more respect than you showed those gentlemen there.”

“You didn’t see the entire thing,” Davis replied. “You only saw a snippet of what went on that day. I’ve dealt with a lot of black supremacists as well as white supremacists, and supremacy of any kind is wrong, and I address both black and I address both white. There’s a difference between being ignorant and being stupid…. For me, an ignorant person is someone who makes the wrong decision or a bad choice because he or she does not have the proper facts.”
“If you give that person the facts and the proper information you have alleviated that ignorance, and they make the right decision,” he went on. “A stupid person is someone who has the facts, who has the proper information, and still makes the wrong decision. The facts were not coming out of that guy’s mouth. I presented the facts, some of which were presented in the film, some of which were not presented in the film.” The audience member continued to press Davis on the offensive and dismissive way he treated the Black Lives Matter activists in the film versus the polite and courteous way he treats Klan members while getting in their good graces, which prompted Davis to reply: “When it was my turn to talk, who got up and walked away? It wasn’t me.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kkk-d...ashes-with-blm-activists-in-film-during-qanda

Dude fucking both sided BLM and the KKK, BLM and White Supremacists.

Ornstein raises more questions than he answers throughout the film, an approach that works well in scenes like an explosive encounter between Davis and two young Black Lives Matters activists, Tariq Touré and Kwame Rose, in Baltimore. The normally self-confident Davis is visibly unsettled by the conversation. He tries to shut the two young men down mainly with ad hominem attacks while they ask why he wastes his time with people who hate him. He’s not accomplishing anything, says Rose; he’s just making friends. An older BLM member, JC Faulk, later refutes one of Davis’s proudest claims: that Maryland shut down its KKK chapter after its leader left the Klan thanks to Davis’s friendship. Maybe they did shut down one chapter, Faulk says, but all it takes is a quick Google search to see that the Klan is still operating in the state. Interviewed by the filmmakers later about the encounter, Davis makes the point that he couldn’t articulate in that conversation, asserting that BLM members and other anti-racism activists can never achieve their goal as long as they refuse to believe that white racists are capable of change.

Davis struggles to refute another set of challenges laid down by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mark Potok. While careful to acknowledge that Davis’s focus on one-to-one conversion may have some effect, he says the personal approach doesn’t lead to the widespread and profound social change his group aims for. “You’re working on a retail strategy,” he tells Davis. “We’re working on a wholesale strategy. We can’t wait around.” Potok also questions whether anyone can influence people to leave groups like the KKK. “By and large, people come out of these groups when they’re ready to,” he says.

Ironically, the story that opens Accidental Courtesy, in which Davis talks about two Klansmen who quit the group after an encounter with him, shores up Potok’s observation, though it seems to have been intended by Ornstein to make the opposite point. Davis touts the abdications as a victory, but the two men didn’t leave because he made them rethink their prejudices against people of color. Rather, they left because they disapproved of their Klan leader getting so cordial with a black man.

Be considers racists leaving the KKK for not being racist enough a victory.

https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/accidental-courtesy-daryl-davis-race-america

The potential of the film was quickly repressed after Davis made his way to Baltimore and spoke to a group of Black Lives Matter activists. After short discussion, an argument ensues, undoubtedly the most heated moment in the film. Davis ends up calling one BLM activist “uneducated,” illustrating his elitist, classist attitude.

It was at this moment in the documentary Davis went from a tragic character of the great Greek tradition, befriending those who loathe him, to an unlikeable figure. The dichotomy between Davis’ interaction with Klansmen and Black Lives Matter activists was an interesting diversion from the typical narrative.

Here viewers see Davis’ usual easygoing demeanor turn into a spiteful, angry one.

Ironically, being among men who wish his expulsion from America fails to conjure up the same amount of rage as a black person confused about his methods and motives.

His rude demeanor toward the black activist who sought to question why Davis, as a black man, decides to make friends with the paragons of torture and terror in his community was unbecoming. At that moment I was immediately turned off from Davis. The fact that the film centered on his voice and experiences only sought to exacerbate the films diminishing light.

https://star.txstate.edu/2016/03/21...is-not-the-race-conscious-film-america-needs/

This is the great Daryl Davis. Never forget it.

 

[ZealousD]

Which has already happened in this thread. It is always quite telling when people are more concerned with how black people deal with Nazis/racists than they are with the actual Nazis/racist.

If you created a thread on this forum called "Are Nazis bad?" You'd get the overwhelming response of "Yes". There's no discussion or debate to be had here. The only debate you're going to have on GAF is how to deal with Nazis.

 

[Kirye]

I'm not saying that we should all go out and hug a nazi, but I commend this guy for what he did. He wanted to fight hate with love and ultimately that's what we as a country will have to do to deal with this epidemic.

Short of hanging all the white supremacists we're going to have to deal with them forever, and being violent and angry towards them every time will only result in more violence, more hatred. For every confused nazi though there's also one with a knife ready and willing.

I have this hopeful, and somewhat naive, thinking that we can change this country and how people feel about us. Feel free to call me an idiot.

 

[Heckler456]

As people lionize Daryl Davis please remember he seems to show more love for his converts or even non converts than BLM activists




https://www.thedailybeast.com/kkk-d...ashes-with-blm-activists-in-film-during-qanda

Dude fucking both sided BLM and the KKK, BLM and White Supremacists.



https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/accidental-courtesy-daryl-davis-race-america



https://star.txstate.edu/2016/03/21...is-not-the-race-conscious-film-america-needs/

This is the great Daryl Davis. Never forget it.

That does make him seem like an asshole at best, but I think the method is more important here than the person. Did he actually lie about those 200 kkk members?

 

[NastyBook]

Chasing the dragon of White Acceptance.

SCUST.

 

[Kebiinu]

That kind of answer shows a crack. Maybe a subtle realization that what he's doing is wrong. A real opportunity for self reflection and change. You don't get this from a punch. Maybe it won't actually change the white supremacist. But it's a step to doing so.

But there's too many people in this thread, while not blaming or saying that this man was wrong to hug, instead strike out against the ramifications of what this means. They don't like the idea that this is the way to change things. This isn't the way they want to do it. They're more concerned about what they feel is "just" or "right". They don't want to do what works.



You think punching a Nazi doesn't risk your life? Then they can claim actual self-defense. That's even more clear cut to a jury.

Are you black? If so, study your history, we've done this kindness bullshit already, it doesn't work. If you're white, mind your fucking business, don't tell us how to moderate people who want us dead.

Either way, your post was dumb af. It's not our job to teach people how to be human. Time for sympathy is over.

 

[theCalamity]

That's reasonable. Just like I think it's counter-productive to think that we can defeat this idea with nothing but violence and ostracizing these people into secluded communities, I also think it's naive of me to think that we can change a critical mass of people through kindness alone.

And the Nazis will take advantage of that kindness and use that against minorities in this country. While they spew their hate, moderates will say that they have the right. While they threaten to eradicate minorities, moderates will say it is better to be kind to them. While they are literally killing or plotting to kill, moderates will say we should hug them. Stop enabling them.

 

[Ozigizo]

That does make him seem like an asshole at best, but I think the method is more important here than the person. Did he actually lie about those 200 kkk members?

The chapter he claimed to have "shut down" was at Charlottesville.

 

[ZealousD]

I am not going to waste my trying to get a person who hates me to more progressive views, that is not my responsibility.

It's nobody's responsibility. But if nobody steps up and does it anyway, then nothing changes.

 

[Savitar]

From what I've seen a lot of it is blind fury, blind hatred. They deal with others who preach and talk about the same things and isolate themselves, if they go out they don't mingle and if they come into contact with others who they dislike they are either strongly restrained or ignore them. Some times say things.

Most people learn not to hate or dislike things by experiencing other ways outside of their own.

 

[Enzom21]

It's nobody's responsibility. But if nobody steps up and does it anyway, then nothing changes.

By all means, step up but don't try and tell us what we should or shouldn't be doing when it comes to fucking Nazis. I am black, I couldn't give a shit about helping Nazis.

 

[entremet]

I'm all for love and forgiveness and all that, but Nazism is an ideology that purports violence on specific populations.

If you're going to stand for that, people have the right to defend themselves.

There is no Nazi-lite. If you want to identify with an ideology that committed one of the worse crimes against humanity, you will deserve the baggage that comes with it.

 

[PixelatedBookake]

Thinking this changes Nazis really undermines how horrible Nazi ideology is. You know how twisted and fucked up you have to be to believe genocide is right? At that point I don't think a hug from a black man can change your mind. I know some of yall want us to join hands and sing songs with them, but that's greatly underestimating their power. They were trying to take over the world, guys. Come on.

 

[R0ckman]

This is not encouraging, this is like pampering a toddler throwing a tantrum because they don't get a toy. Absolutely pathetic.

 

[Sibersk Esto]

If you created a thread on this forum called "Are Nazis bad?" You'd get the overwhelming response of "Yes". There's no discussion or debate to be had here. The only debate you're going to have on GAF is how to deal with Nazis.

What other response is there to the question “Are Nazis bad?” It’s a yes or no question, and *spoiler* no is the wrong answer.

 

[entremet]

This is not encouraging, this is like pampering a toddler throwing a tantrum because they don't get a toy. Absolutely pathetic.

I'm fine with him doing it. I just hope he doesn't' expect anyone else to. And if he's hit or stabbed when doing it, no one should be surprised. He's putting his head into the mouth of a lion.

 

[CrocMother]

I'm fine with him doing it. I just hope he doesn't' expect anyone else to. And if he's hit or stabbed when doing it, no one should be surprised. He's putting his head into the mouth of a lion.

And yet he came out the other side. Must be a powerful experience.

 

[Rumblebones]

Nah, fuck all that.

Black people are too nice and forgiving, we're always the ones reaching out with love and understanding and attempting to unify, and where does it get us?

These white supremacists assholes are stalling societal progress, and so long as they're doing that that, they're winning, because impeding progress is how minorities continue to be oppressed, discriminated against and murdered with little to no consequence.

Enough is enough. These assholes can get out of the way or get punched in the face until they do.

 

[R0ckman]

I'm fine with him doing it. I just hope he doesn't' expect anyone else to. And if he's hit or stabbed when doing it, no one should be surprised. He's putting his head into the mouth of a lion.

Lol "Why do you want to eat me?" *Attempts to hug lion*

 

[excelsiorlef]

That does make him seem like an asshole at best, but I think the method is more important here than the person. Did he actually lie about those 200 kkk members?

Probably

He says once the friendship blossoms, the Klansmen realize that their hate may be misguided. Since Davis started talking with these members, he says 200 Klansmen have given up their robes. When that happens, Davis collects the robes and keeps them in his home as a reminder of the dent he has made in racism by simply sitting down and having dinner with people.

http://www.npr.org/2017/08/20/54486...0-ku-klux-klan-members-to-give-up-their-robes

The musician says he's convinced 25 members of the KKK to leave the organization, simply through friendly conversation.

http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2016/july/how-one-black-blues-musician-changed-25-members-of-the-kkk

The debate is an old one — integration or independence — and it has become a more generational conflict as evidenced by the tension in the scene. Toure makes a compelling argument for economic power trumping Davis’ outreach and Rose questions the efficacy of persuading roughly 25 klansmen to give up their robes when hundreds of hate groups still stalk the nation and their influence appears to be growing.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk...k-man-s-attempt-befriend-ku-klux-klan-n534006

He seems to shift between those two numbers.


Btw this is one he toutes as a success who tried to run for Governor

Frederick County resident Roger Kelly wouldn't mind if his 2-year-old daughter had a black friend, but he wouldn't want her to marry a black man when she grows up.

...

His views on homosexuality have not changed, however.
"I don't believe in stoning them, but the Bible preaches against homosexuality," he said. "I'd never ask for the homosexual vote, because that would be hypocritical."
Kelly originally joined the Klan because of his views on homosexuality.

...

After 20 years, it was difficult for the man who had been grand dragon of Maryland for eight years prior to assuming leadership over the entire region to leave the group.
"There's a lot of good behind the Klan and we did a lot of good."
Eager to defend the teachings and actions of the KKK factions he ruled, Kelly said, "We were pro-American. We didn't carry Nazi flags and if I saw members with them I'd tell them to leave."
...

"I started far enough in advance so I can convince people I'm honest and sincere," he said. "But I'm not going to bend over backwards."
Although he has no intention of going after the Klan vote, of the handful of people working on his campaign, several are Klan members.


...

Kelly said he has taken his daughter to Klan rallies, but hopes she grows up in a world without discrimination.
"But I don't want her knocked down because she's white," he said. "If anybody picks on her, I'll defend her."

http://www.gazette.net/gazette_archive/1999/199930/frederickcty/county/a20623-1.html#

Dude was still racist.

 

[Opto]

I won't condemn them trying this approach, mostly because that'd be a white person telling a black person how to deal with racists. But it obviously fuels the mindset some people have that non-violence is somehow a solution when facing an incoming wave of people hungry for genocide, with an administration that seems pretty fine with it. Never mind nazis are literally trying to kill people where ever they show up, but those goddamn antifa flipped a trash can!

When it comes to nazis, the question is what would BJ do?

 

[DirgeExtinction]

how can it breed more hatred? They're already maxed out. They literally want to exterminate people.

In a way, it'll give them more fuel to hate poc. Then again, hugging them and showing them love probably wouldn't help either.

 

[GeoGonzo]

I think that, if I try, I could muster some sympathy for some of the german nazi soldiers who got caught up in WW2. Today, in the USA, though? Fuck that, there is no excuse. You should know better and be better.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I think the most interesting thing about this is that the nazi couldn't articulate why he hates black people. He's probably never actually given it any critical thought; he just hates them because he feels like he's supposed to and needs to direct a lot of unwarranted anger somewhere.

Good on the hugging dude though. I wish I could believe it'll make any real difference in the long term.

 

[paskowitz]

Jesus GAF, a lot of you are too cynical. This is a good similar moment, no need to rain on it with cries of hopeless anger.

 

[Patterbits]

I’m okay with both this, and punching Nazis. This seems very sweet, I think that guy probably just damaged his rep with his Nazi buddies tho.

 

[Kthulhu]

I'd like to think this helps. But I imagine that nazi dude just going back to his room and reading more hatred on the websites he visits and continue being a nazi.

Probably. I'd like to think he had a moment of self reflection at the very least.

 

[excelsiorlef]

The chapter he claimed to have "shut down" was at Charlottesville.

Yup

He credits his approach for helping to dismantle the local Klan. "The three Klan leaders here in Maryland, Roger Kelly, Robert White, and Chester Doles—I became friends with each one of them—when the three Klan leaders left the Klan and became friends of mine, that ended the Ku Klux Klan in the state of Maryland," he asserted. "Today there is no more Ku Klux Klan in the state. They've tried to revive it every now and then but it immediately falls apart. Groups from neighboring states might come in and hold a rally ... but it's never taken off."

Maryland Ku Klux Klan wizard charged with shooting weapon at Charlottesville rally

In 2013, Richard Preston, the imperial wizard of the Confederate White Knights of Rosedale (Baltimore County), Maryland, told his neighbors at a meeting to "trust him."

On Saturday, police arrested Preston after they said he fired a gun into the crowd at the white supremacist rally earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia.
...

Preston is one of a few men arrested at the "Unite the Right" rally that resulted in violent clashes between white supremacists and counter protesters and the death of a 32-year-old woman in what officials called a terrorist attack.

...


At a meeting in the Cecil County Administration building in December 2013, Preston told the 50 people in attendance that the Ku Klux Klan doesn't have a problem with people of other colors. His group just wants to take back their country, he said.

"If we don't stop Barack Obama, if we don't stop this government all together that is running us into the ground, working us like dogs, so that they can keep taking it and giving it to somebody else, we're not going to have a country," said Preston.
Kalil Zaky, an African American, asked Preston at the meeting how the Klan was not considered a hate group based on its history.
Preston said the Klan was not a hate group, adding others have labeled it as such. Preston did say there were things done during the Civil Rights era that were wrong, but they are no longer this group.
"We can only ask you to trust us," Preston told him. Zaky, who left before the nearly two-hour meeting ended, was not convinced.

According to the footage captured by the ACLU of Virginia and shared via its Twitter account, Preston, sporting tactical gear, a gun and a bandanna, appears to yell, "Hey, (N-word)!", before shooting.
He now faces a charge of discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, according to CNN, a felony that could lead to 10 years in prison.
In an interview with an Indiana television station two days after the Charlottesville rally, Preston blamed local government for the violence that broke out there.
“They’re being told not to do their job by the mayor,” Preston said about the police at the rally. “That mayor is now responsible for everything that took place. Every person that was hurt. Every person that died. All of it.”

http://www.delawareonline.com/story...-klan-wizard-charlottesville-rally/609739001/

The group and other Klan chapters are planning to have more public meetings across the country.
"We're going to do this all over America nonstop," Preston said. "We're not going to stop. We need to save America."
On the agenda of the Confederate White Knights was the toughening of immigration laws to get rid of undocumented immigrants and impeaching President Obama – not because of his skin color, Preston insisted, but because he said he is not a U.S. citizen.
Some in the crowd said they came out to listen to what the group had to say. One man, who would not give his name, said he agreed with Preston and believed the group was not a hate group.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/20/klan-leader-were-not-a-hate-group/4153563/

Ooops

Davis also seems to really think his work is the only way you stop racism

I had one guy from an NAACP branch chew me up one side and down the other, saying, you know, we've worked hard to get ten steps forward. Here you are sitting down with the enemy having dinner, you're putting us twenty steps back."

I pull out my robes and hoods and say, "look, this is what I've done to put a dent in racism. I've got robes and hoods hanging in my closet by people who've given up that belief because of my conversations sitting down to dinner. They gave it up. How many robes and hoods have you collected?" And then they shut up.

But really look leaving the KKK doesn't mean you stop being racist. Showing off your collected hoods like trophies and wielding them to shame others isn't helpful.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...ing-about-race-with-the-klu-klux-klan/388733/

 

[Lambtron]

There was a bit about hugging a Nazi on Full Frontal recently. My take on that, as well as this situation is the same. If a PoC feels that hugging the Nazi is a better solution than punching them, I support them. I would never, ever tell a PoC that they should hug a Nazi. My fat, white ass has no right. And I'll continue to tell white people to kick thit shit out of these Nazi scumbags. No quarter for fucking Nazis in 2017.

 

[NinjaMouse]

I think the most interesting thing about this is that the nazi couldn't articulate why he hates black people. He's probably never actually given it any critical thought; he just hates them because he feels like he's supposed to and needs to direct a lot of unwarranted anger somewhere.

Good on the hugging dude though. I wish I could believe it'll make any real difference in the long term.

Yeah, I often maintain a bit of cynicism about these types of stories, but I admit that introspective thought is a very powerful tool. It’s something that, in the age of on-demand information, people don’t seem to do very often. If he really was able to get the nazi to engage in a little introspection, I feel like that’s what could spark change.