Tension comes between students of City College of New York and police as the students camp on the campus and take part in Gaza protest against Israeli attacks in New York City on April 25, 2024. | Source: Anadolu / Getty
Over the weekend, members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front marched through the streets of Charleston, West Virginia, chanting white nationalist nonsense and holding up a banner that read, “America is not for sale.” Now, it’s unclear what this brigade of angry white men was demonstrating against (after all, America just banned TikTok, not tiki-torches) but their march towards the state Capitol in downtown Charleston happened to take place during YWCA Charleston’s 8th annual Race to End Racism, which Newsweek described as an event that “aims to raise funds for community engagement and racial equity and inclusion programming.” (Add the word “diversity” to “equity” and “inclusion,” and suddenly you have white bigots’ new favorite racial slur, so, yeah, that’s probably why they were marching.)
“First, I want to thank the organizers and supporters of the YWCA’s Race to End Racism today in Charleston. It is important for our community to celebrate coming together and stand up against hate,” Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin said in a statement after video footage of the Patriot Front march went viral. “When our City team learned of a national hate group demonstrating earlier today, we acted quickly and appropriately to make sure all in our community remained safe.”
“They want us to share their propaganda—and repost their photos on social media—I will not. We cannot let voices that want to spread hate be louder than the voices of those of us who want to celebrate our community,” she continued.
What’s more concerning than why these men were marching is what appears to be absent in all of the video footage of the march floating around the interwebs.
Where the hell was the police presence?
Seriously, why is it that the only boys in blue seen in these videos are the white men in navy blue polo shirts, khakis and white face coverings? (Also, why does the Patriot Front uniform look like the KKK went corporate and started dressing its members like Walmart employees on their way to a bank robbery?) It’s just really strange that there are no cops in sight considering the fact that the last time angry white nationalists marched through one of the Virginias, a violent riot broke out and a woman was killed.
Meanwhile, hoards of police officers have been ever-present at the pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted at college campuses across the country, where hundreds of students have been arrested. It’s also worth noting that despite the fact that there have been no reported killings during any of those protests, Donald Trump has said multiple times that the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville was “nothing” in comparison. (Of course, that’s to be expected coming from the commaner-in-very-fine-poeple-on-both-sides.)
As it turned out, there was no reported violence during the Patriot Front’s march, but if there had been, it looks like the police would have been late to the party. Just sayin’—next time, they might not be so lucky. After all, cops are going to show up at college campuses and Black Lives Matter protests ready for war whether there are any indications of violence or not.
SEE ALSO:
The March On Washington For Gaza From A Black Perspective
Why Black Americans Should Stand In Solidarity With Palestinians: Activist And Scholar Explains
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