YAF's Nick Griffin Speech is beginning to attract potentially dangerous elements to Michigan State University's Campus.
On Stormfront, a White Nationalist Website frequented by Neo-Nazis, Skinheads, and KKK members, there has been a call for an entourage of Stormfront members to attend the event.
Even on the protester side there is the potential for violence. While several MSU student groups such as Chicanos y Latinos Unidos have successfully used non-violent methods in protesting YAF's hatred, and are currently in the process of planning another non-violent protest, outside groups could pose a threat to their progress.
Anti Racist Action (ARA) of Wayne State University has announced on it's blog intentions of coming to the event. While there is no immediate threat of violence by this particular chapter, this group is occasionally violent according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
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5 comments:
i've been at a number of the yaf events over the last couple of years and have also been involved in anti-fascist organizing for a while. Let me say that i appreciate the work that you do. I would like to ask you to seriously think about the slippery slope you put yourselves on once you call for some types of protest and not others. you talk about the recent CLU actions as non-violent as if previous YAF events have been violent. Besides police violence, there has been no violence by protesters at any yaf events including the simcox event. you help to create the dangerous dichotomy of good protester/bad protester by insinuating that some protestors are violent when you have no grounds to say so. It is irresponsible journalism but is also feeding into the dividing and conquering of protesters by pitting them against each other via your opinion on their political differences. again, please think about the consequences of taking this kind of stance.
Someone is off his meds. The Simcox protesters were incredibly violent. Every last one of them should have been expelled for their behavior. If anyone shows up and misbehaves - either in support of or against Griffin - they should be arrested, charged, and punished. Period.
But once again, YAF-Watch argues the "heckler's veto" - that free speech can and should be suppressed if too many people don't like it.
YAF-Watch has not argued for the "heckler's veto". We specifically link to a silent protest.
Comments made by poster D are the poster's own. The comment was approved to give him a chance to offer an explanation.
While various chapter of ARA have used violence in the past, there is no concrete evidence this chapter intends to use it at this event.
With regard to Jason's comment, there was no violence by protestors at the Simcox event. There was lots of yelling and chanting, but that is not violence. The only "violence" came from the police and even that was fairly minimal.
Having been at the Chris Simcox event, I did not witness violence on the part of protesters.
Police apprehensions were violent and rougher than they needed to be.
Dennis Lennox of CMU-YAF did harass several people, in a matter that was threatening, with his camera.
This post was not intended to set up a good protest/bad protest dichotomy. There have been moments in the past where various ARA chapters have used violence.
This does not mean that the Wayne State Chapter would use it.I have been told by many people familiar with the particular chapter of ARA that they would not use violence.
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