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Thousands expected at Boston ‘free speech’ rally and counter-protest

Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

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Thousands expected at Boston ‘free speech’ rally and counter-protest

By Wesley Lowery August 19, 2017

BOSTON – City officials expect a gathering of thousands of participants and counter-protesters on Boston Common on Saturday afternoon for a “free speech” rally set to include speeches from several far-right political figures – prompting fears that the event could turn violent. More than 500 police officers will be on hand for the rally, slated from noon until 2 p.m., according to a permit granted earlier this week. The gathering comes just one week after a chaotic rally of far-right political groups including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Klan members in Charlottesville, Va. left dozens injured and one woman dead after a neo-Nazi plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Organizers in Boston said today’s gathering is not in solidarity with white nationalists, but police have installed new surveillance cameras around Boston Common and have put restrictions on the rally – such as a ban on backpacks, sticks and other potential weapons – in hopes of preventing violence. Local activist groups have planned a massive counter-protest and march. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Charlottesville,” Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said at a news conference on Friday. “Boston is too united. We have a city that doesn’t tolerate hatred and bigotry.”

Still expected to speak at the rally are Joe Biggs, formerly a writer for the conspiracy-theory website Infowars, and Kyle Chapman, a far-right activist charged with beating counter-demonstrators with a wooden pole during a clash at Berkeley earlier this year. Members of the Ku Klux Klan told the Boston Herald that they expect several of their members to attend. “There have been questions about why we granted a permit for the rally,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said on Friday. “The courts have made it abundantly clear. They have the right to gather, no matter how repugnant their views are. But they don’t have the right to create unsafe conditions. They have the right to free speech. In return, they have to respect our city.” Meanwhile, organizers of a planned counter protests say they are expecting tens of thousands of attendees at a march planned to coincide with the rally. “We’re expecting about 20,000 to 30,000,” Boston activist Monica Cannon, who is among those spearheading the counter-protest, said during a news conference Friday. “We’ve had people reach out from the Jewish community, the Asian community. We have people coming from all over the country.”
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To the Boston Strong: Send a loud and clear message to those who preach bigotry and hatred .... but do so peacefully and lawfully.
 
One correction... The far right has organized a free hate speech rally.

It may be part of free speech but lets call it what it truly is about.
 
Welp. This'll end well.

It isn't "framing" anything to state the fact that extremist and overtly racist groups are going to be there, and that every city seeing rallies with them in it is concerned and increasing security. Those are just facts.
 
Verax said:
One correction... The far right has organized a free hate speech rally.

It may be part of free speech but lets call it what it truly is about.
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Where was the hate speech?
 
‘Free speech’ rally ends early as thousands of counter-protesters descend on Boston Common

By Wesley Lowery and Christina Pazzanese August 19, 2017

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Thousands of people march in Boston to oppose hate peddlers and white supremacists


BOSTON – Thousands of counter-protesters crammed Boston Common and marched through city streets on Saturday morning in efforts to drown out the planned “free speech” rally that many feared would be attended by white supremacist groups. By 1 p.m., the handful of rally attendees had left the Boston Common pavilion, concluding their event without the planned speeches. A victorious cheer went up among the counter-protesters, as many began to leave. Hundreds of others danced in circles and sang, “Hey hey, ho ho. White supremacy has got to go.” The showdown between right-wing ralliers and the far larger group of counter-protesters in the heart of downtown Boston comes just one week after a chaotic gathering of far-right political groups — including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Klan members — left dozens injured and one woman dead in Charlottesville, Va. after a neo-Nazi plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Members of the Ku Klux Klan told the Boston Herald that they expected several of their members to attend, but there was little if any visible KKK presence at the rally.

The handful of rally attendees gathered beneath a pavilion near the center of the Common, surrounded by metal barriers and dozens of police. Several hundred feet away, thousands of counter-protesters surrounding them carrying signs declaring “Black Lives Matter” and “Hate Has No Home In Boston,” while mockingly chanting “we can’t hear you” during the few times when it appeared the ralliers had begun to speak. One moment of tension came when rally attendees ventured outside of the barriers and were promptly confronted by counter-protesters. One man, draped in a Donald Trump flag, was immediately surrounded by media, while demonstrators chanted at him to “go home.” Organizers in Boston said today’s gathering is not in solidarity with white nationalists, but few of those who attended the massive counter-protester believed them. Across town, thousands began gathering before 10 a.m. on Malcolm X Blvd. for a march to the Common. “We’re not standing for it. We’re not standing (for) white supremacy. We’re not going to have it in our city, not in Boston,” said Boston activist Monica Cannon, who was among those who organized the counter-protest. “We want to send a clear message that you don’t get to come to the city of Boston with your hatred.”
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:applaud Well done Boston!
 
SmokeAndMirrors said:
Welp. This'll end well.

It isn't "framing" anything to state the fact that extremist and overtly racist groups are going to be there, and that every city seeing rallies with them in it is concerned and increasing security. Those are just facts.
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Did you see who actually went there?
Which racist groups showed up?
 
The antifa trash obviously showed up looking for trouble. What kind of idiot does it take to counter protest a free speech rally?
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Apparently you were fed some bs.
I watched the event.
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Uh, if they say they're going, they said they're going.

The fact that they didn't wind up actually doing it because they're spineless is not something anyone could have known in advance. I'm not psychic. I simply took them at their word.

Sorry for being literate, but that's​ what they said.
 
SmokeAndMirrors said:
Uh, if they say they're going, they said they're going.

The fact that they didn't wind up actually doing it because they're spineless is not something anyone could have known in advance. I'm not psychic. I simply took them at their word.

Sorry for being literate, but that's​ what they said.
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That's fairly impeccable logic.
They showing up is proof, they not showing up is proof.
Sounds like a kafkatrap.

How about the fact that it wasn't a "nazi" rally, but a free speech rally.
There were "poc" there to speak, even a progressive guy got up and talked.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
That's fairly impeccable logic.
They showing up is proof, they not showing up is proof.
Sounds like a kafkatrap.

How about the fact that it wasn't a "nazi" rally, but a free speech rally.
There were "poc" there to speak, even a progressive guy got up and talked.
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The free speech rally strangely seemed to be not very well planned out or organized.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
That's fairly impeccable logic.
They showing up is proof, they not showing up is proof.
Sounds like a kafkatrap.

How about the fact that it wasn't a "nazi" rally, but a free speech rally.
There were "poc" there to speak, even a progressive guy got up and talked.
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What are you talking about? Seriously, none of this relates to anything I said or anything I claimed.

It's like you people just have some pre-recorded responses downloaded that you just spit out based on keywords.
 
SmokeAndMirrors said:
What are you talking about? Seriously, none of this relates to anything I said or anything I claimed.

It's like you people just have some pre-recorded responses downloaded that you just spit out based on keywords.
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You claimed that they didn't show up because they were spineless, who was spineless?
The "racists" it wasn't about race, nazi's, etc.
It was a freaking free speech rally.

Racists weren't slated to show up.
 
SmokeAndMirrors said:
Welp. This'll end well.

It isn't "framing" anything to state the fact that extremist and overtly racist groups are going to be there, and that every city seeing rallies with them in it is concerned and increasing security. Those are just facts.
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It's obvious that there's quite a few who don't understand the dynamics or gravity of this situation. These are not ordinary protest groups. They all have a long history of being violent. They are fundamentally anti-American as it's currently structured.

The KKK, Neo-Nazis and White Nationalist groups don't honor our Constitution, which of course includes the right to free speech. They don't honor our Civil Rights laws.

The KKK, Neo-Nazis and White Nationalist groups don't honor our government because those officials who run our government have taken an oath to defend and protect our Constitution. This also requires our government officials to protect all people regardless of their race or religion. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE to these groups.

To these groups, the statues aren't memorials that were made to honor the Confederate heros - or even the history of slavery

These protests are solely about the KKK, Neo-Nazis and White Nationalist groups, which believe that America "ONLY BELONGS TO WHITE PROTESTANTS".

These groups are protesting the removal of the icons which represent their ideology from public display.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
You claimed that they didn't show up because they were spineless, who was spineless?
The "racists" it wasn't about race, nazi's, etc.
It was a freaking free speech rally.

Racists weren't slated to show up.
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I didn't say it was. I said some of them said they'd attend. And that's true.

Get some better auto-responses.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Yep, considering that it's been market by the media and the mayor as "far right" people are shying away from being doxxed, threatened and potentially assaulted.
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If you truly wanted free speech, why not march with the other thousands of people instead of your ten idiot racist friends?
*I'm assuming not all racists in Boston know each other.
 
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