/home/wpurdemo/resistancesuffolk/wp-content/mu-plugins Alt-Right – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website A collection of writings dealing with current US & Long Island politics Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:03:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 Zeldin’s Friend Steve Bannon https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/12/31/zeldins-friend-steve-bannon/ https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/12/31/zeldins-friend-steve-bannon/#comments Sun, 31 Dec 2017 00:36:31 +0000 https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/12/31/zeldins-friend-steve-bannon/ Continue reading →]]> Screen Shot 2017-12-30 at 4.07.23 PM

You Are the Company You Keep!  “Personal branding is the name of the game these days, and in our age of radical transparency it is informed not just by how you present yourself but also by the people you associate with“.  So writes ,

Let’s examine Rep. Lee Zeldin of NY Congressional District-1.  He has associated himself with Steve Bannon of Breitbart fame.  Bannon recently headlined a Zeldin fundraiser in New York City and this has not gone un-noticed!  Zeldin has excused Bannon noting that Bannon “gets a bad rap” and is not anti-semitic, but a “friend of Israel”.  You can check out the story via various local outlets:

Dan Rattiner writes in Dan’s papers: “For those that have been living under a rock, Steve Bannon is the chief of Breitbart News, one of the most right-wing, fake-news, dangerous organizations imaginable. His “news” celebrates the Ku Klux Klan, anti-Semites, the wildest of the redneck bigots and the neo-Nazis. If he had his way, Bannon would surely consider the likes of me, a member of the media, as someone who belongs in jail. He is a clear and present danger to the American democracy we all hold so dear.”

But  what I would like to do here is expose Bannon.  His tactics are devious.  He avoids leaving a personal trail of antisemitic or hateful comments.  In stead he hires writers for Breitbart News, his Alt-right platform.  They then write inflammatory commentaries based on their neo-nazi sources, and an army of alt-right followers and nut-cases leave the most awful and hateful comments.  So, lets examine the specifics. They need to be public to expose Mr. Zeldin and the company he keeps.

Breitbart Under Bannon: Breitbart’s Comments Section Reflects Alt-Right, Anti-Semitic Language as exposed by the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center).  Bannon turned the comment section into “a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.”

POLITICO reported, “Bannon said the best things about Breitbart are the comments section and the callers.”

Here is a list of Breitbart contributors, who they are and what they do.  It is based on reporting by Breitbart Truth,  It covers White Nationalists and InfoWars conspiracy theorists at Steve Bannon’s Breitbart News. This is a great source (screenshots from FB and Twitter etc. )

The Breitbart journalists featured here have collectively written over 17,000 articles for Breitbart since 2010.

Click here and see more!  Specially if you want to check the screen shots of tweets and pictures!  (The material was too much to include in this post)

  • Charles Johnson, Breitbart US writer,  CJ has written nearly 300 articles for Breitbart between 2010 and 2013.  On January 9th, 2017, Forbes.com staff reported that CJ was helping to select Trump administration officials during the Presidential transition.  On January 27th, 2017, CJ self described himself as a fascist in a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything.  A Holocaust denier, Charles went on the self-described fascist podcast “Fash the Nation” where he talked about the genetic IQ inferiority of blacks and how Jews should not be able to hold top positions.
  •  Milo Yiannopolous, Breitbart US writer:  Milo was a senior editor at Breitbart US, and wrote 400+ articles for Breitbart between 2014 and 2017. In leaked emails, Milo praised a Neo-Nazi staff member of the Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Milo said: “He’s one of the funniest, smartest and most interesting people I know.”  He also befriended white supremacist Devin Saucier and hired white nationalist Tim Gionet. In emails with Devin Saucier, Milo said he was “easing everyone in gently” to the racial IQ superiority ideas that Saucier supports. In April 2016, he sang for a Neo-Nazi gathering in Dallas, Texas. White nationalist Richard Spencer can be seen in the video.
  • Jack Hadfield, Breitbart US writer. …frequent Breitbart contributor JH acts as an administrator of the right-wing “free speech” Facebook group the Young Right Society (YRS), which is frequently awash with appalling racist and ‘alt-right’ content.  Hadfield has authored over 200 articles for the far-right news outlet Breitbart, itself accused of pandering to the white nationalist alt-right.
    Membership of the secret group has included open fascists and nazis, well-known alt-right figures such as Scottish blogger Colin Robertson (aka Millennial Woes), alongside Conservative Party activists and UKIP youth leader Jamie Ross McKenzie. …Hadfield also posted the work of Italian “traditionalist” philosopher Julius Evola, who idolised Hitler’s murderous SS and was admired by Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, with the caption “Got me some good new summer reading”.   The book was published by Arktos, the central publisher of the racist alt-right.
  • PJ Salvatore, Breitbart US writer. Twitter handle: @PortosJ81J.  Salvatore has written over 750 articles for Breitbart between 2010 and 2012.   As of 12-2-17, PJ has deleted nearly all of his Tweets and has removed nearly all of the accounts he Followed, like  @DegeneracyKills   @DereksCorpse

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  • Virginia Hale, Breitbart London. @Virgehall.  Hale has written over 300 articles for Breitbart since December 2014. Hale is currently writing articles at Breitbart London. Virginia Hale “liked” a tweet from @ShabbosShekels (aka FashyGoy). “Fash” means fascist in far right circles, and “goy” is a non-Jew in Yiddish.  Followed and communicated with Julius Ebola, white nationalist Twitter user, as well as white nationalists Richard Spencer and Matthew Heimbach.  She also follows Wagner C. Soto.  You can read more about Virginia Hale’s views at Media Matters.  Update (April 2017): Virginia Hale deactivated her Twitter account sometime in March of 2017, but continues to write for Breitbart London.
  • John Binder, Breitbart US writer. @Jxhnbider.He has written nearly 300 articles for Breitbart since August 2016. Follows Paul Town, Baked Alaska, InfoWars.  Also follows Peter Brimelow, white nationalist who gives speeches for white nationalist groups National Policy Institute and American Renaissance.  Follows Based Monitored, Blaqpilled Victor, Brittany Pettibone, Ricky Vaughn, and Brannon. All followers/retweeters of white nationalists.  Retweets WND, a conspiracy theorist website, VDare and Vegas4Trump, a self described white nationalist.
  • Nick Hallett (@NickJhallett)  Breitbart London writer. He has written nearly 2,000 articles for Breitbart since February 2014. Nick follows Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson. Infowars believes 9/11 was performed by the US government (inside job), and that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
    Nick also follows @ReactionaryTree (aka TrumpenReich Tree)
  • Ezra Dulis, Breitbart US writer. @ezradulis   Ezra has written about 300 articles for Breitbart since 2010.  Ezra follows self described “American Nationalist” @RopePusher777 who retweets InfoWars, the 9/11 conspiracy website that says the US government performed 9/11 and killed 3,000 of its own citizens.  Ezra follows and communicates with “Saul Townstein“ whose real name is Paul Town.  Paul Town’s website, PaulTown.com, has a sidebar that invites people to visit American Renaissance website, a white nationalist group, and Daily Stormer, a neo-nazi group, and Fash, the Nation.com, a white nationalist website and podcast.Screen Shot 2017-12-30 at 5.03.39 PM.png
  • Christian Toto, Breitbart US writer. @HollywoodinToto.  Mr. Toto has written nearly 3,000 articles for Breitbart since 2009. Mr. Toto follows Mark Dice, Illuminati/NWO conspiracy theorist. And also follows @kaleriley, who believes in the PizzaGate conspiracy theory and that Kanye West is fighting the Illuminati.
  • Donna Rachel Edmunds (@Donna_R_E). Breitbart London writer. Donna has written nearly 2,000 articles for Breitbart since May 2014. Follows Alex Jones (Info Wars), Info Wars main account, and Paul Watson (Info Wars). Info Wars is a conspiracy website that believes 9/11 was an inside job where the US government killed 3,000 of its own citizens.  Also follows @ThaRightStuff, a self described fascist who runs http://www.Rightstuf.biz.
  • John Nolte, Breitbart US writer. @NolteNC. He has written nearly 6,500 articles for Breitbart since 2009. Nolte follows @velow1 who describes himself as a pro-white nationalist. He also follows “Resist Tyranny” who tweets Muslim American conspiracy theories and also follows “Fash” who tweets Infowars.
  • Lucas Nolan, Breitbart USA writer.@Lucasnolan_.  He has written nearly 270 articles for Breitbart since June 2016.  He follows InfoWars. Follows MissPatriarch (aka Becky), who is pro-Assad, pro-RT.com, and pro-white nationalism.  Also follows and communicates with Paul Town, white nationalist who runs a website linking to Daily Stormer and Fash the Nation.
  • Katie McHugh, Breitbart US writer. @k_mcq. She has written more than 500 articles for Breitbart since 2014. She communicates with Paul Town (link 1, link 2) and Richard Spencer supporter @ReactionaryTree (link).  Screencapped on 1-12-17. Here, Katie McHugh “likes” a Vdare tweet about John Derbyshire. Derbyshire was fired from the conservative journal National Review after he wrote the following:

“The mean intelligence of blacks is much lower than for whites. The least intelligent ten percent of whites have IQs below 81; forty percent of blacks have IQs that low. Only one black in six is more intelligent than the average white; five whites out of six are more intelligent than the average black.

(9) A small cohort of blacks—in my experience, around five percent—is ferociously hostile to whites and will go to great lengths to inconvenience or harm us. A much larger cohort of blacks—around half—will go along passively if the five percent take leadership in some event. They will do this out of racial solidarity, the natural willingness of most human beings to be led, and a vague feeling that whites have it coming. 

(10c) If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date.
(10d) Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks.
(10e) If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.”

Source for quotes.

Derbyshire was positively mentioned by Breitbart here
As mentioned above, Vdare hosts white supremacist articles.

  • Dustin Stockton, Breitbart US writer, @DustinStockton.  He has written nearly 150 articles for Breitbart since August 2015.  Dustin follows, retweets, and tweets Based Alaska (@bakedalaska), who retweets Paul Town, InfoWars, RightStuff, and Richard Spencer.  Dustin also retweets Mike Cernovich (“diversity is code for white genocide” link) and Mark Dice (NWO/Illumunati conspiracist)

 

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  • Neil McCabe, Breitbart US writer. @NeilWmccabe.  He has written nearly 400 articles for Breitbart since June 2016.  Neil follows Irma Hinjosa who posts birther conspiracy theories.  And Neil retweets InfoWars’ Paul Watson. InfoWars is a conspiracy site that believes 9/11 was done by the US government against its own citizens.  Neil retweets Russia Today (RT.com) articles (RT is Russian government propaganda).
  • Matthew Boyle, Breitbart US writer. @mboyle. Matt has written nearly 2,500 articles for Breitbart since 2012. Mr. Boyle retweets VDARE tweets.Here are some excerpts of VDARE’s work:“America was defined — almost explicitly, sometimes very explicitly — as a white nation, for white people, and what that means is that there is virtually no figure, no law, no policy, no event in the history of the old, white America that can survive the transition to the new and non-white version. Whether we will want to call the new updated version ‘America’ at all is another question entirely.”— Sam Francis, VDARE.com, July 21, 2003“What race realists find most infuriating about the liberalism of the last half-century is not just that it has lost its instinctive appreciation for the culture and people of the West but actively, viciously attacks them. Whites are doing something no other people have ever done in human history. Our rulers and elites welcome replacement by aliens, they vilify our ancestors and their own, they sacrifice our interests to those of favored minorities, and they treat the entire history of the West as if it were a global plague of rapine and exploitation. This is a disease that is killing us, and we must fight it head on.”Jared Taylor, VDARE.com, July 4, 2008

 

  • Lee Stranahan, Breitbart US writer. @Stranaha. He has written nearly 900 articles for Breitbart since 2010. Lee follows Haley Claus. also follows Westleigh, and Infowars, also follows Jeremy Nolt, more Infowars / RT connections. Infowars is a conspiracy website that believes 9/11 was a US government attack on its own citizens.  RT (Russia Today) is a Russian government propaganda website.

Screen Shot 2017-12-30 at 7.00.24 PM.png

 

  • Chris Tomlinson. Chris is a writer at Breitbart London. He has written over 660 articles for Breitbart since January 2016.  He follows multiple “Identitarian” Twitter users.  Identitarians are far-right activists similar to white nationalists.

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  • Brandon Darby, Breitbart Texas Editor-in-Chief. @Brandondarby.  He has written nearly 500 articles for Breitbart since 2010.Brandon follows John Blake, who retweets self described fascist @TheRightStuf, a self described fascist who runs www.Rightstuf.biz.

 

ASK YOURSELF: Do President Trump and Lee ZELDIN  know that Steve Bannon hired multiple white nationalists and InfoWars conspiracy theorists? And that Breitbart News still employs them? Do right-wing media outlets like FOX News know of Bannon’s links to white nationalists and InfoWars conspiracy theorists, but choose to ignore the issue?

Here is an interesting article on Breitbart, racists and the dirty work of laundering the ‘alt-right’.  I quote from this article: “the more apparent portrait is of a budding media empire that seems intent on growing its own market share, and political power, by courting some of the coarser and most hateful elements on the American right — or turning a blind eye to the staffers doing the dirty work. It shows its one-time star [Milo Yiannopolous] literally seeking the approval of the farthest of the far right, even as he and they agree that Breitbart risks too much in acknowledging their influence….  That was the conclusion conservative blogger Ben Shapiro reached when he resigned from Breitbart in March 2016.”

And what happened to Ben Shapiro after he left Breitbart? It is a messy story!  I quote:

…since his resignation from Breitbart in March, Shapiro, currently editor-in-chief of Daily Wire, has increasingly found himself targeted by the so-called alt-right movement…Breitbart published a piece by an alt-right Twitter personality known as “Pizza Party Ben” …that consisted mostly of a video mocking Shapiro for having complained about anti-Semitism, the alt-right, and Trump…

The nadir came a couple of weeks ago, though, when Shapiro’s wife gave birth to the couple’s second child. As the Daily Wire noted, Shapiro was hit with a wave of vicious anti-Semitic abuse, including multiple Holocaust references and requests that Shapiro and his family be sent to the ovens.

 

Breitbart News is “the platform for the alt-right,” boasts Stephen Bannon as per MotherJones.

I ask Lee Zeldin, is this the kind of personal brand you want?

 

 

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https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/12/31/zeldins-friend-steve-bannon/feed/ 4
Keep Bannon out of New York https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/12/14/keep-bannon-out-of-new-york/ Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:56:27 +0000 https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/12/14/keep-bannon-out-of-new-york/ Continue reading →]]> This demonstration is tomorrow Thursday on Park Ave and 47th in front of the offices of Wayne Berman, one of the hosts of Zeldin’s fundraiser with Bannon.   The location may change in the last minute – keep checking this Facebook site:

https://www.facebook.com/events/787115771474452/?active_tab=discussion

Screen Shot 2017-12-13 at 7.35.57 PM.png

 

On December 14, Steve Bannon will be in NYC fundraising for Rep. Lee Zeldin. It’s Bannon’s first fundraiser for a House Representative, and we have to show up big if we’re going to make it his last.

After Steve Bannon was ousted from the White House (we helped do that!), he set his sights on Congress with a plan to elect extremists who support Trump and his white supremacist agenda.

We need to make it clear that Steve Bannon and his white supremacist agenda are NOT welcome in New York or in Congress.

Help us bring our message to Rep. Lee Zeldin and every Member of Congress: if they’re willing to threaten our communities by giving a platform to Steve Bannon’s hateful agenda for their own political gain, we’re going to do everything in our power to hold them accountable.

Share and invite your friends, and sign our petition: http://www.weveseenthisbefore.org/zeldin_dump_bannon

More details to be announced!

CO-SPONSORS: Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Show Up LI, Let’s Visit Lee Zeldin, Suffolk Progressives, Resist and Replace, Long Island Progressive Coalition, PEER/NYPAN: Progressive East End Reformers, Resist Here, T’ruah, United Through Action/Flip Long Island, Make the Road New York, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice [JFREJ]

I would add:
As Doug Jones in Alabama proved yesterday and summed up by Michael Steele on MSNBC:
Prepare you signs/banners (but don’t mount them on sticks or poles).
Ideas for signs:
When you lie down with fleas…
No Hate in NY State
Zeldin is a Bannon puppet
Zeldin is a Trump puppet
Zeldin: Alt right Jew ???
Zeldin: siding with Alt Right
We are coming for you Lee Zeldin
Toxic Lee has the Bannon Virus
Peter King on Bannon:

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Mr. Zeldin Learns the Trump “Two-Step” https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/08/19/mr-zeldin-learns-the-trump-two-step/ Sat, 19 Aug 2017 16:49:35 +0000 https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/08/19/mr-zeldin-learns-the-trump-two-step/ Continue reading →]]> How many times is Congressman Zeldin going to try to disavow his embrace of Trump’s pro-white supremacy, without really doing so

– The Washington Times – Friday, August 18, 2017

Rep. Lee Zeldin said Friday that there were parts of President Trump’s statement on white supremacists that were “factually inaccurate.”

“There should not be anyone, who is a good person, who is participating in any type of an effort that in any way, shape, or form is associated with the KKK and Nazism and all of the evil they represent. There are parts of what the president said that you can say are factually inaccurate. There are other parts that are hard truths. But as far as the factually inaccurate piece, I don’t know of anyone who would be there, who would associate themselves with that particular protest, who are good people,” Mr. Zeldin, New York Republican, said on CNN.

But Mr. Zeldin said criticism of the president, like that from Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, was “a little broader” than he would agree with. Mr. Corker said Thursday at a media availability that Mr. Trump had not shown the “competence” or “stability” of a successful leader.

“Sen. Corker is making a statement that could be interpreted a little broader than I would necessarily agree with. Sen. Corker might have a disagreement on, for example what we just had happen in Charlottesville. Speaking for myself for sure — I’m Jewish — I have zero tolerance whatsoever for any individual that associates themselves with KKK and Nazism and the hatred and bigotry and intolerance evil that is filled within their ranks,” Mr. Zeldin said.

The New York Republican came under fire after posting his support for Mr. Trump on Facebook in the wake of white supremacists protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week. Mr. Zeldin said the president was right for blaming the violence on “both sides.”

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Yes, What About the “Alt-Left”? https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/08/18/yes-what-about-the-alt-left/ Fri, 18 Aug 2017 12:57:43 +0000 https://resistancesuffolk.wp.urdemo.website/2017/08/18/yes-what-about-the-alt-left/ Continue reading →]]>

From Slate

What the counter-protesters Trump despises were actually doing in Charlottesville last weekend.

97024013
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the “alt-right” clash with counter-protesters as they enter Emancipation Park on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Dahlia LithwickDAHLIA LITHWICK

Dahlia Lithwick writes about the courts and the law for Slate, and hosts the podcast Amicus.

 

On Tuesday, after a weekend that included a white supremacist mowing down and killing a peaceful counter-protester in Charlottesville and Nazis marching on the University of Virginia with torches, the president of the United States stood in front of the American people and said, “What about the ‘alt-left’ that came charging at, as you say, the ‘alt-right’? Let me ask you this: What about the fact they came charging—that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”

There were, as it turns out, a great number of Charlottesville locals present to witness the violence and lawlessness on display in this town—my town—last weekend. I asked local witnesses, many in the faith community, every one of whom was on the streets of Charlottesville on Saturday, whether there was a violent, club-wielding mob threatening the good people on team Nazi. Here’s what I heard back:

 

Brandy Daniels
Postdoctoral fellow at the Luce Project on Religion and Its Publics at UVA

It was basically impossible to miss the antifa for the group of us who were on the steps of Emancipation Park in an effort to block the Nazis and alt-righters from entering. Soon after we got to the steps and linked arms, a group of white supremacists—I’m guessing somewhere between 20-45 of them—came up with their shields and batons and bats and shoved through us. We tried not to break the line, but they got through some of us—it was terrifying, to say the least—shoving forcefully with their shields and knocking a few folks over. We strengthened our resolve and committed to not break the line again. Some of the anarchists and anti-fascist folks came up to us and asked why we let them through and asked what they could do to help. Rev. Osagyefo Sekou talked with them for a bit, explaining what we were doing and our stance and asking them to not provoke the Nazis. They agreed quickly and stood right in front of us, offering their help and protection.

Less than 10 minutes later, a much larger group of the Nazi alt-righters come barreling up. My memory is again murky on the details. (I was frankly focused on not bolting from the scene and/or not soiling myself—I know hyperbole is common in recounting stories like these, but I was legitimately very worried for my well-being and safety, so I was trying to remember the training I had acquired as well as, for resolve, to remember why I was standing there.) But it had to have been at least 100 of them this go around. I recall feeling like I was going to pass out and was thankful that I was locked arms with folks so that I wouldn’t fall to the ground before getting beaten. I knew that the five anarchists and antifa in front of us and the 20 or so of us were no match for the 100-plus of them, but at this point I wasn’t letting go.

“Cornel West said that he felt that the antifa saved his life. I didn’t roll my eyes at that statement or see it as an exaggeration.”

At that point, more of the anarchists and antifa milling nearby saw the huge mob of the Nazis approach and stepped in. They were about 200-300 feet away from us and stepped between us (the clergy and faith leaders) and the Nazis. This enraged the Nazis, who indeed quickly responded violently. At this point, Sekou made a call that it was unsafe—it had gotten very violent very fast—and told us to disperse quickly.

While one obviously can’t objectively say what a kind of alternate reality or “sliding doors”–type situation would have been, one can hypothesize or theorize. Based on what was happening all around, the looks on their faces, the sheer number of them, and the weapons they were wielding, my hypothesis or theory is that had the antifa not stepped in, those of us standing on the steps would definitely have been injured, very likely gravely so. On Democracy Now, Cornel West, who was also in the line with us, said that he felt that the antifa saved his life. I didn’t roll my eyes at that statement or see it as an exaggeration—I saw it as a very reasonable hypothesis based on the facts we had.

 

Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin
Congregation Beth Israel

There was a group of antifa defending First United Methodist Church right outside in their parking lot, and at one point the white supremacists came by and antifa chased them off with sticks.

Rebekah Menning

Charlottesville resident

I stood with a group of interfaith clergy and other people of faith in a nonviolent direct action meant to keep the white nationalists from entering the park to their hate rally. We had far fewer people holding the line than we had hoped for, and frankly, it wasn’t enough. No police officers in sight (that I could see from where I stood), and we were prepared to be beaten to a bloody pulp to show that while the state permitted white nationalists to rally in hate, in the many names of God, we did not. But we didn’t have to because the anarchists and anti-fascists got to them before they could get to us. I’ve never felt more grateful and more ashamed at the same time. The antifa were like angels to me in that moment.

Mary Esselman

Writer

My 13-year-old son and I stood by ourselves on the corner down the street from the synagogue, in front of the Catholic Church, trying to walk back home but interrupted by a stream of white extremist marchers, with their signs and firearms and crazy regalia. I felt like an idiot but tried to look each in the eye and said, “Peace,” and “Peace be with you,” with as much sincerity as I had in me, trying to reach some humanity in them, and they jeered and mocked me, called me what you might imagine, told my son, Luke, that his mom was a this and a that. And now I learn that my son and labradoodle and I, and our little “peace be with you”s are apparently “alt-left.”

Our path home was blocked by them, and we had no choice but to face them. Just us alone on that street corner, and all of them menacing, streaming past us on their way to the rally. Later, when we were a block away from where everyone was clashing and considering going to the front steps of the public library, there was a big line of white supremacists, the leader wearing some kind of yellow spiked helmet, and as they tromped toward the rally, these lovely older women standing beside us wearing sky blue T-shirts that said “Quaker” kind of trotted alongside them gently, holding signs that said “Love.” Alt-left for sure. I was armed with my iPhone and my dog’s leash. Luke was armed with his acne and hormones.

Rev. Seth Wispelwey

Directing minister of Restoration Village Arts and consulting organizer for Congregate C’ville

I am a pastor in Charlottesville, and antifa saved my life twice on Saturday. Indeed, they saved many lives from psychological and physical violence—I believe the body count could have been much worse, as hard as that is to believe. Thankfully, we had robust community defense standing up to white supremacist violence this past weekend. Incredibly brave students held space at the University of Virginia and stared down a torch-lit mob that vastly outnumbered them on Friday night. On Saturday, battalions of anti-fascist protesters came together on my city’s streets to thwart the tide of men carrying weapons, shields, and Trump flags and sporting MAGA hats and Hitler salutes and waving Nazi flags and the pro-slavery “stars and bars.”

“They have their tools, and they are not ones I will personally use, but our purposes were the same: block this violent tide.”

Out of my faith calling, I feel led to pursue disciplined, nonviolent direct action and witness. I helped lead a group of clergy who were trained and committed to the same work: to hold space on the frontline of the park where the rally was to be held. And then some of us tried to take the steps to one of the entrances. God is not OK with white supremacy, and God is on the side of all those it tries to dehumanize. We feel a responsibility to visibly, bodily show our solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized.

A phalanx of neo-Nazis shoved right through our human wall with 3-foot-wide wooden shields, screaming and spitting homophobic slurs and obscenities at us. It was then that antifa stepped in to thwart them. They have their tools to achieve their purposes, and they are not ones I will personally use, but let me stress that our purposes were the same: block this violent tide and do not let it take the pedestal.

The white supremacists did not blink at violently plowing right through clergy, all of us dressed in full clerical garb. White supremacy is violence. I didn’t see any racial justice protesters with weapons; as for antifa, anything they brought I would only categorize as community defense tools and nothing more. Pretty much everyone I talk to agrees—including most clergy. My strong stance is that the weapon is and was white supremacy, and the white supremacists intentionally brought weapons to instigate violence.

 

One more thing

Since Donald Trump entered the White House, Slate has stepped up our politics coverage—bringing you news and opinion from writers like Jamelle Bouie, Michelle Goldberg, and Dahlia Lithwick. We’re covering the administration’s immigration crackdown, the rollback of environmental protections, the efforts of the resistance, and more.

Our work is more urgent than ever and is reaching more readers—but online advertising revenues don’t fully cover our costs, and we don’t have print subscribers to help keep us afloat. So we need your help.

If you think Slate’s work matters, become a Slate Plus member. You’ll get exclusive members-only content and a suite of great benefits—and you’ll help secure Slate’s future.

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