I find it darkly ironic that protesters against a white supremacist march in Ohio ended up, well, being a hell of a lot more self-destructively violent than their targets.
But the precautions were not enough to stop people angry about the march from looting and burning a neighborhood bar, smashing the windows of a gas station, and hurling rocks and bottles at the police on Saturday. Twelve officers were injured, with one suffering a concussion when a brick flew through the window of her cruiser.
In all, 114 people were arrested on charges including assault, vandalism, failure to disperse and overnight curfew violations. The march was called off because of the crowds, and the white supremacists left.
Yeah, that’s showin’ ’em!
Neighbors were divided about the city’s allowing the march. “They don’t have the right to bring hate to my front yard,” said Terrance Anderson, who lives near the bar that was destroyed.
Sounds like there was plenty already there.
I don’t hold any truck with the American Nazi Party, and the Woody Allen comment on the famous Skokie march (“I think you should defend to the death their right to march, and then go down and meet them with baseball bats”) is tempting … but not only don’t you win any moral points by rioting and burning the neighborhood, you only confirm to them (and perhaps others) that they hold the moral high ground.
Which is pretty disgusting in and of itself.
Orac comments in more detail.