On August 11, a white supremacist protest against removal of a Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Virginia turned violent, and a young woman, who was a counter-protester, was killed. This sparked anti-hate/anti-fascism/anti-Nazi marches across the country, including an estimated 1500 people who marched through downtown Tucson.
President Trump’s claim that there was “violence on both sides” in Charlottesville ran counter to what many Americans saw in the news and on social media.
Presidential comments that appeared supportive of white supremacists, the rumor that Trump would soon pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (which did happened), Trump’s threat to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t fund the border wall, and the potential end of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)– all made Trump’s August 22 campaign rally in Phoenix a potential powder keg.
After Trump’s speech, there were clashes between Phoenix police and anti-fascist protesters. The news reports have primarily focused on the violence and whether or not the police response was justified.
BUT for hours before, the anti-hate/anti-fascism/anti-Trump/anti-Arpaio/anti-Nazi protesters were noisy but non-violent. More than 5000 Arizonans braved the 105+ degree heat to protest outside of Trump’s speech in the Convention Center.
My husband Jim and I were part of a contingent of Unitarian Universalists (UUs) who came up from Tucson to protest. We started out at the 3:30 rally at the Capitol and later took the city bus to the staging area in a downtown park. We got off the bus as the protesters were streaming into the street and toward the Convention Center. We wandered around and through the protest for three hours, shooting video, snapping photos, and greeting friends along the way.
I was pleased and surprised to see both Democratic Party gubernatorial candidates at the protest– Senator Steve Farley and Dr. David Garcia. I also saw Tucson City Councilwomen Regina Romero and Karin Uhlich. Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales and I were interviewed live by an NBC-TV reporter from Los Angeles. There was a good showing of UUs from multiple churches. (In the video, you can see the bright yellow “Standing on the Side of Love” t-shirts.)
Here is a video that I shot at two rallies.
Cross-posted from Tucson Progressive.
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people at phoenix city council meeting tried to hold the gutless doofuses elected officials accountable for the last weeks police riot and mayor stint want to tank the police for their riot! don’t we have election this month where we can vote these scumbags out!
nancy pelosi has come out attacking those who oppose fascism. evidently the wealthy donor class and corporate establishment clintonista democrats don’t like anti fascism. this started in the primaries with their fear of bernie sanders and his supporters. these corporate establishment donors and their running dogs like pelosi are more afraid of black lives matter and anti trump/anti fascist groups then they are of what the g.o.p. and trump will do!
I like how the right winger’s say “if we have to denounce Nazi’s, then you have to denounce AntiFa”.
Which is admitting that the Nazi’s are Republicans.
“Whatboutism” carried to it’s logical conclusion.
AntiFa is not a Democrat organization, they’ve been around in one form or another since the 1930’s. Being Anti-Facsist is a good thing, but they’re not out there in “left” field, they’re playing in another ballpark altogether from Democrats.
Nazi’s, on the other hand, have a friend in the White House.
“…these corporate establishment donors and their running dogs like pelosi…”
You remind me of Hanoi Hannah back in 1969. After a spectacularly successful mission, she mentioned my specific little 10 man unit by name, calling us “…running dog lackeys of the inperialist fascist aggressors…”. We were just as proud as we could be! For a month, we couldn’t go into an Enlisted/NCO Club in the Camp where they didn’t buy us drinks for that distinction.
I haven’t heard that phrase “running dogs” in a long time. Thanks for the walk down memory lane, censored!
did you ever figure out why we were in vietnam? or iraq for that matter. nancy pelosi is a different kind of running dog. she runs for her corporate doners. the guerrilla war we won was when we were the guerrillas! as the boss’s song says their still there.
“I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhWR4d3FJQ
It’s a great song, but for history, it is worthless. There were no Viet Cong at Khe Sahn. And if his brother was at Khe Sahn, he would not have had a woman in Saigon. But it is still a great song. Now that you have mentioned it, I can’t get it out of my head. ;o)
Yeah, well, I guess that’s poetic license. “Fighting off the NVA” is not a good lyric. See how Sanh, Cong, and gone all kind of rhyme? However, I commend you for pointing out the inaccuracy.
The whole album, Born in the USA, is my favorite by Springsteen.
But why couldn’t his brother have a lover from Saigon?