The event unfolded on Saturday and it has taken me until Wednesday morning to make any sense of it. Far-right voters (I’m assuming they vote) were protesting against what they perceived to be the unfair removal of a Civil War monument when they were met by far-left counter-protesters. Back and forth trouble ensued until a driver rammed his car into the counter-protesters at 1:42 p.m.
This was not an accident nor was this road rage. This was a premeditated attack on people who happen to hold different views from the perpetrator. How would I know this? Because I’ve studied these sorts of movements for a decade.
For example, did you know that the shoddy propaganda materials that far-right groups distribute at their events are not shoddy solely because of the income level of the group? Even the best funded far-right organizations distribute propaganda that looks (and usually is) homemade because cheap looking propaganda materials tend to catch the eyes and minds of the target population.
Nearly everything that is done by the far-right is planned for propaganda effect. Uniform coloring, timbre of voice and artful insertion of the “N” word at the points of their speeches that will have the most dramatic effect, both on supporters and on counter-protesters.
Yes, they plan for you to be outraged by their words, and when you display your outrage violently or with a loud response they can be quite adept at turning that around so that they can play a victim. Don’t give them the opportunity to play the victim card!
The driver of the vehicle that rammed the counter-protesters likely knew weeks in advance that he would do what he is suspected of doing on they day that he is said to have done it. It’s called “taking one for the team,” and it is generally understood that a “soldier” who takes one for the team will be well provided for while incarcerated. If incarcerated, because far-right groups tend to operate paramilitary arms and engage in training exercises with sympathetic U.S. veterans. These groups gravitate towards guerrilla warfare, and some of them are quite good at leaving no trace.
The far-right targets veterans more than any other group because of the training that they posses. What would take a semi-literate yokel in the backwoods of Eastern Oregon months or even years to distill from military training manuals can be taught by a trained professional in a weekend. Most U.S. veterans see these recruitment attempts for what they are, but there are a few that get wooed into the fold every day.
Don’t be a pawn. Let your resistance be meaningful! Don’t just resist to mark off a box on a list, do it because you truly believe that these views are repulsive and are worthy of your resistance. Anything less is not good enough!