Simply because many here think a group of neo-Nazis (although there is nothing 'new' about their beliefs) have a right to express their beliefs, it doesn't equate to an espousal of their ideology. If you were to take a poll of Freepers, I am certain that that you would find that the good people here find them to be hateful un-American trash.
On this thread, many people are being dismissive of the potential of folks such as them ever being taken seriously.
So what we have is a group that from what I understand organized a demonstration, and were peaceful about it.
The response? Rock throwing and looting. If you can give me a valid reason why looting is a legitimate form of protest, I'm all ears.
Nazis often attempt to portray themselves as people that stand for law and order, etc., and in my opinion the counter protesters played right into their hands. "Hey, we're marching peacefully, and see what the response is? It's the other side that is violent, not us........they are those who are violent and criminal."
Some other posters raise important Constitutional issues. Who decides who can assemble, and who cannot? You? Me?
This is going to sound harsh, but as an objective observer, these counter protesters were only counter productive. They 'validated' much of the Nazi propaganda, and probably, if anything, helped them find some new recruits.
These are troubling times, with polarizing issues abounding. Crime, illegal immigration, and many people are perceiving a breakdown of law and order. People in many places are afraid to leave their homes, and even that is no guarantee, not in the least.
Remember, in the 30's, Hitler and his cohorts portrayed themselves as the 'law and order' party; Germany was nation that was weak, dispirited and mob rule was not uncommon. People craved a return to a semblence of normalcy, and the Nazi ideology was very appealing to a great many people obviously. Just some food for thought.
My regards.
And everything you said is 100% correct. Most of FR feels you don't 'protest' by looting & burning, or assaulting people who happen to be the same color as the Nazis. I'm just tired of the media continually calling these scum 'protesters'. The media also began to downplay it in NO after it was all over ("reports were exaggerated", etc.)