Apparently, this group is KKK with a new name. Toledo has no choice but to allow them to assemble. The constitution guarantees them this right.
The "protestors" were Black Panthers and Anarchists. Looks like Toledo is in for some rocky times.
Opposition Planned to Neo-Nazi March in ToledoThere is always more to the story than the press ever bothers to share, investigate or understand. A classic example of one hate group clashing with another.
On Saturday October 15th, the National Socialist Movement - better known as America's Nazi Party - has announced that they will be marching through North Toledo to "protest black crime." The march route they have chosen takes them directly through a predominantly African-American and Polish community, where residents are preparing to oppose these fascists.
Anti-fascists from the Midwest are planning to join local residents in protesting against this neo-Nazi invasion of a Toldeo neighborhood. A counter-demonstration has been called for 8:30AM at Manhattan Plaza (near Manhattan and Stickney Avenues in the North End). Local anti-fas have received word that they will be joined by members of Anti-Racist Action and other organizations from all over the country.
Organizers of "Erase the Hate", a collaborative effort of 20 area educational, religious, and community organizations, are hoping for public support for their event--a counter-rally some distance for the neo-nazi march. It will be held at noon on Oct. 15 at the Zablocki Senior Center on Lagrange Street.
While it may appear that the NSM is just a fringe group, and that it is not worthwhile to oppose such a group, it is important to note that there is currently a power vacuum in the white power movement. With Matt Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator in jail, and the death of William Pierce, the founder and head of the National Alliance, other fascists are feeling lost without any strong leadership. Other white power organizations like the NSM realize that this power vacuum exists and are attempting to fill it. It is for this reason that the NSM will attract fascists of all stripes – in numbers – to their demonstration in Toledo. Neo-Nazis are currently seeking organization, structure, and public organizing – all of which they will be looking to the NSM for on October 15th.
For this reason alone, it is important that anti-fascists show opposition in Toledo. This is not a time that we can we can sit back and ignore the organizing fascists are currently engaging in. We CANNOT give the neo-Nazis any room to organize and recruit. We must not allow the existing power vacuum to be filled. We must be there on October 15th in Toledo to take away any illusion of organization and power the NSM is trying to present. We must stand up and join together, sending a clear message that such activity is not welcome in our communities.
For more information, see One People's Project
For a more humourous take on this event, see Toledo Tales
Fighting words: In the famous case of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment does not protect "fighting words -- those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace." (315 U.S. 568, 572 [1942])
Note that the harm involved is physical harm caused by someone else who was provoked by the speaker whose speech is being suppressed. The fact that someone else flies into a rage and causes physical harm results in justifying suppression of speech by another person.
It is simply not a cut-and-dried issue.
Doancha just hate it when your friends are called Nazis?