A reader alerted Gossips to Patriot Front stickers that had been placed on signs along the Empire State Trail near the Hudson Dog Park and provided this picture.
Wikipedia describes Patriot Front as "an American white supremacist, neo-fascist, and American nationalist group which utilizes imagery of patriotism, liberty, and other widely accepted traditional American values to promote its ideology."
After taking this picture, the reader peeled the sticker off and advises others to do the same should they encounter these stickers in other places around town.
To me the most foolish thing about the group's statement is they describe themselves as "revolutionary."
ReplyDeleteI'd say they're counter-revolutionary, and that "revolution" is the thing they're decrying. (Too bad about our failing education system!)
But citing Wikipedia as an authority on anything, especially in socio-political matters, is equally problematic.
Didn't we learn anything after Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter and others censored any and all suggestions that the Wuhan lab was itself the source of the virus? That's recent history and it's already gone down the memory hole.
And yet we continue to cite Wikipedia's claims ... Well, whatever.
By all means peel away, but don't freak out until you've actually read the group's statement for yourself. Inform yourselves, and please stop all of the sheepish following.
Is the SPLC an acceptable citation for you? They list them as a hate group:
DeletePatriot Front (PF) is a white nationalist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, of August 12, 2017. The organization broke off from Vanguard America (VA), a neo-Nazi group that participated in the chaotic demonstration. PF’s founder, Thomas Rousseau, led VA members during “Unite the Right,” including James Alex Fields, Jr., the young man accused of murdering anti-racist protester Heather Heyer after fatally driving his vehicle into a crowd of protesters.
No one is freaking out. No one is "sheepishly" following anyone. Most people don't need to do "their own research" to know who the Patriot Front is. But just in case you haven't been paying attention for the last few years, here's a summary.
DeletePatriot Front (PF) is a white nationalist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, of August 12, 2017. The organization broke off from Vanguard America (VA), a neo-Nazi group that participated in the chaotic demonstration. PF’s founder, Thomas Rousseau, led VA members during “Unite the Right,” including James Alex Fields, Jr., the young man accused of murdering anti-racist protester Heather Heyer after fatally driving his vehicle into a crowd of protesters.
And here's the link to the Southern Poverty Law center infp on said group.https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/patriot-front
Any sort of stickers, no matter the ideology, is defacing public property and should be removed.
ReplyDelete