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Speaking out against the far right and threats to free speech at UC Berkeley

AN ONGOING controversy at the University of California-Berkeley over whether right-wing provocateur Ann Coulter would speak on campus following the cancellation of her event by the university administration came to a head on April 27 when "alt-right" groups targeted Berkeley for the third time in recent months and confronted left-wing, anti-fascist protesters while claiming to defend free speech.

Coulter, who was originally invited to speak on April 27, but whose speech was cancelled and then rescheduled due to security concerns, waffled about whether she would appear on campus anyway. Her supporters rallied, using the cancellation to their advantage to claim that the right's free speech rights were under attack.

Meanwhile, the media speculated that there would be another round of violent clashes.

Anticipating this, Berkeley city officials and UC Berkeley administrators mobilized hundreds of officers from every police department in the area, both on and off campus, which had a chilling effect on protest. There were at least five arrests on Thursday, including one incident of racial profiling in which police detained a Latino member of the Underground Scholars Initiative, a group of formerly incarcerated students at UC Berkeley.

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TWO SEPARATE rallies were planned for Thursday, regardless of whether Coulter showed up or not.

Alt-right and anti-fascist protesters faced off at Martin Luther King Civic Center Park in downtown Berkeley. Dozens of right-wingers turned out, clearly emboldened by their rampage in April, when they mobilized at least several hundred from up and down the West Coast, ready to inflict violence on the outnumbered counterdemonstrators.

This time, the police operation kept the two sides apart, and the right didn't get to attack those who stood and chanted against them in the park.

There was another gathering on Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus, where the International Socialist Organization (ISO) announced its "Alt Right Delete" initiative in opposition to the right-wingers and in defense of free speech.

Alt Right Delete is an effort to build a larger mobilization capable of confronting the racists and reactionary in Berkeley. It also aims to reclaim the ideals of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of the 1960s from the right-wing's distortions and reinvigorate its radical, socialist and anti-racist roots.

As Mukund Rathi, a law student at UC Berkeley and member of the ISO, explained at the demonstration:

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement arose out of the struggles of civil rights activists and socialists against segregation and anti-Black racism in California. These activists, many of them students, were engaging in militant demonstrations and sit-ins to win equal rights for Black people...

It is absurd for the far-right provocateurs, white supremacists and the College Republicans to claim this legacy...

The greatest threat to free speech, on college campuses and elsewhere, comes from these right-wing forces. They will use violence against those who wish to speak and assemble freely. And this should not surprise us--we can't possibly believe that white supremacists and neo Nazis have anything but violent hostility towards their opponents.

Due to the massive police presence and the threat of far-right violence, many people were discouraged from turning out to the rally on campus. Among the 30 to 40 who did, some held signs reading "Fascist-Free Campus" and "Immigrants Are Welcome Here," and chants rang out in defense of immigrant students, refugees and workers.

Coulter's racist and xenophobic views are abhorrent, but it does not benefit the left if the university denies her a venue, giving her and the bigots who celebrate her a chance to play the victim.

We believe it is important to distinguish between the right of students to protest Coulter's speech and the university canceling a forum where she was to appear. A defense of free speech from the left needs to oppose the state and other authorities exercising their power to censor speakers, because this will inevitably be used against left-wing speakers and activists. Our power lies in mobilizing the largest number of people possible to confront the right.

UC Berkeley, along with many other universities, has a record of shutting down speakers in solidarity with Palestine, repressing student workers and silencing sexual assault survivors. Protecting the right of the oppressed to fight back against these attacks means defending free speech rights.

Effective opposition to Coulter and alt-right speakers can take shape without relying on the university officials to intervene, which will ultimately jeopardize the left. The goal of Alt Right Delete is to build a movement that protests right-wingers like Coulter effectively, through a mass mobilization of students and members of the Berkeley community, without curtailing our right to speak freely.

Read more here:
Organizing for an alt-right delete at Berkeley - Socialist Worker Online

Right-wing US and UK media and social media users have tried to start an online war to stop Emmanuel Macron being elected, but with little success.

The Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, and Buzzfeed, a US online publication, highlighted the new campaign in the run-up to the second round of the French presidential vote on Sunday (7 May).

With Russia already in the spotlight for anti-Macron fake news and cyber attacks, the Atlantic Council said the English-language alt-right was also trying to sway EU politics.

It described the alt-right movement as being marked by nationalist, anti-Islam, and anti-globalisation sentiment and said its supporters had in the past focused on national issues, such as the US election or the Brexit referendum.

These [anti-Macron] efforts appear to mark a further stage in the evolution of the alt-right from a collection of largely national actors to a would-be international one, it said.

It said the efforts began with a post on 4chan.org, an online message board, on 25 April, two days after Macron beat Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate, in the first round of the election.

The 4chan.org post called for a total meme war against Macron.

We must bombard French social media with pro-Le Pen propaganda, to remind the French who is on their side, it said.

A meme is a catchy image or idea designed to go viral on the internet.

The post said one anti-Macron meme should be designed to appeal to centre-right French voters by suggesting he was weak on immigration and security. It said a second meme should appeal to the left by showing him as a banker capitalist pig.

The post linked to a UK far-right YouTube channel, The Thinkery, which gave meme-making tips.

The same day, a US alt-right publication, Liberty Blitzkrieg, ran a story that called Macron a banker puppet and that was replicated by seven other alt-right media.

The following day, on 26 April, alt-right accounts linked to Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands called for the creation of a Macron Antoinette meme on the reddit.com online message board.

The idea was to both emasculate Macron and to make him look elitist by reference to the old French aristocracy.

The Thinkerys video had been viewed 144,000 times by Monday (29 April), but the #MacronAntoinette hash tag had attracted just a handful of posts.

These memes are unlikely to have a significant impact on the French election, the Atlantic Council said.

Buzzfeed, in an article last week, said alt-right users of 4chan.org also tried to spread the unsubstantiated accusation that Macron was having an affair with his step-daughter, Tiphaine Auziere, but that it failed to catch on.

The alt-right memes echoed anti-Macron fake news in Russian state media in recent months.

Russian media claimed he was an agent of US bankers, that he was funded by Saudi Arabia, and that he had a gay love affair in stories spread online by Russian trolls and bots.

Some social media users who spread the 4chan.org anti-Macron memes had in the past also reposted Kremlin content.

East Stratcom, a counter-propaganda unit in the EU foreign service, has started to include stories by Breitbart, the leading US alt-right publication, in its review of Russian disinformation.

A European diplomat, who asked not to be named, also told EUobserver that US sleuths, the FBI, were investigating potential links between Breitbart and the Kremlin.

Stratcom has included Breitbart stories due to their similarity to Kremlin anti-migrant material, but did not claim they worked together.

The European diplomat said right-wing online media often echoed Russian propaganda because they had the same ideology rather than due to shady ties.

Breitbarts London office could not be reached for comment.

See the article here:
US alt-right joins Russia in anti-Macron attack - EUobserver

Media Matters for America (blog)

Here's What Happened When The Trump White House Gave An Alt ... Media Matters for America (blog) Mike Cernovich is an internet troll, conspiracy theorist, and leading figure in the alt-right's assemblage of modern-day white nationalists and misogynists who ... Was a Russian reporter flashing Alt Right hand-signs in the White ...AMERICAblog (blog) New Controversy Involving Two Journalists Dropping White Supremacist Hand Sign SurfacesSillyid.com - International Daily Magazine all 5 news articles »

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Here's What Happened When The Trump White House Gave An Alt ... - Media Matters for America (blog)

The controversy surrounding Dear White People,Netflixs new satirical race-relations comedy series inspired by the 2014 movie of the same name, isnt going away.

Referring to Trumps election victory, the shows creator Justin Simien toldCollider : Theres no way to talk about race in America and not acknowledge whats happenedThat puts people in power that ought not be. I think a lot of folks that were not necessarily aware of that are now not only aware, but energized and actualized.

Thats gonna absolutely be in the DNA of every season to come. We can never change this. This is our history now. America is a different country, and it will forever be a different country, after the election of Donald Trump.

As my colleague Will Hicks astutely observed last February, the opposition and mooted Netflix boycott by some white conservatives over the perception that Dear White People was anti-white itself marked a form of right-wing political correctness.

But now Simien claims he was the target of an orchestrated Alt-right campaign out to get liberals.

Asked about the shows fierce opponents, Dear White Peoples creator said: I was more surprised at how organized theyve gotten with their harassment. They totally organized a campaign against us, which was shocking. But at the end of the day, its the same vocal minority. They were never gonna watch the show, anyway.

He added: As a storyteller, its fascinating because it really, for me, peeled away a layer on this really strange alt-right subculture, and I cant wait to mine that for future episodes. And now that I have all of these like and dislike robots, its really weird.

It opened my eyes to people who sit around and have meetings to talk about targeting certain liberals to try to take them down. Some peoples lives are defined by it. Its really weird.

Read more from the original source:
'Dear White People' Creator Vows to Take on Trump and 'Alt-Right Campaign' Against His Show - Heat Street

WATCH: LGBTQ ISSUES AT THE SHORE"If he's happy, that's all that matters to me" | 0:29

Peter Lanza Sr., talks about his love for his son and who he is. Brian Johnston

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Peter Lanza Sr. talks about his struggle with faith after his son was kicked-out of CCD class. Brian Johnston

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Peter Lanza Sr. talks about protecting his gay son. Brian Johnston

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Watch Garden State Equality executive director Christian Fuscarino discuss issues facing the LGBT community. Austin Bogues

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"If he's happy, that's all that matters to me"

"I was struggling with my church and my belief"

"It stopped him from growing, and I can't have that"

Issues facing the LGBT community

The Rev. Gil Caldwell addresses the United 2017 Conference on Sunday at The Asbury Hotel(Photo: Austin Bogues, staff)

ASBURY PARK - For one group of concerned citizens in Asbury Park, anger won't be enoughto fight the Trump Administration and the alt-right.

LGBT activists, politicians and some of their allies gathered Sunday afternoon at The Asbury Hotel to strategize a way forward in what they view as hostile political terrain. The goal is to protect critical advancements made by the community which they believe are under threat.

Presenters at the United 2017 conference discussed everything from best strategies to organize marches and rallies, to how to promote entrepreneurship. They also talked about policy issues like health care for LGBT seniors, advocating for transgender youth in schools and ways to engage religious communities.

The video above outlinesissues facing the LGBT community.

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The conference was sponsored by Garden State Equality and Jersey Pride Inc., two of the state's largest LGBT advocacy organizations.

Laura Pople, conference organizer and president of Jersey Pride,said in a news release that she hoped attendees would learn "what to do with the energy, frustration and despair many are currently experiencing under the current administration, especially."

Frustration with the alt-right, a nationalistic conservative movementthathelped propel Trump into the Oval Office, has abounded with some in the LGBT community.

Among the outspoken leaders of the alt-right isMilo Yiannopoulos, a British writer and former Breitbart editor.

Yiannopoulos, who is gay, proclaimed alt-right figureheads like Steve Bannon, a top Trump adviser,accept members of the LBGT community, offering his job with Breitbart, viewed as a beacon for the alt-right movement, as proof.

Yiannopoulos has come under fire for a number of incendiary statements including criticizing feminists and access to birth control for women. He was invited to be a speaker at the prominent Conservative Political Action Conference this yearuntil audio clips emerged of him seemingly condoning sex between men and boys. He also resigned from Breitbart in the fallout.

At the conference Sunday, organizers said it may be necessary to revisit some of the battles that seemed to be won.

"Until recently, we were just fighting to gain our rights," said Frank Van Dalen, vice president of operations for the organization Interpride.

But Van Dalen saidthe LGBT community faced threats in the United States and internationally in areas like health care access and the right to marry.

"What were facing nowadays is not only gaining our rights but also regaining our rights," he said. Van Dalen said he worried about actions taken by the Trump administration "denouncing what has been achieved."

The Trump administration hasbacked away from Obama administration's Justice Department guidelines stating that transgender students should be able to use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity in public schools.

LGBT activists should counter opposing forces by seeking to "broaden their message" in areas such as arts and sports, Van Dalen said.

"When we are faced with the time we are living in now, it is easy and simple to be angry," said Michael Billy, founder of Jersey City Stands, a grassroots group that organizes rallies, protests and vigils for an array of social causes including LGBT rights.But Billy said that being angry was not enough.

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"We have a divine opportunity to create the world we really want to live in for our neighbors," Billy said. "It starts with us not being piecemeal with what we deserve as human beings."

All movements need music, the Rev. Gil Caldwell, of Asbury Park, told attendees gathered at the room. He sang a song from his heyday in the civil rights movement and then asked for LGBT activist Sue Fulton to take the mic. She continued the tune:"Woke up this morning with my mind, stayed on freedom.Woke up this morning with my mind. Stayed on freedom. Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah."

Austin Bogues 732-643-4009; abogues@gannettnj.com

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Asbury LGBT activists strategize for 'alt-right' Trump era - Asbury Park Press