West Philly is preparing to a gathering/rally of neo-fascist group “Proud Boys” in Clark Park reportedly happening this Saturday.
Due to the planned gathering and anticipated response from residents and local anti-fascist groups, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) has issued a statement where she denounces the event “being promoted by a known white nationalist group” that have “selected a highly visible location and time for the event in order to maximize tensions and create a spectacle.”
“Let us be perfectly clear: our community is purposely being targeted for this event because of our diversity and our progressive values,” the statement reads. “The rally and the views this group espouse run counter to everything we stand for… I think I speak for all of us when I say: Go home. You are unwelcome, and we don’t want you here.”
At the same time, Gauthier is asking residents to “take the high road on Saturday by being safe and peaceful.”
“Responding to this hate group with force only gives them legitimacy and power. Let’s not offer them this power or a podium for their propaganda,” the statement concludes. (See the full statement below).
In preparation for possible protest activity on Saturday, the PPD will provide additional resources to the area which will include officers from the Civil Affairs Unit, according to PPD spokesman, officer Eric McLaurin.
Gauthier said that her office will be in close communication with Parks & Recreation and Philadelphia Police Department regarding this event.
I want to address calls our office has been receiving about reported plans for a demonstration in Clark Park this weekend. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3pwCyZITXP
— Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (@CouncilmemberJG) September 16, 2020
September 17th, 2020 at 4:13 pm
There are plenty of ways to organize our communities in response to this ongoing threat: https://spencersunshine.com/2020/08/27/fortyways/
September 17th, 2020 at 5:19 pm
Uh oh, everyone panic… the Boogeymen are here and have the audacity to share their opinions in public! The Proud Boys are NOT White Nationalists nor are they Neo-Fascists. They are primarily a men’s drinking club but if you wish to ascribe an ideology, they self-identify as “Western Chauvinists” and embrace the Enlightenment tradition. Most of them are, at worst, Red Meat Conservatives who value private enterprise and rugged individualism (as opposed to real fascists who seek totalitarian control over all business on behalf of the collective). They have silly initiation rituals like reciting children’s cereals while being punched in the arm.
Had the far-left not gotten so militant over the last five years – with shameful episodes where they tried to shut down, sometimes using violence and threats, events like Milo/McInnes/Coulter/Shapiro speeches – you would have never heard of this group. They are a diverse group and one of the most prominent members, Enrique Tarrio, is AfroCuban. They are not known to START fights but are happy to goad far-left loonies into starting a fight they probably will not win.
Ask yourself, between the Proud Boys and the AnarchoCommunists they oppose, who attacked a Jewish man by the Jewish Museum? Who attacked those two Hispanic soldiers? Who broke most of Millcreek Tavern’s windows? Who rioted in front of City Hall and burnt down cop cars? Who spray paints local businesses like The Bar(n) and Clarkville? Who burns down new constructions in Rhawnhurst and Point Breeze? Who recently Marched up 40th and vandalized businesses and UPenn just a couple weeks ago?
I don’t support the Proud Boys but, JFC, who is the RAEL problem in our city? Hint: it’s not Proud Boys. On a side note – there are racial supremacist groups in Philly… they’re called the Black Hebrew Israelites.
September 17th, 2020 at 6:32 pm
For anyone confused by this nazi sympathizer rhetoric, please see the first paragraph of the wikipedia article: The Proud Boys is a far-right neo-fascist[9][10][11] organization that admits only men as members and promotes and engages in political violence.[2][12][13][14] It is based in the United States and has a presence in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.[15][16] The group was started as a joke in the far-right Taki’s Magazine[17] in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder and former commentator Gavin McInnes, taking its name from the song “Proud of Your Boy” from the Disney film Aladdin.[18][19] Proud Boys emerged as part of the alt-right, but McInnes began distancing himself from the alt-right in early 2017, saying the alt-right’s focus is race while his focus is what he defines as “Western values”. This re-branding effort intensified after the Unite the Right Rally.[20][21]”
September 17th, 2020 at 7:46 pm
For anyone confused by our Wikipedia Scholar here, I will repeat my questions:
Between the Proud Boys and the AnarchoCommunists they oppose, 1) who attacked a Jewish man by the Jewish Museum? 2) Who attacked those two Hispanic soldiers? 3) Who broke most of Millcreek Tavern’s windows? 4) Who rioted in front of City Hall and burnt down cop cars? 5) Who spray paints local businesses like The Bar(n) and Clarkville? 6) Who burns down new constructions in Rhawnhurst and Point Breeze? 7) Who recently Marched up 40th and vandalized businesses and UPenn just a couple weeks ago?
Just because some politically illiterate hack calls something fascist, does not mean something is fascist. Imagine my shock that a highly politicized group is misrepresented in Wikipedia. The hilarious part, other than the fact that this wiki blurb indicates that a “group was started as a joke” has to re-brand itself, is that other than using the term “Neo-fascist” that blurb in no way contradicts my post above.
September 17th, 2020 at 7:49 pm
There is plenty on the Proud Boys that contradicts the friendly spin given upthread:
Their disavowals of bigotry are belied by their actions: rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings like the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Indeed, former Proud Boys member Jason Kessler helped to organize the event, which brought together Klansmen, antisemites, Southern racists, and militias. Kessler was only “expelled” from the group after the violence and near-universal condemnation of the Charlottesville rally-goers.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys
September 17th, 2020 at 7:51 pm
I tried to post sources for my 7 questions above and it appears that the modified links are pending moderation by WPL (I kept getting spam warnings before breaking up the links).
September 17th, 2020 at 7:56 pm
Fun Fact: The SPLC are currently being sued for misrepresenting McInnes and the Proud Boys so take that information with a grain of salt.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/proud-boys-founder-gavin-mcinnes-sues-southern-poverty-law-center-n966701
September 18th, 2020 at 4:44 am
I came here because I met someone who was filling me in on the Proud Boys at the Airport because I had on some trump gear.
It was literally 3 black men and a Latino or Hispanic.
Where does the white nationalistic representation come in? I literally learned about this proud boy group because of these men.
I am confused as I was told it is a drinking and networking fraternity that apparently meets yearly in Vegas with members from all over the world to celebrate America.
I had genuine interest and now I totally don’t believe this article.
The head person is also black! What kind of spin is this? I know you have to be accepted and I’m thinking the author of this piece maybe was rejected?
I’m doing more research
September 18th, 2020 at 7:07 am
I want to point out to everyone here that DontHate and Ecksicon are white supremacist propagandists here in the comment section to convince people that white supremacism is not so bad, and to promote the proud boys as a gateway organization to racism, bigotry, and oppression. They are doing this by soft pitching the organization, and by attempting to confuse what is really a straightforward situation.
They are doing this because in recent years, but especially after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, racists realized that coming out and chanting Nazi slogans turned a lot of people off. People know that the KKK is wrong and neonazis are wrong, and were alarmed seeing them marching in the streets. They realized that they have to get people into the idea of baldfaced racism and a political concept of white supremacism slowly, using euphemisms and obfuscation, slowly exposing people to extreme racist ideas through memes, jokes, and “drinking and networking fraternities.”
Coming on this website with made up stories about POC proselytizing for proud boys in airports to random other men is part of that campaign of obfuscation and propaganda. Proud boys does allow nonwhite members, but allowing people to take part in their own oppression is useful propaganda because then they can go online and claim that they are not racist. Don’t fall for it.
Calling proud boys a social club is part of the Propaganda plan, too. So is the “just asking questions about the left” approach. Suing the SPLC for calling them out on their strategy, and then using that suit to attack their credibility, is also part of the plan. They will twist facts or just make things up to make the general public more comfortable with their ideas, but underneath that facade is violent and hateful bigotry.
Please come to Clark Park on Saturday to support anti-racism and anti-fascism efforts. We need to let the proud boys know that their organization and their ideas are unacceptable in our community.
September 18th, 2020 at 7:56 am
You can get info on some of the local crew here:
https://phillyproudboys.noblogs.org/post/2019/06/19/philadelphias-chapter/
September 18th, 2020 at 7:59 am
Also, more info here:
http://feature.politicalresearch.org/the-proud-boys
September 18th, 2020 at 11:22 am
Dear DonHate
Please do your research, as you say you will
Please also notice that the article denotes the Proud Boys as a “neo-fascist” group. This is a label that could well be applied to people of different origins and colors. Myself, an hispanic, had to suffer under several such regimes.
September 18th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
“Cops and Klan go hand in hand”:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-disturbing-ties-between-philadelphia-police-and-far-right-proud-boys
September 18th, 2020 at 12:34 pm
“Eckscion” and “DontHate” are simply trying to deny and deflect fundamental facts about the Hate Group they are trying to defend.
Don’t believe their hype.
September 18th, 2020 at 1:29 pm
Catherine wrote, “I want to point out to everyone here that DontHate and Ecksicon are white supremacist propagandists”
Ad Hominem attacks are the desperate resort of someone who has already lost the argument. I’m guessing that I was protesting the KKK in Wilmington and listening to my Aus Rotten “Fuck Nazi Sympathy” 7″ while you were still in diapers. Having matured to full adulthood, I have learned to distrust those who think in good-and-evil terms and especially distrust those who recklessly wield loaded terms like “fascist” and “white supremacist.”
Smash the Fash is just trying to deflect from the fact that the far-left is a WAY BIGGER problem in Philadelphia than ANY conservative group. I have given 7 examples- what do you guys have?
September 18th, 2020 at 1:44 pm
Third Position, “Neither Right nor Left”, Red-Brown Alliance, the Alt Right, the Alt Light, National Anarchism, National Bolshevism, etc: these are all names for the guises that Fascism in its entryist forms today.
Reject their trickery and SHOW UP tomorrow:
When a hate rally is pending people like to tell folks to stay home and ignore it. But what if a violent hate group whose rallies are pretty much geared to be violent comes directly to you? That’s what it looks like the Proud Boys are planning for the 19th. Originally they announced that they were going to hold a rally on the 26th in South Philadelphia in conjunction with the one Proud Boys are holding in Portland, Oregon, but now comes word that because of conflicts with the Portland rally (they want to be there) they are doing a rally the Saturday before in Clark Park in West Philadelphia. The timing and location of this rally is telling as hell – not to mention that they are calling it “Belly of the Beast 2020 and they “and other patriots” are going there “to demand an end to antifa terrorism”.
http://onepeoplesproject.com/
September 18th, 2020 at 2:34 pm
G.W. Bush: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
The Radical Left: “Either you are with us, or you are with the fascists.”
You sound like cult members. It’s depressing and creepy.
September 18th, 2020 at 3:24 pm
I’m taking this space to continue to point out that Ecksicon is still making comments that are, as I stated before, propagandistic and intended to confuse a straightforward issue to make proud boys more palatable, along with the and the racism and bigotry they extol.
First, note his level of investment. He states that he doesn’t support the proud boys, However, he has spent considerable time and energy writing six separate comments defending them. He also clearly aligns himself in his comments with the proud boys and against people who despise their racism. His actions show clearly that he is here in fact to support and defend the proud boys and what they stand for.
Second, note his claim, repeated here a few times, that he has “made 7 points” and that in order to stand against the racism of the proud boys we must refute them. But look at his comments: He has not made 7 points! He has only added numbers to 7 questions he asked. He implies the answers he wants by phrasing his questions in a certain way, but he does not give any actual answers. He has presented no facts. His characterizations in the questions are not even necessarily accurate. He is only presenting these questions as another tactic to confuse The situation and to make it more difficult to respond to him. If we get caught up in refuting his “points” we may be drawn away from the bigger, more important one: that proud boys are a group that promotes racism, and that they have no place in West Philly.
Third, note the sneering derision in his response to me: I must be too young, I must not have listened to the right music as a teen, to get his message. Note the similarity to DontHate’s comment that the author of the article must have been rejected from proud boys to be against them. This is another tactic! If you are against racism and white supremacy, if you call out the proud boys for their promotion of it, you must just not be cool enough, not with it enough, you must be too gullible, to get what’s going on. It’s a tactic designed to make people feel bad to stand up to them, to stop people from standing up.
Lastly, look at how Ecksicon has made this conversation into one about the “radical left” versus the proud boys, where it didn’t start that way, and it didn’t have to go that way. He’s feeding you an unpalatable choice between two extremes where if you will stand up against the proud boys and white supremacy, you must be for the far-left, you must be for burning down cities, you must be some extreme radical. This is a false dichotomy! You don’t have to be particularly radical to recognize that racism is wrong. You can just be a pretty regular West Philadelphian, living and working and shopping in a diverse community, and recognizing how the positions of the proud boys are repugnant to our way of living.
I hope to see a lot of you on Saturday, standing up for what is right, and standing against the proud boys!
September 18th, 2020 at 6:49 pm
Never trust a 40 year old man who still calls himself a boy.
September 18th, 2020 at 8:27 pm
Some details about the “Proud Boys”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZMWQDvZQZs
September 18th, 2020 at 11:23 pm
You should always trust Wikipedia to be fair, balanced, and completely truthful in all of their posts. Just have a look at the editing history of a potentially contentious page and you will find in no way whatsoever are there ever any writers who only edit in favor of personal political views. Cumon, man!
September 19th, 2020 at 12:45 am
Quick history lesson so we know what to expect– the last time the Philadelphia Proud Boys had a rally, in November 2018, their “Security” featured a collection of violent hate group members…
Zach Rehl, the President of the Philadelphia Proud Boys, told the papers at the time that no hate groups would be present.
Zach was the President of the Philly Proud Boys at the time, and the papers credulously swallowed his lie…
Since the outbreak of anti-police protests across the country, the Philadelphia Proud Boys have attempted to insert themselves into white reactionary vigilante patrols…
The Philadelphia Proud Boys also have deep ties with the Philly police, as revealed by @KELLYWEILL in July…
More: https://nitter.net/AntiFashGordon/status/1305912836753895424#m
September 19th, 2020 at 12:45 am
Proud boys are gross, you are not welcome in our neighborhood
September 19th, 2020 at 2:05 am
proud boys post walls of text with no substantive arguments in an attempt to propagandize via WPL of all places? lmao
see you at noon.
September 19th, 2020 at 10:57 am
It’s largely because they can hide here.
September 19th, 2020 at 1:35 pm
Proud boys didn’t show up because they are cowards
September 19th, 2020 at 2:58 pm
Where were you, “Proud Boys”? We waited for you.
September 20th, 2020 at 12:23 am
Proudboys are a bunch of bearded youngsters who have anger issues and want to pick fights. Their moral arc however is based mostly on fear. Fear of immigrants, fear of P.O.C., fear of leaving their parents.. (regarding the P.O.C., in the PB, they’re a minority; I have no f’ing clue; beards maybe?). Bottom line is these losers are looking for adventure as di I when I was in my 20’s. (Because I was fearful)
September 20th, 2020 at 11:43 am
ANTIFA got punked and now they are butthurt. How quaint. Your revolution has been cancelled now go get a job and stop wasting mommies money.
September 20th, 2020 at 1:19 pm
Far right PB or far left BLM, hard to say which is worse. Except that we don’t see the PB rioting and looting on 52nd and 40th St. Many people in University City are such useful tools in neo-Marxist hands. Bright people but do they actually read what BLM believes. BLM has been hijacked by white liberals to advance their own anti-family, pro-abortion socialist agenda.
September 20th, 2020 at 3:34 pm
BLM & Antifa are not monoliths, it’s hard to even say who is and is not a “member”. In the cartoonish world of MAGA things are much simpler and crimes against property much worse than causing grievous harm to ordinary people. The sooner we get Donald Trump out of the White House, the better. The struggle will continue but under somewhat better circumstances.
September 20th, 2020 at 5:25 pm
Some of you people make no sense. Supporting a democratically elected president is anti democratic. The first amendment only exists for the right kind of speach and crimes against property are okay. Sad state of the coucountry RN.
September 20th, 2020 at 10:03 pm
Jon D, come on. This is your weak-azz argument?
Trump didn’t win democratically. Ultimately, the matter turned on undemocratic voter suppression and Slaveholder Math.
That predicate Slaveholder Math counts people as 3/5th of a person and ultimately turns on that Slaveholder Math institution known as the Electoral College.
A real democracy as one starting point would have a Popular Vote that decides things. That doesn’t happen in a presidential and vice-presidential election here.
As to the issue of “speech” — constitutionally protected speech involves State Action, i.e., government acts against protected speech.
There’s no State Action here. Therefore, no waah-bulance speech claim.
The WPL and FB coursework and lines of thinking deservedly go down the toilet here.
September 21st, 2020 at 8:17 am
Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I’d like to take a minute
To sit right there
I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a Group called antifa
In west Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground was where I spent most of my days
Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool
And all shootin some heroin outside of the school
When a couple of guys who were up to good
Started making fake events in my neighborhood
I got in one little fight with my mom and got scared
She said ‘You’re movin’ with your auntie and uncle in prison’
I begged and pleaded with her day after day
But she packed my suit case and sent me on my way
She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my restaining order.
I put my Walkman on and said, ‘I might as well kick it’.…
September 21st, 2020 at 8:23 am
Philly Proud Boys Are Western Cowards and they Refused to Show Up For Their Own Rally: http://idavox.com/index.php/2020/09/20/philly-proud-boys-are-western-cowards-and-they-refused-to-show-up-for-their-own-rally/
September 26th, 2020 at 11:49 am
Proud Boys are a racist vigilant domestic terrorist group. PERIOD.
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN26H0I8?__twitter_impression=true
September 27th, 2020 at 9:20 am
Trumpism is like a deadly brainworm, consuming the thoughts and the morality of those afflicted. It’s sad- and pathetic really- what happened to these MAGA heads, who got too high on their own supply.
September 27th, 2020 at 9:40 am
Catherine: if you wish to avoid a sneering response, I recommend that you avoid starting arguments with name-calling. I tried to post links for all 7 of my claims but the Message Board would not allow it (as it was perceived as spam). I will individually post the claims with links so that it may be captured on record. With regard to turning the conversation into one about the far left, I will admit that freely. The far left uses the specter of the far right to justify their bad behavior (which includes anonymous violence). My whole point is that the Far Left is the real problem.
Give me ONE example of Proud Boys attacking someone who was not also looking for a fight. Go ahead, you can use the whole nation while I will keep my examples specific to Philly. I will add an 8th example to my list of far left faux pas in Philly: when the Proud Boys did not show up to the event, members of the counter-protesters attacked a conservative man (stealing his sign and swiping at his leg with a baton), a conservative woman (a masked, adult man yanked this Republican Party Chairperson by the hair) and a counter protester who was apparently mistaken for the first conservative man (this was the guy was chased to his car and had his car kicked and beaten with a hammer while a terrified dog was in the car).
https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-antifa-show-up-for-non-existent-proud-boys-rally-in-philadelphia-attack-media-instead (this article has not been updated to correct that it was a counter protester, and not James Klug, whose car was damaged)
September 27th, 2020 at 9:42 am
Claim 1): “Jewish man mistakenly identified as Proud Boy attacked at right-wing rally in Philadelphia”
https://billypenn.com/2018/11/17/jewish-man-mistakenly-identified-as-proud-boy-attacked-at-right-wing-rally-in-philadelphia/
September 27th, 2020 at 9:48 am
Claim 2) Marines Testify About the “Antifa Mob” They Say Attacked Them in Philly
Please see 12/13/2018 article by Victor Fiorillo in Philly Mag dot com (I am getting spam filtered again).
September 27th, 2020 at 9:52 am
Uh-huh. So a random mentally disturbed person attacked someone at a Proud Boys rally. Doesn’t prove much of anything good about these far Right provocateurs who love Donald Trump.
September 27th, 2020 at 9:53 am
Claim 3): Millcreek Tavern vandalized on New Year’s Day
https://www.westphillylocal.com/2020/01/03/millcreek-tavern-vandalized-on-new-years-day/
The guilty party takes credit in a “New Year’s Eve reportback” in a 1/2/2020 Philly Anti-Capitalist Blog post.
September 27th, 2020 at 9:57 am
Claim 4): Philly woman accused of torching police cars during protest tracked down through Etsy, LinkedIn
https://abcnews.go.com/US/philly-woman-accused-torching-police-cars-protest-tracked/story?id=71325821
A Poster or posters at The Philly Anti-Capitalist Blog have been helping to raise support funs for the suspect.
September 27th, 2020 at 9:59 am
Claim 5): Clarkville covered in graffiti… again
https://www.westphillylocal.com/2016/05/26/clarkville-covered-in-graffiti-again/
September 27th, 2020 at 10:02 am
Claim 6a): Rhawnhurst woman allegedly among ‘anarchist protestors’
https://northeasttimes.com/2017/05/04/rhawnhurst-woman-allegedly-among-anarchist-protestors/
September 27th, 2020 at 10:03 am
Claim 6b): ATF: Point Breeze fire at Ori Feibush development was arson
https://billypenn.com/2017/05/02/atf-point-breeze-fire-at-ori-feibush-development-was-arson/
September 27th, 2020 at 10:04 am
Ecksicon is clearly logic-impaired. They say they do NOT support the Proud Boys but look what they are doing here. Their fallacies are legion- and they are likely completely oblivious to the deficiencies in the arguments they make.
Hopefully we in this very important battleground state will destroy Trump at the polls and have much less of the duplicity and hate which he emboldens and represents, to contend with.
September 27th, 2020 at 10:05 am
Claim 7): Anticapitalist group claims responsibility for West Philly unrest that left windows smashed, buildings vandalized near Penn
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/penn-vandalism-university-summer-of-rage-anarchist-anti-capitalist-jacob-blake-20200826.html
September 27th, 2020 at 10:37 am
Ho-hum. And what are these impressive claims supposed to be “proofs” of, anyway?
September 27th, 2020 at 11:07 am
If you haven’t caught on yet, my contention is that the far left is a WAY bigger problem than the far right here in Philly. If the Proud Boys are so bad, please provide examples of political violence/vandalism they have committed here in Philly.
September 27th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
If your contention is valid, what is that supposed to mean?
September 27th, 2020 at 9:56 pm
I’m guessing that Ecksicon thinks that their claims are somehow justification enough for the Proud Boys in all their Islamophobia, Misogyny, anti-Blackness, Transphobia and violent anti-Leftism. Perhaps the unsavory implications of what they argue are better left to stand on their own merits (or lack thereof)…
September 28th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
I’m sorry: have you provided a SINGLE example of the Proud Boys committing violence or vandalism in the city of Philadelphia? People are free to think however they like, no matter how stupid their beliefs may be. If they cross the line and commit violence in the name of their stupid beliefs, that’s when I take issue. That is why I take issue with the far left, and not the Proud Boys, in Philly.
Why do I bring this all up in the context of the Proud Boys? It’s because I suspect that the same folks who cry the loudest about Proud Boys being the literal devil are the same folks who are prepared to commit violence (or are at least sympathetic to those who commit violence) in the name of far left ideologies. Their overstatement of the threat posed by Proud Boys reminds me of George W. Bush who greatly exaggerated the bellicosity and threat posed by Hussein’s Iraq in order to justify his own “preemptive” and illegitimate violence. I am countering what I perceive to be far left propaganda.
And yes: I am suggesting that you’re a propagandist, Anti-Fascist. You seem to to be perfectly willing to dismiss/downplay far left violence while emphasizing the evil of a group that you have failed to prove are guilty of anything more than having sh*tty opinions. That leads me to suspect that I am interacting with, best case scenario, a complete idiot or, more likely, a disingenuous operator pushing far left propaganda.
September 28th, 2020 at 1:21 pm
The far Right is not operating in good faith, that should be clear by now. Their requests for “dialogue” are requests for continued attention, which they don’t merit by any standard whatsoever. Their words, their “logic”, their shoddy reasoning and argumentation more generally,all speak for themselves…