Gainesville, Don’t Let Your Guard Down: Stand Against White Supremacy

by Women’s March Gainesville and the National Women’s Liberation Gainesville Chapter

(The following editorial appeared in the Gainesville Sun online edition on August 30th, 2017.)

The news that Neo-Nazi Richard Spencer could come to speak at the University of Florida was jolting. The fact that President Fuch was pushed by people power to deny Spencer rental space is exhilarating. But this isn’t over. Initial news of Spencer’s request was quickly followed by threats of violence from his followers via social media. Gainesville is being called “the next battlefield” by these extremists, and the threat of gun violence is overt and open. The nazis are serious and we should expect push back.

Spencer is claiming that the University’s denial of his request violates his constitutional right to free speech. But the Constitution doesn’t protect violence. Spencer’s request isn’t about free speech. Spencer and white supremacists like him want to incite hate and violence. And their violence does not stop at people of color and Jewish people. They’re coming after all of us, including white women whom they want to subordinate and control. White supremacy makes white people think that the source of their pain is people of different races. In fact, it's the billionaire class that exploits white people and people of color alike, and blocks us all from getting the things we need. Ignoring white supremacists is not an option for any of us.

To be clear, white supremacists are already in Gainesville, including one of Spencer’s followers who wrote a blog post explaining that it’s ethical to “kill leftists.” Moving forward, Gainesville needs to take a critical look at our own racist history and institutions, from housing segregation to gentrification of historically African American neighborhoods, to the exclusion of African American history and culture from our schools, and the persistent racial disparities in outcomes in public education and in health outcomes. We must work with, and be guided by, local leaders of color in our community to move our city toward justice for all of our residents.

We will make our community stronger by working to end the white supremacy here, preventing it from spreading, and fighting back against any organizing to bring torch-wielding nazis to our town. We all have a stake in fighting white supremacy.