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Politics

Richard Spencer at UF: Thankfully, No Charlottesville Today

October 19, 2017 - 6:00pm
Richard Spencer speaking Thursday in Gainesville
Richard Spencer speaking Thursday in Gainesville

University of Florida students -- prompted to stay away on Thursday, don't give white nationalist Richard Spencer the satisfaction of attention -- nevertheless marched in the hundreds on the campus theater Spencer rented. But on the whole, with a strong police presence, the afternoon was relatively violence-free.

Inside the Phillips Center, resistance outnumbered Spencer allies, graduate student Len Larange told Sunshine State News. "I saw police in riot gear in the balcony above making sure nothing got out of hand. And mostly, it didn't. You couldn't hear Spencer that well -- too much shouting."

Larange said he wasn't a passionate observer on either side: "I was there for the experience, that's about it."

Spencer seemed to revel in the attention. He held a pre-speech news conference in which he denied being a white supremacist and compared his vision of an "ethno state" to the pursuit of Israel as a Jewish state. He also parried reporters' questions with condescending answers, calling them "dumb," "not smart enough," and compared them to preschoolers.

And he described his supporters as being oppressed by "politically correct" opponents.

He called Thursday's event a victory, proof "that we are persevering."

“These universities have become cesspools of anti-white vitriol,” Eli Mosley of Identity Europa said from the stage, ahead of Spencer.

The reaction was a chant of “Black Lives Matter” that roared through the venue. People booed and cursed at Mosley.

When time came for the speech, Spencer -- introduced as a "spokesman for white people everywhere" -- was met with a chorus of boos and chants from protesters in the audience. He called them "a mob" and accused them of "attempting to turn your academic community into a stifling place."

According to News & Observer live-stream coverage of the event on Twitter, "The heckling came early and often ... The yelling, chanting and clenching of fists lasted for about an hour.

"While UF allowed Richard Spencer to speak on campus, at least 100 UF students and enemies of the prominent firebrand attempted a so-called 'heckler’s veto.'"

“Go home, Spencer,” protesters shouted, "What are you still doing here?"

Replied Spencer's nationalist supporters, "You will not replace us."

Through it all, Spencer persisted with his message of white nationalism and freedom of speech, no matter how offensive.

Said the N&O streamer, "Spencer, although appearing frustrated at times, remained relatively calm. He spoke the praises of his 'alt-right' movement, one he vowed would overtake the world.

“'There’s been an awakening,' he said. 'And I think all you here have felt it.'

"After being shouted over by the crowd, which at one point resorted to UF Football chants, Spencer attempted to allow the crowd to tire itself out. He then opened the event up to questions, most of which were hostile."

Protesters outside, meanwhile, told national media the idea was "to turn out in numbers that would make the number of Spencer supporters look tiny" and that's what they did.

"We don't want your Nazi hate," they chanted, pounding drums and carrying signs championing diversity.

"I don’t believe staying home is an option in the face of hate and evil," Timothy Tia, a student organizer, told NBC News.

Spencer's UF speech was part of his alt-right tour of public universities that has triggered passionate debates about the boundaries of free speech and hate speech. Most of all, it fanned fears of continued violence.

Florida law enforcement was prepared. Gov. Rick Scott's early State of Emergency declaration brought thought, planning and a force of some 500 officers to the event. The university said it was committed to upholding the First Amendment, even if that required security measures that would cost the university north of $500,000.

Protesters on each side of the issue rarely were allowed to get close to each other. Law enforcement sectioned off one area for pro-Spencer protesters and another area for anti-Spencer protesters, about 50 yards apart. The university banned an extensive list of items, including torches, masks, weapons and athletic equipment that could be used as a weapon.

At first the university was among a number of public schools that refused to host Spencer, citing threats of violence similar to what took place in Charlottesville, where Spencer's torch-carrying followers, along with the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, participated in an Aug. 12 "Unite the Right" rally to protest the removal of a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. They clashed violently with counterprotesters, including members of the so-called antifa movement (short for anti-fascists). A participant plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a woman.

The school later reversed its decision, erring on the side of the First Amendment.

Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: NancyLBSmith

Comments

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The real question here is why Spencer wsn't required to pick up the $600,000 in public security costs for his desire to try to recruit and build his private white supremacist movement . . . . . . . . PATHETIC . . . .

This is the price of freedom. The violence in Charlottesville, Virginia occurred because the Police failed to do their job. In big cities, like NY and Boston, the Police know how to protect groups who obtain permits. They would not have allowed cars near the protestors and they would have separated the opposition groups. This was definitely a security liability. Governor Scott is a great leader and he understands the cost of freedom and the Constitution. He has my vote if he runs for US Senate. Universities are supposed to be marketplaces of ideas. The lawsuit against the University would have been more expensive. Everyone needs to learn about the individuals who kill or run people over. They usually have a history of mental illness, and we live in a nation that fails to recognize mental illness.

And, of course, you'll vote to provide the extra needed taxes to provide for that increasingly needed protection, and the resulting extra court costs for prosecuting associated crimes, like the shooting by Texas white nationalists, correct . . . . . .

Seems that the "New Left" is mostly made up of uneducated "electronic Game Players" who never learned anything about "OTHER" people or American History. I don't believe that they are Communists OR Constitutionalists... simply EXTREMELY uninformed and lacking in desire to really DO anything with their lives but "lay blame" on anyone else. The LEFT goes nowhere...

For all who condemn Richard Spencer’s ideology and his concerns for preserving white identity and culture need to read “Into the Cannibal’s Pot: Lessons for America from Post-Apartheid South Africa” written by Ilana Mercer, a Jewish woman. This book should be required reading for high school and college students, college presidents, as well as newly elected legislators. The author is Jewish and the Jewish Caucus should read her book about the conditions in South Africa with its transition to black majority rule. This is not racist white supremacists rants. This is a compelling book for thinking people who are concerned about the destiny of Western Civilization. “The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, and its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was.” Milan Kundera

The University of Florida students who protested Richard Spencer’s speech on Thursday, October 19th demonstrated why workplaces and schools suffer from a lack of civility and respect. The University of Florida students who attended the speech lacked good manners, on a scale from rudeness or lack of respect to threatening behavior. The incivility and bad manners at the University of Florida hinders productive communication and destroys campus and workplace relationships. It was a dark day for the University of Florida and America. These students were a disgrace to the University and to the State. If this is the condition of higher education, America is in deep trouble. No wonder the U.S. scores so low on International Achievement tests. The University of Florida is not a marketplace for ideas. And free speech is not valued or understood at this university by students.

You have quite obviously not visited other institutions of Higher Learning and freedom of speech - like Berkeley.

I would LIKE to think that our wonderful AERICA is a population that CAN "think" and "learn". Please, no more OBSTRUCTION based on "OLD" Political thinking --- just do what is right! I'm very happy that this "ALT-RIGHT" guy is going the way of the Dinosaurs.... STAY COLOUR-BLIND!

Guard your "free speech" 1st Amendment Right jealousy FROM the Government,.. folks; because AS goes your 2nd Amendment Right,.. SO GOES your "free speech" Right (simultaneously along with your "religious freedom" Right, your Right "to gather and assemble peaceably", and your Right "to compell the Government to address your complaints and grievances"!) [ALL GONE in "one fell swoop", leaving YOU suddenly in a Dictatorship, as the remainder of your 27 inalienable "Rights" and your "Constitutional Republic" melts AWAY ! ] STAY VIGILANT AMERICA ! MAKE YOUR 'VOTES' WISELY; and MAKE THEM COUNT ! ! !

Completely agree with your comments! The left think they are the only ones to free speech!

Crowds of thousands of free people of all colors prevailed with a message of inclusion over the message of hatred and exclusion. What a beautiful country we live in...

Whew! For a second there I was worried. But it seems as if $600K in UF security, the National Guard and the State Police are capable of controlling a hundred or so malcontent Negro's and a handful of silly children. The fact, unappetizing as it may be to some is that the Negro portion of the population are dragging down the Bell Curve. Except in the having babies department. They lead the league in hitting when it comes to that stat. They just don't pay for them, raise them or educated them. We respond by building more prisons. Like Spencer or not, the guy has a few good points.

What a stupid racist pig you are... People like you are everything that's wrong with this country. People have the freedom to decide how they want to live, right or wrong, and trailer park scum bags like you don't get to judge them anymore than they do you idiot...

What?... "facts" make a person a "stupid racist pig" or a "trailerark scumbag" or an "idiot"?!? I would expect far more rationality from someone who labels himself a "Spec Ops Vet"! As a Vet myself, You "dissapoint" my friend, and suggest that, in your flash-point anger, you have regressed into "activist mode"; seek counselling "Spec Ops" before you find yourself in a "situation where you've bitten off more than you can chew"...

The fact that he openly calls people Negros and such are facts enough for me... I have brothers of all races here and gone. You do not speak like any vet I've ever known, which makes me question your authenticity as much as your friends do...

you're no vet fat boy... You are a trailer park wanna be... Take your fat ass back to NY loser before you get your ass kicked again by real vets mama's boy...

All free speech prevailed over isolationist free speech. White supremacists are quickly becoming the minority, imagine that...

Yes, the event was held. But, only after much BS and $'s spent because yet another Left-Driven "no free speech" state funded university has gone FAR LEFT. Go figure!

Peace through strength. Even with rude shout-downs, Free Speech is alive and fighting back on Florida university campuses in Florida. Thank you, Gov. Scott. You give us hope that Florida is a long way from becoming a California "wanna be".

He spoke but no one wanted to hear him. No one invited him to speak yet he paid for his time. He did not have an audience that was willing to hear his hate. The first amendment does not say people have to hear him and furthermore it protects the rights of those who told him to go home.

David............................. yes he spoke, did they hear him? No! Because they were trying with all might to stop his vocal sounds, known as stopping free speech. So the children of the swamp looked dirty, acted un -American. But they didn't win because the police were there. So the sniper shot was never used on them? See California, you can stop the people in black that destroy...... love watching the dirty girl in black trying to break the window.... but couldn't because women racist are weak?

He was allowed to speak. He was not prevented from speaking by any form of state authority. The first amendment is fine, David

It appears that the First Amendment is gasping for air!

Comments are now closed.

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