I found this amusing 10/16

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 5:23 am

I just read this and chuckled at the irony. Let's see if you can spot it.

A crowd protesting a white supremacists' march Saturday turned violent, throwing baseball-sized rocks at police, vandalizing vehicles and stores, and setting fire to a neighborhood bar, authorities said.

When Mayor Jack Ford and a local minister tried to calm the rioting, they were cursed for allowing the march, and Ford said a masked gang member threatened to shoot him.

At least 65 people were arrested and several police officers were injured before calm was restored about four hours later.

Ford blamed the rioting on gangs taking advantage of a volatile situation. He declared a state of emergency, set an 8 p.m. curfew through the weekend, and asked the Highway Patrol for help.

"It's exactly what they wanted," Ford said of the group that planned the march, which was canceled because of the rioting.

At least two dozen members of the National Socialist Movement, which calls itself "America's Nazi Party," had gathered at a city park to march under police protection. Organizers said they were demonstrating against black gangs they said were harassing white residents.

The violence broke out about one-quarter of a mile away along the planned march route shortly before it was to begin. One group of men pounded on a convenience store, and others overturned vehicles. There was a report of a shooting but police hadn't found a victim, Police Chief Mike Navarre said.

About 150 police officers chased bands of young men through the area. Officers wearing gas masks fired tear gas canisters and flash-bang devices designed to stun suspects, but the groups continued throwing rocks and bottles. Several officers and firefighters suffered minor injuries, Navarre said. At one point, the crowd reached 600 people, officials said.

Finally, police marched shoulder-to-shoulder down the street shouting to people to stay inside, and the crowd of several hundred broke up.

At least 65 people were arrested on charges including assault, vandalism, failure to obey police and failure to disperse, Navarre said. He said the white supremacists had left hours earlier.

"We frankly could have made a couple hundred arrests easily," Navarre said. "We just didn't have the resources on hand to arrest all of them."

The mayor had appealed to residents the night before to ignore the march. He said the city wouldn't give the Nazi group a permit to march in the streets but couldn't stop them from walking on the sidewalks.

When the rioting began, Ford tried to negotiate with those involved, but "they weren't interested in that." He said people in the crowd swore at him and wanted to know why he was protecting the Nazis.

They were mostly "gang members who had real or imagined grievances and took it as an opportunity to speak in their own way," Ford said.

"I was chagrined that there were obvious mothers and children in the crowd with them," he said.

Thomas Frisch, 76, said a large group of men destroyed the exterior of a gas station next to his home of 30 years.

"A whole big gang started to come in here. Next thing you know, they're jumping on the car. Then they overturned it. Then they started on the building, breaking windows, ripping the bars off," he said.

Louis Ratajski, 86, and his nephew, Terry Rybczynski, left Jim & Lou's Bar as a crowd gathered in front pelting police with rocks and breaking the windows. They climbed down a fire escape from the apartment where Ratajski lived over the bar and only later saw the fire on television.

"I was shaking. I feared for my life." Rybczynski said.

Keith White, a black resident, criticized city officials for allowing the march in the first place.

"They let them come here and expect this not to happen?" said White, 29.

A spokesman for the National Socialist Movement blamed police for losing control of the situation.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:56 am

You mean the thing with: "They shouldn't have let them come here in the first place"?

But it did say that they didn't really break the law these nazi-guys.. apparently it's allowed to march, as long as you march on the sidewalks??

Seems as if they pretty much did what they could, denying them permit to march, on the street.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:23 am

Sounds like a big **** sandwich and everyone gets to take a bite, tbh. No way would I want to have to deal with that on my watch.

sprunkner · Post by **sprunkner** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:06 pm

I've got to agree with the guy who said they shouldn't have come.

"We were having a peaceful Neo-Nazi march in the park, when some RANDOM people started breaking things! I swear, all these skinheads in their steel-toes boots and brass knuckles wanted was to demonstrate peacefully!"

Where's Ultimate Weapon? He'll argue with me.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:19 pm

freedom doesn't really work if you only give it to some people tho does it?

reacting to something like this is exactly what is desired by the people who do it.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:59 pm

Best First wrote:freedom doesn't really work if you only give it to some people tho does it?

reacting to something like this is exactly what is desired by the people who do it.

So the Neo Nazis were protesting against violent gang members who were attacking citizens of their town. Okay, that makes sense. Then the gang members wind up more-or-less destroying the town and cause a state of emergency to be declared. Huh. Here's a sentence I never thought I'd type. Looks like like the Neo Nazis were right.

harmony · Post by **harmony** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:55 am

Well....I never really liked groups of folks who think they are better than everyone else and those beneath them should be destroyed. At the same time, I know that there's not much I can do about the existence of said groups, and thus I simply accept they exist, and try to distance myself from these groups if possible. And let me guess....the irony mentioned at the very top of the post....a black guy named White?

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:04 am

harmony wrote:Well....I never really liked groups of folks who think they are better than everyone else and those beneath them should be destroyed. At the same time, I know that there's not much I can do about the existence of said groups, and thus I simply accept they exist, and try to distance myself from these groups if possible. And let me guess....the irony mentioned at the very top of the post....a black guy named White?

Heh, didn't notice that. No, the irony I speak of is that the protesters of the neo-nazis were FAR more violent than the neo-nazis themselves who, in a further twist of irony, were protesting against gang violence.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:12 pm

......

Gangs f**king suck!!

But what can ya do.. there's been gangs trougout all of civilised, and uncivilised human history.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:41 pm

Like Genghis Khan? He had a pretty badass gang...

Look where it got him...

[edit]um, just re-read this and to clarify, i'm not condoning gangs or anything...[/edit]