In the history of white supremacist groups, many hold extreme restorative approaches to protest actions against their beliefs. Their approach invites their followers to take action by any means necessary to protest democratic or anti-fascist actions. Throughout history, leaders of the American south garner a following through demagoguery to manipulate their audience into following them, allowing the leader to rise to power. Today, similar demagoguery is present among white supremacist leaders in America, with Jason Kessler being one of the most recent leaders to gain traction. Kessler’s rhetorical style is similar to Ben Tillman as his speech espouses violence by portraying their enemy as different, dangerous and multiplying. He taps into his
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Lee statue, that ultimately lead to violence and the death of Heather Heyer. The protesters involved were white supremacists, white nationalists, Klansmen, various militias and the counter-protesters. According to witnesses of the event, people were “actively fighting throughout the day,” and the police were not breaking up fights. There were counter-protesters barricading the entrance to Lee Park, the site of the rally and the protesters were chanting, “Blood and soil!” “You will not replace us!” “Jews will not replace us!” The white supremacist groups were armed and the KKK publicly announced that they would be armed at the event as well. It was noted that someone yelled, “Dyan Roof was a hero,” referencing the white supremacist who massacred nine African Americans in a Charleston church. Many groups sprayed chemicals and threw dangerous objects and vandalized property. On August 12th, a vehicle driven by James Fields, part of the Vanguard America fascist group, drove into counter-protesters sending more than a dozen people to the hospital and killing Heather Heyer. This two-day rally concluded to be more than just a protest against the statue’s removal but about all the ideologies surrounding its history and contemporary meaning. For folks of many well-known hate groups to gather and cheer for the previous deaths and massacres of …show more content…
In a YouTube video he uploaded before the event he is giving reasons as to why people should attend the rally and what they should do. Since he is advocating against the removal of the statue he is fighting for white supremacy. In the video, he used a loud, aggressive tone to tell his story. Even though he says the event will be peaceful he also claims that “we will fight for [it], it will be like nothing you’ve ever seen,” which in fact, the latter turned out to be true. He explores themes of rights, expressing that “white people have the right to stand up for ourselves,” and if the city takes down the statue he expects his followers to “stand up and raise hell because they f****d with the wrong man.” He accuses Charlottesville of illegal actions by not letting them express themselves and in another video, he recorded himself speaking about the “need to preserve history.” Kessler holds a restorative viewpoint as seen when he says, “we built western civilization,” referring to the white males that will be in attendance and the history of white men leading the nation. He thinks that the city is against white people and cites the example of London taking down a statue because, as he sarcastically puts it, “being white is politically incorrect.” In these videos, he is expressing his anger in an
Lee statue, that ultimately lead to violence and the death of Heather Heyer. The protesters involved were white supremacists, white nationalists, Klansmen, various militias and the counter-protesters. According to witnesses of the event, people were “actively fighting throughout the day,” and the police were not breaking up fights. There were counter-protesters barricading the entrance to Lee Park, the site of the rally and the protesters were chanting, “Blood and soil!” “You will not replace us!” “Jews will not replace us!” The white supremacist groups were armed and the KKK publicly announced that they would be armed at the event as well. It was noted that someone yelled, “Dyan Roof was a hero,” referencing the white supremacist who massacred nine African Americans in a Charleston church. Many groups sprayed chemicals and threw dangerous objects and vandalized property. On August 12th, a vehicle driven by James Fields, part of the Vanguard America fascist group, drove into counter-protesters sending more than a dozen people to the hospital and killing Heather Heyer. This two-day rally concluded to be more than just a protest against the statue’s removal but about all the ideologies surrounding its history and contemporary meaning. For folks of many well-known hate groups to gather and cheer for the previous deaths and massacres of …show more content…
In a YouTube video he uploaded before the event he is giving reasons as to why people should attend the rally and what they should do. Since he is advocating against the removal of the statue he is fighting for white supremacy. In the video, he used a loud, aggressive tone to tell his story. Even though he says the event will be peaceful he also claims that “we will fight for [it], it will be like nothing you’ve ever seen,” which in fact, the latter turned out to be true. He explores themes of rights, expressing that “white people have the right to stand up for ourselves,” and if the city takes down the statue he expects his followers to “stand up and raise hell because they f****d with the wrong man.” He accuses Charlottesville of illegal actions by not letting them express themselves and in another video, he recorded himself speaking about the “need to preserve history.” Kessler holds a restorative viewpoint as seen when he says, “we built western civilization,” referring to the white males that will be in attendance and the history of white men leading the nation. He thinks that the city is against white people and cites the example of London taking down a statue because, as he sarcastically puts it, “being white is politically incorrect.” In these videos, he is expressing his anger in an