Phoenix sure knows how to hold a political rally. Not one, but two of them…at the same time. Of course, this was not your typical political rally. On one side were the Nazis; on the other side were the anarchists. In the middle, stood the police.
On Saturday, less than 100 Nazis held an hour-long anti-immigration rally at the state capitol, even though National Socialist Movement Commander Jeff Schoep promised 200.
While the Nazi’s goose stepped on the south side of Washington Street to the chants of “No reds, No Jews, the Mexicans must go too,” about 150 anarchists walked the sidewalk on the north side of the street. They had their own catchy slogan too. “No racists, no classes, no motherfucking fascists.”
Down the middle of the street, separating the two groups was 100 Phoenix cops. Sharpshooters mounted the roofs.
A time like this should be a celebration of the First Amendment. However, it is a little hard to celebrate anything with the signs and slogans both sides presented, especially with the smell of hate in the air.
Some of the Nazis tore up Mexican flags and wiped their rears with them. I guess there is no need to let one’s rhetorical skills or lack of them to get in the way of making a political point.
One particularly irate Nazi yelled to a man in the crowd, “You would make a good lampshade.”
What purpose the Nazis think a rally filled with these grade school antics will serve is beyond comprehension. They are obviously not doing this to recruit members.
The anarchists did not sit quietly and let the Nazis dominate the war of words. With cries like, “Follow your leader and kill yourself” or the old-fashioned but direct “Fuck you, Nazis,” the anarchists made the simple point that they were there and not welcoming the Nazis to Phoenix.
Amazingly, there were no injuries or arrests, except for the Nazis in a small white (what else) car that hit a red truck, sending one of the Nazis to the hospital.
