Really, I wish people would just wake up and realize that the best approach to this sort of thing is to ignore it - go have that beer instead. Spencer is counting on protests and chaos – the things that get him more press and notoriety. People should just stay away, that’s the quickest way to shut this guy down.
I didn’t realize that he or his organization simply rented the space at UF to hold their event. The talk is not sponsored or put on by any campus group. Yet because it is a public space, have to allow this to happen AND to pay for the security required.
I, too, hope that everything stays calm. Staying away is the best advice IF the event is sparsely attended. But if it is well attended, seems like peaceful protest would be called for.
The best way to make him disappear is to ignore him. Show up, protest, and even more ignorantly foment violence, then you get him in the news and give him an even larger platform. Both he and the protesters want an audience. If he were really attempting to get people recruited to his cause a college campus is not the place to do it. It is a great place to attract attention though.
It appears only one arrest, for a man carrying a gun(said he was hired for security). Another man showed up wearing a shirt with swastikas on it. He kept quiet when confronted.
So far, the protests outside the center have been peaceful. Inside, protesters are shouting down Spencer. His supporters have driven from across Florida and Texas to hear him speak. Students were advised not to participate. The University turned down a request by Spencer to rent the hall in September based upon the violence in Charlottesville at his sponsored rally. He threatened the University with a lawsuit. While I understand that if a school accepts Federal funds and rents space to the public, they cannot discriminate against a specific group, I think that a threat assessment level should be a reasonable reason to deny the rental. It is estimated to cost $500,000 to $600,000 to pay for the security.
We ignored it for decades.
They slowly grew their base through the internet.
It is impossible to ignore. Further, they people protesting aren’t just standing up to the speakers, they are also standing up and showing the groups that are targeted that they have allies.
I also hope people go for the beer instead. Guys like this are going for the publicity, there for the show, and it would be nice if nobody gives him any attention.
What @romanigypsyeyes said. It’s a nice thought to think just ignore them and they’ll go away. I’ll attempt not to trigger a Godwin’s Law accusation, but the fact is, in countries around the world, movements like this have been “ignored” until they couldn’t be–with tragic results that tend to fall on the most vulnerable.
Because there is a federal court case that says they can’t charge extra for security. The group originally tried to book a space in September but were turned down. They threatened to sue.
