California weighs costs of being the center of the 'resistance'
| San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif.
They came, they marched, and in their view, they conquered.
The thousands who hit the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley this weekend declared their demonstrations a success after Patriot Prayer, an Oregon-based group 鈥� which says it eschews racism, but whose gatherings have previously attracted white nationalists and neo-Nazis 鈥� canceled rallies scheduled to take place in both cities.
鈥淲hen Nazis and white supremacists and white nationalists are in our city, we cannot stay home and we cannot stay silent,鈥� says Mia, a data analyst from the South Bay. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to resist!鈥� adds her mother, Barb, who wore a hat adorned with flowers and carried a bouquet as the pair joined the crowd in San Francisco. (They declined to give their last names.)
The marches reaffirmed the Bay Area鈥檚, and more broadly California鈥檚, position as the center of resistance to what liberals see as a wave of ultra-conservatism and right-wing extremism sweeping the nation. And, like Mia and Barb, many who turned out for the events were proud to call themselves Californian because of it.
鈥淭he resilience of California鈥檚 populace sends a strong message of, 鈥榃e can take it,鈥� 鈥� says Shirley Song, who came up to the Bay Area from Sunnyvale, near San Jose, to participate in both rallies.
Yet styling itself the capital of blue America has not come without cost to California, political analysts say. Since President Trump took office, the state has regularly wrangled with Washington over approaches to immigration, climate change, and social services 鈥� and still faces the threat of cuts to key federally-funded programs. The state has also seen a surge in both hate crimes and violent public demonstrations over the past year and a half, as protesters across a range of ideologies converge in the state鈥檚 most liberal enclaves. Those same cities have also become a frontline for a nationwide struggle over freedom of speech and how to effectively respond to hatred and bigotry.
That all this is taking place here is no coincidence, says Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
鈥淐alifornia is not only viewed as a bastion of progressive politics but a battleground for a demographically changing America,鈥� he says. 鈥淭o white nationalists, this is what they want to prevent the rest of the country from turning into. So this is tapping into a vein that鈥檚 existed for some time.鈥�
The tension between the Golden State and the nation's capital has found its most visible expression at the level of politics and policy. When Mr. Trump pulled the US out of the Paris accord, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) met separately with China鈥檚 President Xi Jinping to discuss global efforts to address climate change. When Trump released his budget proposal,聽which outlined a hike in defense funding while cutting support for spending on social services, Governor Brown called it 鈥�.鈥� And as Trump on his campaign promise to build a wall along the US border with Mexico, California lawmakers prepare to pass the California 海角大神 Act, a statewide 鈥渟anctuary鈥� bill that would further limit cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
Nearly every action Trump takes 鈥渋s a gut punch to California,鈥� says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California. 鈥淸The administration has] targeted the state that gave Hillary Clinton her popular vote win. And California鈥檚 responding to what it perceives as a threat to its Democratic constituency.鈥�
Price of resistance
But conflict has manifested in the streets, too. While police reported only one arrest in San Francisco on Saturday, Berkeley saw more than a dozen people taken into police custody and several confrontations between right-wing activists and the larger crowd. Antifa 鈥� the term used for a loose affiliation of leftist-leaning, militant groups opposed to fascism 鈥� crossed police barricades to storm a park named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in downtown Berkeley.
The Sunday protest adds to the 27 public gatherings statewide that have involved 鈥渋njury, arrests, property damage, or significant aggressive physical disruption鈥� since February last year, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.聽
鈥淭he engagement in the mainstream between progressives and conservatives is playing out in a dangerous carnival mirror reflection between anti-fascists and anarchists, and white nationalists,鈥� Professor Levin says.
To California鈥檚 most dedicated activists, such clashes are part of the cost of resisting racism and white supremacy. The social movements of the past were fraught with violence because sometimes that鈥檚 what it takes to defend democratic values, says Emily Lee, spokeswoman for Bay Resistance, a coalition of Bay Area advocacy groups. 鈥淲e鈥檙e clearly in a fight around the moral soul of our country,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 simply sit by and hope these alt-right groups go away. So we support nonviolent direct action, but also people鈥檚 right to self-determination and to defend themselves.鈥�
For others, however, the situation is not so clear-cut. 鈥淲e want to stand for justice, freedom, and free speech. I鈥檓 not sure that shutting down [Patriot Prayer] is the best way to fight,鈥� says Betsy Bigelow Teller, a Berkeley resident who came to Sunday鈥檚 counter protests wearing Groucho Marx glasses. 鈥淚 think there needs to be some sort of understanding and dialogue.鈥�
Observers point out there鈥檚 a long history behind the struggle to define the line between free speech and hate speech, which is legally protected in America under the First Amendment, and between self-defense and outright violence. The events in the Bay Area this weekend, they say, serve as an expression of that struggle.
'Hate is hate'
Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson insists that although he started the organization as a response to counter-protesters attacking attendees of a Trump rally during the presidential campaign, his anti-extremism message cuts both ways. 鈥淣azism is extremely dangerous, but in my opinion no different than Antifa,鈥� he says in a phone interview ahead of the Bay Area demonstrations. 鈥淗ate is hate. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to preach to people.鈥�
He and his supporters say they have a right to be able to get that message out. Although the rallies he'd planned over the weekend were cancelled, Mr. Gibson on Sunday, where protesters chased him and reportedly sprayed pepper spray at him. The police said they detained him for his protection, according to TV reports. 聽
Many leading the counter protests in the Bay Area disagree. 鈥淚t鈥檚 doesn鈥檛 matter if they themselves don鈥檛 support white supremacism,鈥� says Ms. Lee with Bay Resistance. 鈥淭hey know who their rallies attract, and that has a direct impact on our communities, whether they claim that鈥檚 their intention or not.鈥�
It鈥檚 a situation that analysts say American society will continue to grapple with in the face of deeply polarizing forces. 鈥淲hat are we supposed to do? I don鈥檛 know if there is an answer,鈥� says Professor Jeffe at USC. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just say, Let鈥檚 all sing 鈥楰umbaya.鈥� That鈥檚 one of the questions we鈥檙e going to have to focus on.鈥�
California is likely to remain a primary stage in the search for solutions 鈥� and an epicenter of the discourse around intolerance and bigotry, Levin says. The state has led the way in demographic diversity and technology development, two major contributors to the rise of extremism and polarization, he notes. It stands to reason that the response to these changes will find headway here, too.
鈥淐alifornia is not only symbolic, it鈥檚 a bellwether,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a test nationwide of how much extremism will enter the sociopolitical mainstream, and everything we see, we see more of here.鈥�
