It’s time to stop hiding from the truth about President Donald J. Trump. On Saturday, Sept. 14, Chester Doles, a white supremacist, neo-Nazi leader and convicted felon, held a pro-Trump rally, which he advertised on social media as a family event, in downtown Dahlonega, Ga. In reality, the rally was nothing more than a pathetic display of Trump’s mandate to hate.
I joined more than 100 anti-fascist counter-protesters to oppose the rally’s crowd of about 50 people. They waved Trump 2020 and Blue Lives Matter flags while listening to speakers, one of whom was a convicted felon, spew racist, anti-Semitic remarks. The presence of hundreds of city, county and state police officers, including prison guards in full riot gear, made the dismal turnout from the white nationalist contingent seem far more significant, further distorting the true strength of white supremacy while displaying the excessive militarization of Georgia’s police forces.
Doles, the rally’s organizer, spent time in federal prison on weapons charges and has a history with racially-motivated violence. Some Trump supporters there rallied alongside Doles as they listened to people like Charles Edward Lincoln III, a keynote speaker from the 2018 “Unite the Right 2” rally, call for racially-segregated police forces and denounce international bankers controlling the world. Others stood by and watched from the barricades with silent approval.
Though this rally had no backing from any Republican officials or the president himself, it served as a reminder that Trump has emboldened the most virulent white supremacists in this state and across the country. His presidency has continued to normalize hate, divide our country and suppress the truth. Each and every day, our silence becomes his strength, and with our inaction comes the empowerment of heinous individuals like Doles who stand with this administration.
We must reclaim the truth from Trump and the far-right factions he has empowered. That begins with acknowledging the unusual, reactionary nature of this presidency. From the rollback of environmental protections to the unlawful separating of families at the border and attacks on the mainstream press, the Trump administration ticks too many boxes on the fascist checklist.
The counterprotesters I joined were anti-fascists who recognize the danger of Trump’s totalitarian tendencies. They were not the militant antifa factions that have drawn the ire of Trump and conservative media outlets, but a diverse, non-violent group committed to workers’ rights, inclusion and equality. Being anti-fascist does not make you a violent extremist. As we work to reclaim the truth from the alt-right, we reassert the pride we should all take in being against fascism anywhere and everywhere.
As 2020 approaches, I refuse to sit idly by and watch this country fall victim to the hate that Trump has normalized. White supremacists would not have held a rally for former U.S. President George W. Bush back in 2003. I guess the cult of personality surrounding Trump is more palatable for neo-Nazis, and his other supporters seem uninterested in opposing the extremist factions that stand with them. These supporters, though they may disapprove of neo-fascists in their ranks, are nonetheless complicit in allowing them a foothold in American politics. Their silent acquiescence allows Doles and others to fulfill Trump’s mandate to hate.
As I was confronted by a notorious alt-right agitator and anti-Semite at the rally, Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ words rang true in my ears: “You have to stand up for some things in this world.”
I stood up for freedom, democracy and love in Dahlonega on Saturday. Now, we must all unite, both at the ballot box and in the streets, against white supremacy in our state and our White House before it’s too late.
Jake Busch (22C) is from Brookhaven, Ga.
