White Lives Matter litter in California/Photo Courtesy of LA Times
Online extremists coordinated a series of nationwide White Lives Matter rallies set on April 11 that fizzled as quickly as they started. NBC News reported that the poor turnout was even more pathetic because counterprotesters showed up in droves in New York and New Mexico. In short, nobody cares.
According to Newsweek, several white supremacists communicating on social media and through the Telegram app came up with the idea to hold at least a dozen of these protests in cities across the country. The activity is expected to begin at 1 p.m., although time zones were not made clear.
The White Lives Matter movement is a racist byproduct of the term coined in response to the Black Lives Matter movement around 2015. The Black Lives Matter movement was organized to address police brutality at the hands of largely white officers that often went unpunished. Groups like the Aryan Rennaisance Society based in Texas have advanced the slogan and ideology through protests and other propaganda.
In short, White Lives Matter is a hate group. The Southern Poverty Law Center has also designated off-shoot groups such as the Proud Boys, founded in 2016, a hate group as well. Both groups are said to be allying for the April 11 rallies.
As haphazard as the plans sound, the racist rallies have secretly been in the works since last month. On March 28, many Newport Beach, California residents awoke to Ku Klux Klan fliers and other supremacist litter scattered across their yards, the Los Angeles Times reported. On the fliers, the April 11 event was mentioned.
Acquiescent to CDC guidelines, the rallies’ advertisements instructed prospective attendees to bring hand sanitizer and practice social distancing. Curiously, organizers of the white pride undertaking also suggested face coverings to protect “anonymity.” Apparently, white supremacy is acceptable, and white lives matter as long as proud white folks are not proud enough to be seen.
Other states where police expected to see White Lives Matter activities included Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. A counter-protest was planned in Seattle. The Huntington Beach city council in California also approved a counter-event scheduled for April 18. Councilwoman Natalie Moser
proposed the anti-supremacy rally for the same day as the original protest but was told that the police presence needed would be a drain on resources.Researchers have tied the Trump presidency to an increase in overt racist sentiment though white supremacy as a philosophy has never ceased to exist.
All that effort for nothing.