‘Nazis Go Home’ — Protesting Moms for Liberty
A guest op-ed by Ellen Zucker <3
***Registration link for today’s Happy Hour wellness checkin at 5 pm PT can be found here. If you are not yet a member of the Bette community and would like to join us, please join today at a great rate.***
It was during a recent Lucid meeting — Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s weekly zoom conversations — that Lucid/Bette member Ellen Zucker was posting updates from a protest outside a Moms for Liberty event in Philadelphia — the city of brotherly love.
I thought of one of our lessons from David Pepper — don’t be bullied — and asked Ellen to write a guest op-ep about the event. As some of you know, RadPod interviewed a Florida mom who went undercover to infiltrate the Moms for Liberty chapter in her area, and what she exposed was a hate group — transphobic, xenophobic, homophobic, racist. She revealed links to a school board in her community, and gathered a group of people together to shame them out of a board meeting and off their board. One mom moved mountains. Here is that interview.
I didn’t want Ellen’s op-ed to get lost in the holiday shuffle, so am publishing it today.
Hopefully Ellen will make an appearance at a Happy Hour soon and we’ll be able to ask her about the experience of standing up for love when encountering a wall of entitled hate.
We know that Moms for Liberty is not an organic phenomenon but a dark money funded operation — one of many fronts in our war against the fascist creep.
Here is Ellen’s story:
‘Nazis Go Home’ - Protest is Patriotic
“Protests are fundamentally about hope… Going out in the street with nothing but a cellphone is an act of optimism. It means that citizens still believe that the system will correct itself.”—Barbara F Walter
Hate masquerading as impeccably dressed suburban moms. So says the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) about the Moms for Liberty, whom they have designated as an extremist group. This deceptively named group is noted for their aggressive advocacy of book bans, classroom censorship, and bans on teaching about slavery, race, racism, LBGTQ people, and history.
On this July 4th weekend, holding a ‘summit’ in Philadelphia that included a reception at the Museum of the American Revolution, they hijacked these symbols of patriotism. The summit featured visits by Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump and Nikki Haley and various workshops including one led by Heritage Foundation’s Dennis Praeger.
Started in 2021 in Florida to oppose COVID school closures, the organization has mushroomed into 285 chapters in 45 states according to the SPLC who describes the summit as injecting “extremism into the mainstream.”
‘Moms Against Liberty’ is a more accurate name and, in any case, Philadelphia was having none of it. A diverse coalition of activist groups banded together to publicly register their displeasure through a series of actions taking place at summit venue sites.
Non-violent protest is a wonderful thing. It offers an opportunity to escape from one’s individual world and participate in something larger: a public collective action. It shows you are not alone. That others share your opinion, even those who may not look or dress like you. But most important it offers an avenue to express dissent and catalyze change.
In this case, we were saying “No” to the M4L’s message of hate and bigotry and expressing our support for tolerance and diversity.
For me, alarm bells had been ringing well before the 2016 presidential election. I’ve read just enough history to see eerie similarities between tactics propelling the rise of 1930’s fascists and the contemporary American Right such as the demonization of powerless groups.
In the distance, I saw lights from the police escort moving down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. And then I saw them. Several hundred marchers walking, chanting, holding signs. I hurried my pace to join them. They were coming from an earlier rally at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Central Parkway branch and heading towards the Marriott, the hotel hosting the summit.
The group was diverse: women and men, gay, straight, trans… old, young, retired teachers. Black, white and shades in between. People taking time out of their daily lives to come to Philadelphia. In some cases, they had traveled considerable distances to be there. (Heidi insert: 🥹)
Filbert Street was blocked off. In one section in front of the Marriott, a dance party was in progress. ACT UP Philadelphia supplied the DJ spinning tunes, a table with a cooler full of bottled water and some light refreshments as people danced in the street. The dance party went on throughout the four-day conference. Barricades and a heavy police presence separated protesters and hotel guests. Meanwhile additional protesters gathered near the back of the hotel at 12th and Market Streets. These were two sites among several others where people gathered to make their presence known.
Everyone was peaceful and police were neutral. Mayor Kenney had publicly stated he opposed M4L’s policies and goals but that he would prioritize safety and honor individuals’ constitutional rights. He was true to his word.
The party atmosphere was palpable as people fluttered flags and danced in the street. Although the issues were dead serious, the truth is protests are fun.
For me, the best part is the outpouring of creativity reflected in rainbow dress by some participants as well as the humor in hand drawn signs. My favorites?
“Klanned Karenhood: Coming to a school near you.”
“Grab them by the pages.”
And this one:
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. Banning books is no laughing matter.”
I saw few M4L participants—they were attending various conferences throughout the day and newspaper reports indicate few M4L minds changed. Yet, several actions throughout the weekend ensured there were protesters to greet summit-goers at each venue.
The presence of M4L counter protesters is a message to M4L followers, the American public, and our politicians that we are aware, and we are not going to roll over.
On a broader level, for progressives, non-violent protest is a life-affirming activity as it seeks to promote a more humane society. It brings people together in support of a cause larger than themselves. It builds community by breaking down barriers of race, class, gender, and geography to focus on our commonality. It provides an outlet for creativity, humor, and self-expression. And it resists attempts by those who seek to keep us divided.
In pushing for change, public protest is an empowering activity: that by taking to the streets we can take power into our own hands and shape the future. Ultimately, it is an expression of optimism and hope.—Ellen Zucker
Watery stuff in my eyes.
How beautiful, Ellen, thank you from the bottom of my heart for registering this moment in time — we shall not be bullied, we shall make good trouble, we shall stand up to the book banners, and the hateful. We shall ‘take power into our own hands and shape the future.’
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We just have to see that the battle for democracy is broader. It's deeper.—David Pepper
I need people to see they're on the frontline. Wherever you live, if you’re doing this work, you are the frontline.—David Pepper
The message should be a fair deal… fairness everywhere.—Martin Sheil
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“I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving as I walk upon the earth.”-Audrey Peterman.
“May the viral hope for truth and humanity wash away the chaos of these years.”-S.C., Bette community member
“Something Sacred never dies in almost all of us, who can hear the invitation of Truth…”-words from a Bette Dangerous community member
“Nothing but blue skies from now on…”-Irving Berlin
“Non-violent protest is a life-affirming activity as it seeks to promote a more humane society.”-Ellen Zucker
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(A sign from the Moms for Liberty protest, Philadelphia)
