Thursday, October 19, 2017

White supremacist rally in Florida. & 80% of Puerto Rico without power

I saw yet another picture of a nazi getting punched today on Twitter & on news websites: 
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-converge-white-nationalist-richard-spencer-event-n812301
Apparently, white supremacist Richard Spencer decided to have a rally in (of all places) Florida:

"For weeks, the University of Florida has been urging students to stay away from a Thursday speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer, hoping to avoid the deadly clashes that unfolded in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August.
But hundreds of them, along with many non-students, defied those requests, marching on the campus theater Spencer rented. His speech there is part of a tour of public universities that has triggered passionate debates about the boundaries of free speech and hate speech and fanned fears of continued violence.
The point, some protesters said, was to turn out in numbers that would make the number of Spencer supporters look tiny. "We don't want your Nazi hate," the protesters chanted, pounding drums and carrying signs championing diversity."

I find it ironic that Spencer decided to have his rally in Florida. A state where there will be an influx of Puerto-Ricans because Trump failed in his response to the island's devastation after hurricane "Maria":
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2017-10-17/exodus-of-puerto-ricans-could-change-florida-politics-but-only-if-they-stay
"Hurricane Maria's ruinous sweep through Puerto Rico sent its stricken residents fleeing to the U.S. mainland. Some 20,000 Puerto Ricans passed through airports in Orlando, Miami and Fort Lauderdale within just two weeks.
Knowledgeable observers predict these new arrivals, and the tens of thousands who are expected, will reshape communities and politics, especially in the swing state of Florida. Whether they are red Republicans or blue Democrats or some shade in between, they should be respected as a powerful force, observers agree."
Spencer went to promote white supremacy in a state that will soon have an even greater Latino population. People are escaping because (among many other issues) four weeks after the hurricane devastated the island, 80 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power: 
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/us/puerto-rico-electricity-power.html"Four weeks after Hurricane Maria, packing winds of up to 155 miles an hour, knocked out power to the entire island, 80 percent of Puerto Rico still does not have electricity. Some residents have not had power for 45 days — since Hurricane Irma brushed by after Labor Day."

Puerto-Ricans are American citizens and they can live in the U.S. mainland if they choose to do so,  and here, they can exercise their right to vote. I, for one, welcome their voice in the political debate, though I'm sure people like Spencer (who are in the minority I hope) will be less than thrilled.

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