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Jan 23, 2017-2017

United States of America

Clowning Around to Fight Nazism and Troll Nazis in Whitefish, Montana

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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP

Local Residents, Especially Jewish Community

TARGET

Neo-Nazis/White Supremacists

WIDELY HELD BELIEF

Neo-Nazis should not demonstrate hatered.

CASE NARRATIVE

Issue and Opponent: Montana, United States, and the Flathead Valley that surrounds the town of Whitefish in particular, has long been a haven for white supremacists and other political extremists such as militias. Members of the small Jewish community have received personal attacks and even death threats from the white supremacists living there. The storm of trolls and the increasingly disturbing tactics of far-right extremists have gained more prominence since the 2016 election, with Donald Trump’s presidential victory. Dilemma Action: In January 2017, with wigs, makeup, signs, whacky outfits, and brandishing signs, residents of Whitefish, Montana formed a counter-protest against a group neo-Nazis that descended on their town and tormented residents. These demonstrators lined the route of the neo-Nazi march, presenting slogans such as “‘Trolls Against Trolls” and “‘Fascists Fear Fun’,” and ultimately, branded the march a “Sieg Fail”. The locals also held a unity counter-event where they gathered together and celebrated the connections they share, including the denunciation of hate. Outcome: The community members successfully weathered the right-wing anti-Semitic “troll storm”. These actions not only deflate the macho image of neo-Nazis to their supporters, which is strengthened by violent confrontation, but they also engage the community in planning fun collective actions to counter hate and intolerance. The actions bring communities together against hate speech.

PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL

Human rights

DA TACTICS USED

Wearing of symbols

CASE NARRATIVE WRITER

SUCCESS METRICS

11 / 12

(CONC) Concessions were made

(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements

(MC) Media Coverage

(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists

(OR) Opponent response

(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public

(PUN) Punishment favored the activists

(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent

(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists

(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public

Laugtivism

PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN

0 / 3

RESOURCES

Project documentation

Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook

Case study documentation

Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset

CC BY 4.0 Deed, Attribution 4.0 International

SOURCES

Freeman-Woolpert, Sarah. 2017. “Why Nazis are so afraid of these clowns,” Waging Nonviolence, August 25. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://wagingnonviolence.org/2017/08/nazis-afraid-clowns/).


Siegler, Kirk. 2018. “Descending On A Montana Town, Neo-Nazi Trolls Test Where Free Speech Ends,” NPR, January 23. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.npr.org/2018/01/23/579884628/victims-of-neo-nazi-troll-storm-find-difficulties-doing-something-about-it).

Romano, Andrew. 2017. “How the town of Whitefish defeated its neo-Nazi trolls — and became a national model of resistance,” Yahoo News, January 19. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://news.yahoo.com/how-the-tiny-montana-ski-town-of-whitefish-defeated-its-neo-nazi-trolls-and-became-a-national-model-of-resistance-225557686.html).

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