Nov 9, 2012-2012
United States of America
Clowns Attack KKK Rally in Charlotte, NC with Humor
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Latin American Coalición
TARGET
Neo-Nazis (The National Socialist Movement)/White Supremacists
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
Demonstrations of hate should not be presented, especially publicly, and such activities are not welcome in that community.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: The National Socialist Movement (NSM), is an organization that specializes in theatrical and provocative protests and is one of the largest and most prominent neo-Nazi groups in the United States. They held a rally at the old City Hall site in Uptown, Charlotte, North Carolina on November 9, 2012. This was part of the annual activities anti-immigration that the organization carries out. Dilemma Action: In November 2012 a group of about 50 neo-Nazis held a rally of about 50 supporters, but over a hundred protesters, dressed as clowns, organized by the Latin American Coalición, a community of Latin Americans in North Carolina that promotes equal participation in the city, came to counter-protest. They brought squeaky toys, whistles, noise-makers, red noses, and flour (when the NSM would say “‘white power’,” the clowns would throw white flour into the air). The message was: “We’re dressed like clowns and you’re the ones that look funny.” Noise from the counter-protestors who circled NSM members largely drowned out the speeches made from a podium. Outcome: The white supremacist protesters were outnumbered by clowns by at least five to one and after two hours, without any violence, the NSM group put down their microphone and left with a police escort. These types of representations seek to add humor to what could become an angry situation, due to the measures usually taken by extreme right-wing groups
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Humorous skits and pranks
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
SOURCES
Rivas, Jorge. 2012. “Clowns Attack KKK Rally in Charlotte, NC with Humor,” ColorLines. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://colorlines.com/article/clowns-attack-kkk-rally-charlotte-nc-humor/).
WBTV. 2012. “Neo-Nazi/KKK rally draws counter protest, “clowns” group,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.wbtv.com/story/20064521/neo-nazikkk-rally-draws-counter-protest-clowns-group/).
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