Armed ‘Counterprotesters’ Look For Encounter With Proud Boys In Grand Rapids
There was an apparent rumor that the Proud Boys were going to show up at Ah-Nab-Awen Park near the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids on Saturday, June 10th. MLive reported about a flyer that was on social media that stated for people to show up “honor the lives lost to Antifa & BLM racist mob violence”.
MLive provided no proof of such flyer or posting. In fact, I can find no evidence of such a flyer on any Proud Boys sites as of the publishing of this article. Most of the mainstream media do not even point to a source about this flyer, they just tell us one exists. In fact, the pieces that have been written about this event that points to a source point to a group that calls themselves socialist and is under the name of the Michigan People's Defense League, a site that the main picture shows people in some sort of army fatigues and holding what looks like an AR-15's. Interesting that none of the mainstream media bother to attempt to look for the original source of the site that showed this flyer, it could be out there but I could not find it.
WWMT Channel 3 reported that "Sgt. Dan Adams of the Grand Rapids Police Department said to his knowledge, no permit had been issued for the event"
There was enough belief that was going to happen that a group of far-left “counterprotesters” showed up at the park. Some were hiding their identities with face coverings and helmets, some brought weapons.
Ask yourself if you intended to do no harm why would you hide your face from the public, wear helmets and bring weapons?
The Proud Boys never did show up at the park but the “counterprotesters” were there, they say approximately 100 of them as well as the police.
Also, are "counterprotesters" protestors? Would the group that is being "counterprotested" against themselves be "counterprotesters" of the "counter protesters"? In the end, the Proud Boys never showed up so the “counterprotesters” ended up being the protesters protesting against nothing.
A priest from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Molly Bosscher, was there with her son and she stated “It makes me concerned when our city is a place of hate and not a place of love…I feel like, in my language, the heart of the gospel is loving our neighbors as ourselves. And our neighbors are all people. When I hear about the Proud Boys showing up, it makes me both afraid and I feel like it’s the sort of thing we need to stand up against.”
Yet she was there in support of the “counterprotesters” who some attended hiding their identities, wearing helmets and caring weapons, “place of love” Molly. By the way Molly I am for all sides the ability to express what they want to express, so I ask you what exactly do the Proud Boys stand for that you stand against. I would like to know so I can decide if we all should stand with you against what they stand for. Please provide the Proud Boys sources of what they say they stand for that you stand against. Media sources do not count.
In the Mlive article, Savanah Warners of the Morley area joined the “counterprotesters “ at the park and said the message associated with the Proud Boys goes against the “values of Grand Rapids and our individual values.”
The following was directly from the Proud Boys website until a web hosting firm that does not believe in free speech booted them off. Are the Proud Boys a group that foments hate? From the Proud Boys Website they say their core values are:
- Minimal Government
- Maximum Freedom
- Anti-Political Correctness
- Anti-Drug War
- Closed Borders
- Anti-Racial Guilt
- Anti-Racism
- Pro-Free Speech (1st Amendment)
- Pro-Gun Rights (2nd Amendment)
- Glorifying the Entrepreneur
- Venerating (A feeling of profound respect or reverence) the Housewife
- Reinstating a Spirit of Western Chauvinism
Savannah believes that none of those values are what people in Grand Rapids stand for, none of those Savannah, interesting.
I know people who are not critical thinkers will attempt to say I am a supporter of hate and whatever other names they will come up with because I believe in free speech. Sometimes that free speech may be what you do not want to hear or offends you but that is exactly why our right to free speech is in our Constitution. Free speech is not there to protect the speech you want to hear but the speech that might offend you. I am sure there are things you say that offend people and should those people then show up wherever you are with masks, helmets and weapons to stop you from saying them?
I wrote this piece because I believe in Free Speech and I want to know what groups and people believe or are saying instead of them hiding in the dark. I also wrote this piece to show you how "rumors" and flyers on social media can be construed as real news from "real news sources" that do not even bother to find the original source. Or did they attempt to like I did and found nothing and still decided to publish an article about a rumor?
Interesting that the MLive and all other articles I saw about this event did not mention, in the body of their report, one word about some“counterprotesters” showing up hiding their faces, wearing helmets or carrying weapons. Could that be construed as supporting and enabling violence? You decide.
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