Meeting hate with humor

c. Yash Mori

I remember a few weeks ago when I heard that a Neo Nazi hate group was having some sort of shindig in my town.

Do these people really still exist? I thought. I had a passing thought to actually go, just to see what sorts of ridiculousness they talked about. But I was too scared. The convention came and went, and I didn’t think anything more about it.

That is until I saw this headline. 

The event was protested by about 100 clowns!

How perfect! How ingenious, I thought. Juxtaposition at its' finest. I was so proud of the people from my city. [I don't actually know that the protesters are from my city].

Many of the clown protesters were immigrants; the target of the neo nazi group. Though probably the last thing they felt like doing was laughing about their opponents’ hate, they crashed the rally in a lighthearted mood with horns, balloons and funny signs like “White Flour.”

It takes higher thinking to be able to upshift from hate to love. This group flexed  their creative muscles rather than clenching their fists. As a result, they made so much more of a statement!

The protest was organized by the Latin American Coalición, who are a group of Latin Americans, immigrants and allies.

c. Yash Mori

Their unique protest made more of an impact than any sort of violent or ‘disapproving” one would have. As Lacey Williams, the youth coordinator for Charlotte’s Latin American Coalición, told WCNC.

 “We’re dressed like clowns and you’re the ones that look funny."

When you meet hate with kindness things have a hope of working out. [or at least you expose the  jerks for who they are]. When you return hate for hate, everyone goes into defense mode and any hope of communication shuts down.

 All I can say is, “Thanks for showing us how it’s done."

I went to the neo nazi site to see a reaction from them. They actually THANKED the clowns for drawing attention to their rally. 

The clowns could not be reached for comment.

c. 2012