British Expatriate Network

TOLEDO, Ohio - The city was calm Monday after weekend violence triggered by a white supremacist group's march along the sidewalks of a racially mixed neighborhood.


A melee broke out Saturday when protesters confronted members of the National Socialist Movement who had gathered at a city park.

"They do have a right to walk on the Toledo sidewalks," Mayor Jack Ford said Sunday.

An angry mob, some of them gang members, threw baseball-sized rocks at police, vandalized vehicles and stores, and set fire to a bar. More than 100 people were arrested and one officer was seriously injured.

The march was called off after the rioting started.

Police Chief Mike Navarre said Monday there had been no trouble since Saturday.

"After the four-hour disturbance ended, we have not had a problem in the neighborhood since," Navarre said on CBS's "The Early Show."

Much of the anger erupted because residents were upset that city leaders allowed about a dozen white supremacists to walk through the neighborhood and shout insults.

"They don't have the right to bring hate to my front yard," said Terrance Anderson, who lives near the bar that was destroyed. Three other businesses were looted or damaged.

Others joined the mayor in saying the neo-Nazis had the right to march. "Too bad the people couldn't ignore them," said Dee Huntley.

Police arrested 114 people on charges including assault, vandalism, failure to obey police, failure to disperse and overnight curfew violations.

Twelve police officers were injured, including one who suffered a concussion when a brick came through a side window of her cruiser and hit her on the head.

Arraignments began Monday morning in Municipal Court for some of those arrested. A judge set bail at $10,000 for defendants accused of aggravated riot.

Donna Reid said two of her sons faced felony charges. She wasn't sure why they were charged and wished they had stayed away.

"They weren't thinking, wrong place and wrong time," she said.

The disturbances were confined to a 1-square-mile area, police said. At one point, the crowd grew to about 600 people.

Nearly all of the violence ended by late afternoon Saturday, and police set an evening curfew for the city through Monday morning.

The neighborhood northwest of downtown once was a thriving Polish community. Now it's a mix of Hispanic, Polish and black residents, many of them poor living in modest homes.

Police began hearing at the middle of last week from officers on the street that gangs planned to descend on the neighborhood, the police chief said.

"We knew during the preparation that it was going to be a tremendous challenge," Navarre said. "Anyone who would accuse us of being underprepared I would take exception with that."

However, he said the protest lasted longer and was more intense than expected.

Authorities delayed releasing the route of the march so protesters wouldn't have advance notice of where the demonstration would take place.

Community leaders organized an "Erase the Hate" rally to draw people away from the march. And the mayor spoke to 2,000 people at a Baptist church Friday night, urging them to ignore the neo-Nazis.

A spokesman for the National Socialist Movement accused police of losing control of the situation.

The neo-Nazi group came to the city, which relies heavily on the auto industry and has high unemployment in minority neighborhoods, because of a dispute between neighbors, one white and the other black.

"This is not a police problem," Navarre said. "This is a social problem."

I'd have been there throwing things myself. Preferably molotovs. I ****ing hate Nazis.

Short hair, large boots and an English accent does not make me a neo-nazi.
/you might be surprised how often I get taken for one
//or not

This was just down the end of my street, luckily my street is seven miles long so I didn't have any problems.

Why the Nazi's were allowed to have their demonstration there I just don't know. Either dont let them come or let them do it in a neighbourhood with less tension, and nobody would have given them the attention they dont deserve. They all look like they're on their way to a fancy dress party with Prince Harry, so I wouldn't have given them a second glance if they marched past my house.

The NSM cleared off as soon as they were told too and because of the idiots who need little excuse for a riot, now look like the good guys. The rioters burnt down a local bar that had served the community for about 40 years. The owner (who is either in his 80's or 90's) was in it when they ransacked it. And guess what, yes, other community businesses were looted.

The only winners in this are the NSM, there is no doubt they got what they wanted to achieve, a bit of unrest and a bit more support from people who may have been starting to lean towards the right. The gangs and individuals involved in the rioting have dragged themselves and their innocent neighbours into the gutter and have given the right wingers an easy excuse to blame blacks, hispanics and whoever else for the demise of the inner city.

The guy who the NSM said they were supporting is probably the biggest loser. He didn't invite them, have contact with them or want anything to do with them but now his life is going to be a living nightmare.

If the black panthers and the million man march wanted to march right in front of my house, me and my friends are not going to throw objects at them, whether there is 2 of them or 1 million. If the nazis wanted to march in front of my house I'm not going to throw stuff nor give them that ridiculious salute.They both have a right to. Now if either party wishes to enter my home and harm me or family, then I have the right to put holes in them whoever it may be ( I never ever wish to kill anyone ever in any circumstance). What I'm getting at is they do have the right to be assholes and stir the shitpot,however if those people so much against them had enough sense to wave to them welcome them to the hood (biting lip of course) offer them drinks just for a few hours,they would lose steam and eventually quit. Sometimes you have to be the better person. Instead it fueled the fire, "see I told you they were animals, look at them." The community brought that on themselves they bought the rallies purpose hook line and sinker. It reminds me of the guy in jail story. I had a friend in jail, first nite he comes out the shower someone stole his towel. He just went to his bed and got dressed, later he saw them take someone else's and he (other guy) went crazy, "wheres my towel who stole my towel" it happened every single night. They never did it again to my friend because there were no "results". People need to out smart these nazi rallies and stop giving them attention. When they quit getting results they will lose what little steam they have and who will give a crap, they will look like first class assholes going into the ghetto with people welcoming them.I never buy into the "poor me look at what THEY made ME do" mentality that is completely irresponsible,and that victim mentality will keep you a servant to those manipulating.

What is your opinion, John?


And please cite your source. I realise you cut and paste because you have difficulty with links, but it is still necessary to credit the author and publisher.

http//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051017/ap_on_re_us/nazi_march


right here

I wonder what it says about society (not just in Toledo, Ohio or the USA for that matter) when people cannot even tolerate a small march?

If you ignore such spectacles, they fade out, fizzle or go away but no harm is done to anyone.

Neo-Nazis are a mere shadow of what existed in 1930's Germany, barely comparable and really have just taken the aspect that they think was "cool" about National Socialism and moulded it to suit their own agenda. The irony is that Hitler and his henchmen would have probably had these imposters jailed or killed or sent off to clear mines in a pioneer unit if they appeared later in the Third Reich's reign.

Another irony is people getting upset about a few neo-Nazis when the true threats to this country arguably come from vastly more powerful and entrenched neo-Cons.

Forty years ago these morans were fighting for the right to make people with different coloured skin use different commodes, use different schools and inter-racial relationships were one step down from bestiality.

If I had people like this marching through my hood, I'd be capping their asses on general principle. Especially if I was one of those poor bastards who had to deal with the whole Civil Rights thing from the not-as-much-fun side of the fence.

It is their constitutional right to do what they are doing and say what they say, whether you and I like it or not.

However, what you speak of was ordained from much higher up and personally, I have more disdain for the politicians, Governors, sheriffs, police chiefs and others in authority who ran their states and towns. Without their direction and interference, all men might actually have been somewhat more equal at the end of the Civil War and not a hundred years later.

I guess it's the Murrikan version of letting the Orangemen march. I think that's a dumb idea too.

I think the idea is good in principle but does nothing to sift out the chaff from the wheat.

I agree that the Orangemen and their ilk use such rights, simply to remind, annoy and rub people's faces in it but their days are numbered.

I'm interested what some of you think of this.
http://www.new-enlightenment.com/nazification_step4.htm
It's a little off topic but this quote from pilgrim reminded me of reading it.

That was interesting, if a little sensational but I certainly think there are more similiarities than many of us can bear to realise.

I was watching some shows over the weekend on The History Channel about Hitler's Managers and during the show about Albert Speer, an awful lot of similarities were popping up again.

Again, we really ought to remember Eisenhower's warning to the American people to guard against the Military-Industrial complex. I feel Americans of the time were not sophisticated enough to realise what he was warning them of but as one of the American generals who fought to contain and then wipe out the German military-industrial complex, he was predicting that the same fate could potentially fall upon the US if its people did not take care.

Certainly it is much cleverer these days and the uniforms and outward shows have mostly been dropped but I think the sentiment remains.

And the corporations are international now.


It goes back before Ike. There was an altered version of a famous WW1 poem by John McCrea, "In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses row on row
And westward, eighty miles or so,
In England's fields, the profits grow.

The cynicism was there then.