In response to hate signs plastered on two LGBT community spaces and a synagogue last week in Burlington, a large “Love Will Prevail” demonstration was held in downtown Burlington on Friday, February 8.
The so-called “Patriot Front” hate group targeted The Pride Center of Vermont, Outright Vermont and Ohavi Zedek Synagogue with inflammatory posters.
According to a New England Cable News report, “the Southern Poverty Law Center says members of the Patriot Front long for an America made up of only people like them, espousing “racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance under the guise of preserving the ‘ethnic and cultural origins’ of their European ancestors.”
At Friday’s March, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said, “We will not allow these things to tear apart the fabric of this very inclusive, welcoming community.”
NECN went on to report:
“We are here, we are stronger together, and this is not the kind of Vermont we will stand for,” vowed Dana Kaplan, the executive director of Outright Vermont.
Kaplan and the other targeted organizations insist the vandals actually sparked new determination in them to connect and uplift the people they serve.
Police in attendance at the City Hall Park rally promised they’ll keep taking bias incidents seriously. …
Deputy Chief Jon Murad of the Burlington Police Department told necn the investigation into the white supremacists’ posters is still underway. He said detectives are currently seeking surveillance video or witnesses who may have seen the vandals in action.
“The people who did this did this under the cover of darkness, to avoid being seen,” Murad observed. “And the people who are here [at the rally] today are in broad daylight, and saying, ‘Here are our numbers.'”
People with information can submit tips to the Burlington Police Department at this link.
The many voices at the demonstration were unified in spreading one message: that Vermont should be a place where all feel welcome.
The Pride Center of Vermont, Outright Vermont, and Ohavi Zedek also drew the support of Governor Phil Scott at his weekly press conference Thursday.
In response to a question from NECN, the Republican called on state and community leaders, as well as all residents of his state, to work toward a Vermont that’s free of hate.
“We can’t tolerate this kind of action,” Scott said of the group that plastered its posters specifically on the LGBT and Jewish organizations. “While free speech is something that’s near and dear to our hearts, that’s not free speech, that’s hate speech. And we have to eradicate that.”
Scott said that as a start, all Vermonters should start treating each other better.
