Antisemitic flyers in bags of rice left in Kensington neighborhood Saturday/Sunday overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I hope the police can investigate to see if all these hate crimes are related. People are accusing Whitman students and hating on white rich people, of course.

What was the crime?

Yeah, leaving these fliers is vile and hateful, but not illegal. (Vandalizing property, as at Whitman or the Capital Crescent Trail, is another matter.)

I still think unlikely they're related, though -- why would you assume there's just one Jew-hater running around out there? All the evidence recently would seem to suggest there are, unfortunately, quite a few.

It is hate speech which can be criminalized when it directly invites criminal activity or consists of violent threats against a specific person or group.

I’m the OP

We read it thoroughly and there was nothing in the entire pamphlet that could even arguably meet either of those criteria. There was nothing inciting violence, nothing that was a overt or even implied threat against an individual or a group, and no racial or ethic slurs. It’s almost as though it’s been “lawyered”.

Is it “hate speech”? I dunno. I think hate speech is sorta like pornography: “you can’t really define it but you know it when you see it”. That’s why I’m undecided. But I’m wary of labeling anything and everything that offends me as hate speech. That diminishes and dilutes examples of actual hate speech, which should shock and offend everyone. I suspect the moron who left this on our front walk thinks he hates us, but in terms of hair splitting legal standards, I don’t think this qualifies as hate speech itself. Most of the text itself is quotes from various people “featured” on the pamphlet. It’s their own words. Readers have to conjecture their own conclusions based on the context.

Like I said, I’d have a begrudging respect for this small (literally and figuratively) man if he’d had the courage to knock on the door and hand it to me. The best way to fight ignorance and prejudice is to meet those who you harbor stereotypes about. This guy probably doesn’t even personally know a Jew. Only what he’s been told by other morons.

I was the PP who found similar fliers on my block in Petworth a while back -- came to the same conclusion about those (plus also didn't think it was likely police could do anything about them even if they were illegal, since I hadn't seen anyone leaving them). I doubt whoever left those knew there were Jews on the block, I think he just wanted to warn everyone about our various perfidies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When mentally ill people do such things, keep it in perspective: they are doing this because they are mentally ill. Their illness trumps racism/antisemitism.

Well, maybe, though there are also plenty of mentally ill people who don't do antisemitic or racist things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When mentally ill people do such things, keep it in perspective: they are doing this because they are mentally ill. Their illness trumps racism/antisemitism.

So how do you suggest it is addressed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When mentally ill people do such things, keep it in perspective: they are doing this because they are mentally ill. Their illness trumps racism/antisemitism.

So how do you suggest it is addressed?

Put the flyer in the trash can and move on.

If you see him again and are up to it (I am) yell at him and call him an a$$hole. Take his picture and shame him online.

If not, ignore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I hope the police can investigate to see if all these hate crimes are related. People are accusing Whitman students and hating on white rich people, of course.

What was the crime?

Yeah, leaving these fliers is vile and hateful, but not illegal. (Vandalizing property, as at Whitman or the Capital Crescent Trail, is another matter.)

I still think unlikely they're related, though -- why would you assume there's just one Jew-hater running around out there? All the evidence recently would seem to suggest there are, unfortunately, quite a few.

It is hate speech which can be criminalized when it directly invites criminal activity or consists of violent threats against a specific person or group.

I’m the OP

We read it thoroughly and there was nothing in the entire pamphlet that could even arguably meet either of those criteria. There was nothing inciting violence, nothing that was a overt or even implied threat against an individual or a group, and no racial or ethic slurs. It’s almost as though it’s been “lawyered”.

Is it “hate speech”? I dunno. I think hate speech is sorta like pornography: “you can’t really define it but you know it when you see it”. That’s why I’m undecided. But I’m wary of labeling anything and everything that offends me as hate speech. That diminishes and dilutes examples of actual hate speech, which should shock and offend everyone. I suspect the moron who left this on our front walk thinks he hates us, but in terms of hair splitting legal standards, I don’t think this qualifies as hate speech itself. Most of the text itself is quotes from various people “featured” on the pamphlet. It’s their own words. Readers have to conjecture their own conclusions based on the context.

Like I said, I’d have a begrudging respect for this small (literally and figuratively) man if he’d had the courage to knock on the door and hand it to me. The best way to fight ignorance and prejudice is to meet those who you harbor stereotypes about. This guy probably doesn’t even personally know a Jew. Only what he’s been told by other morons.

That’s a whole lotta accommodating for something hateful left on your doorstep. I’m pretty gobsmacked by this thread and posters seeming to brush this off as a lone mentally ill person. If that’s the case, we have a preponderance of antisemitic mentally ill people floating around the area. Imagine if instead of targeting Jews, these pamphlets targeted another minority. Would your response be the same? For the record, these pamphlets are far from a single incident. They are distributed regularly throughout the US by an extreme anti-Jewish, Holocaust denying, white supremacist hate group named the Goyim Defense League started in the early 1900s. Their tactics are to harass Jews and goad people into engaging in antisemitic comments and acts. For example, they were responsible for hanging the banner on the highway in LA that said “Kanye is right about the Jews.” So we can brush this off as a crazy fringe group or a few mentally ill people but in reality it is a coordinated effort to normalize antisemitism and make it an acceptable part of our society’s fabric. It’s frustrating and sickening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I hope the police can investigate to see if all these hate crimes are related. People are accusing Whitman students and hating on white rich people, of course.

What was the crime?

Yeah, leaving these fliers is vile and hateful, but not illegal. (Vandalizing property, as at Whitman or the Capital Crescent Trail, is another matter.)

I still think unlikely they're related, though -- why would you assume there's just one Jew-hater running around out there? All the evidence recently would seem to suggest there are, unfortunately, quite a few.

It is hate speech which can be criminalized when it directly invites criminal activity or consists of violent threats against a specific person or group.

I’m the OP

We read it thoroughly and there was nothing in the entire pamphlet that could even arguably meet either of those criteria. There was nothing inciting violence, nothing that was a overt or even implied threat against an individual or a group, and no racial or ethic slurs. It’s almost as though it’s been “lawyered”.

Is it “hate speech”? I dunno. I think hate speech is sorta like pornography: “you can’t really define it but you know it when you see it”. That’s why I’m undecided. But I’m wary of labeling anything and everything that offends me as hate speech. That diminishes and dilutes examples of actual hate speech, which should shock and offend everyone. I suspect the moron who left this on our front walk thinks he hates us, but in terms of hair splitting legal standards, I don’t think this qualifies as hate speech itself. Most of the text itself is quotes from various people “featured” on the pamphlet. It’s their own words. Readers have to conjecture their own conclusions based on the context.

Like I said, I’d have a begrudging respect for this small (literally and figuratively) man if he’d had the courage to knock on the door and hand it to me. The best way to fight ignorance and prejudice is to meet those who you harbor stereotypes about. This guy probably doesn’t even personally know a Jew. Only what he’s been told by other morons.

That’s a whole lotta accommodating for something hateful left on your doorstep. I’m pretty gobsmacked by this thread and posters seeming to brush this off as a lone mentally ill person. If that’s the case, we have a preponderance of antisemitic mentally ill people floating around the area. Imagine if instead of targeting Jews, these pamphlets targeted another minority. Would your response be the same? For the record, these pamphlets are far from a single incident. They are distributed regularly throughout the US by an extreme anti-Jewish, Holocaust denying, white supremacist hate group named the Goyim Defense League started in the early 1900s. Their tactics are to harass Jews and goad people into engaging in antisemitic comments and acts. For example, they were responsible for hanging the banner on the highway in LA that said “Kanye is right about the Jews.” So we can brush this off as a crazy fringe group or a few mentally ill people but in reality it is a coordinated effort to normalize antisemitism and make it an acceptable part of our society’s fabric. It’s frustrating and sickening.

1) you don’t get to tell me what I should be offended by.

2) likewise, I don’t get to tell other groups what they should be offended by, either.

I’m sorry I can’t get as angry about this as you seem to think I should. But I’m just not afraid of a short man creeping around in the middle of the night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I hope the police can investigate to see if all these hate crimes are related. People are accusing Whitman students and hating on white rich people, of course.

What was the crime?

Yeah, leaving these fliers is vile and hateful, but not illegal. (Vandalizing property, as at Whitman or the Capital Crescent Trail, is another matter.)

I still think unlikely they're related, though -- why would you assume there's just one Jew-hater running around out there? All the evidence recently would seem to suggest there are, unfortunately, quite a few.

It is hate speech which can be criminalized when it directly invites criminal activity or consists of violent threats against a specific person or group.

I’m the OP

We read it thoroughly and there was nothing in the entire pamphlet that could even arguably meet either of those criteria. There was nothing inciting violence, nothing that was a overt or even implied threat against an individual or a group, and no racial or ethic slurs. It’s almost as though it’s been “lawyered”.

Is it “hate speech”? I dunno. I think hate speech is sorta like pornography: “you can’t really define it but you know it when you see it”. That’s why I’m undecided. But I’m wary of labeling anything and everything that offends me as hate speech. That diminishes and dilutes examples of actual hate speech, which should shock and offend everyone. I suspect the moron who left this on our front walk thinks he hates us, but in terms of hair splitting legal standards, I don’t think this qualifies as hate speech itself. Most of the text itself is quotes from various people “featured” on the pamphlet. It’s their own words. Readers have to conjecture their own conclusions based on the context.

Like I said, I’d have a begrudging respect for this small (literally and figuratively) man if he’d had the courage to knock on the door and hand it to me. The best way to fight ignorance and prejudice is to meet those who you harbor stereotypes about. This guy probably doesn’t even personally know a Jew. Only what he’s been told by other morons.

That’s a whole lotta accommodating for something hateful left on your doorstep. I’m pretty gobsmacked by this thread and posters seeming to brush this off as a lone mentally ill person. If that’s the case, we have a preponderance of antisemitic mentally ill people floating around the area. Imagine if instead of targeting Jews, these pamphlets targeted another minority. Would your response be the same? For the record, these pamphlets are far from a single incident. They are distributed regularly throughout the US by an extreme anti-Jewish, Holocaust denying, white supremacist hate group named the Goyim Defense League started in the early 1900s. Their tactics are to harass Jews and goad people into engaging in antisemitic comments and acts. For example, they were responsible for hanging the banner on the highway in LA that said “Kanye is right about the Jews.” So we can brush this off as a crazy fringe group or a few mentally ill people but in reality it is a coordinated effort to normalize antisemitism and make it an acceptable part of our society’s fabric. It’s frustrating and sickening.

1) you don’t get to tell me what I should be offended by.

2) likewise, I don’t get to tell other groups what they should be offended by, either.

I’m sorry I can’t get as angry about this as you seem to think I should. But I’m just not afraid of a short man creeping around in the middle of the night.

Some people are most happy playing the victim and inventing their own trauma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When mentally ill people do such things, keep it in perspective: they are doing this because they are mentally ill. Their illness trumps racism/antisemitism.

So how do you suggest it is addressed?

With mental health treatment.

People suffering from pervasive mental health issues need treatment. You can’t rationalize or shame the racism or antisemitism out of them. You treat the underlying cause.

I’m a public interest lawyer who interacts with lots of people in crisis suffering with mental health issues. They are rather adept at drafting treatises on bizarre things and routinely share them with the universe. I regularly receive looooong emails with multiple attachments where I’m cc’d on emails to government officials, celebrities, random orgs, etc. Sadly, it’s what they do.

Having said that, I’m curious what part of Kensington this is. While it’s loosened up in recent years, Ktown is very Catholic and politically conservative (especially certain neighborhoods).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I envision an old male with mental illness who is anti-semitic. How would he even think of the rice bags. I've never heard of such a thing. Someone posted this isn't illegal. I can't believe it. He needs to be stopped.

“He needs to be stopped” sounds like inciting violence. Lay off the hate speech.

WTF are you talking about you loser??? This anti-semitic turd needs to be found by police, identified, and locked up. And probably medicated. And you need to stop playing defense with your "hate speech" gaslighting B.S.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I hope the police can investigate to see if all these hate crimes are related. People are accusing Whitman students and hating on white rich people, of course.

What was the crime?

Yeah, leaving these fliers is vile and hateful, but not illegal. (Vandalizing property, as at Whitman or the Capital Crescent Trail, is another matter.)

I still think unlikely they're related, though -- why would you assume there's just one Jew-hater running around out there? All the evidence recently would seem to suggest there are, unfortunately, quite a few.

It is hate speech which can be criminalized when it directly invites criminal activity or consists of violent threats against a specific person or group.

I’m the OP

We read it thoroughly and there was nothing in the entire pamphlet that could even arguably meet either of those criteria. There was nothing inciting violence, nothing that was a overt or even implied threat against an individual or a group, and no racial or ethic slurs. It’s almost as though it’s been “lawyered”.

Is it “hate speech”? I dunno. I think hate speech is sorta like pornography: “you can’t really define it but you know it when you see it”. That’s why I’m undecided. But I’m wary of labeling anything and everything that offends me as hate speech. That diminishes and dilutes examples of actual hate speech, which should shock and offend everyone. I suspect the moron who left this on our front walk thinks he hates us, but in terms of hair splitting legal standards, I don’t think this qualifies as hate speech itself. Most of the text itself is quotes from various people “featured” on the pamphlet. It’s their own words. Readers have to conjecture their own conclusions based on the context.

Like I said, I’d have a begrudging respect for this small (literally and figuratively) man if he’d had the courage to knock on the door and hand it to me. The best way to fight ignorance and prejudice is to meet those who you harbor stereotypes about. This guy probably doesn’t even personally know a Jew. Only what he’s been told by other morons.

That’s a whole lotta accommodating for something hateful left on your doorstep. I’m pretty gobsmacked by this thread and posters seeming to brush this off as a lone mentally ill person. If that’s the case, we have a preponderance of antisemitic mentally ill people floating around the area. Imagine if instead of targeting Jews, these pamphlets targeted another minority. Would your response be the same? For the record, these pamphlets are far from a single incident. They are distributed regularly throughout the US by an extreme anti-Jewish, Holocaust denying, white supremacist hate group named the Goyim Defense League started in the early 1900s. Their tactics are to harass Jews and goad people into engaging in antisemitic comments and acts. For example, they were responsible for hanging the banner on the highway in LA that said “Kanye is right about the Jews.” So we can brush this off as a crazy fringe group or a few mentally ill people but in reality it is a coordinated effort to normalize antisemitism and make it an acceptable part of our society’s fabric. It’s frustrating and sickening.

I'm the PP who has also had antisemitic fliers left at my house, and I seriously doubt those ones, in a D.C. neighborhood that was still majority-black at the time and mostly focused on alleged harms Jews had done to the black community, were distributed by a Los Angeles-based white supremacist group.

I think unfortunately things like this are fairly common but unconnected. And they aren't illegal, as people have pointed out. So what exactly do you want those of us who have received them at our homes to do about it? For me, I decided to say, "Well, this sucks," post a photo of it on Twitter so people knew it was being distributed, and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I envision an old male with mental illness who is anti-semitic. How would he even think of the rice bags. I've never heard of such a thing. Someone posted this isn't illegal. I can't believe it. He needs to be stopped.

“He needs to be stopped” sounds like inciting violence. Lay off the hate speech.

WTF are you talking about you loser??? This anti-semitic turd needs to be found by police, identified, and locked up. And probably medicated. And you need to stop playing defense with your "hate speech" gaslighting B.S.

You belong in jail for this speech.

See how easy it is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I hope the police can investigate to see if all these hate crimes are related. People are accusing Whitman students and hating on white rich people, of course.

What was the crime?

Yeah, leaving these fliers is vile and hateful, but not illegal. (Vandalizing property, as at Whitman or the Capital Crescent Trail, is another matter.)

I still think unlikely they're related, though -- why would you assume there's just one Jew-hater running around out there? All the evidence recently would seem to suggest there are, unfortunately, quite a few.

It is hate speech which can be criminalized when it directly invites criminal activity or consists of violent threats against a specific person or group.

I’m the OP

We read it thoroughly and there was nothing in the entire pamphlet that could even arguably meet either of those criteria. There was nothing inciting violence, nothing that was a overt or even implied threat against an individual or a group, and no racial or ethic slurs. It’s almost as though it’s been “lawyered”.

Is it “hate speech”? I dunno. I think hate speech is sorta like pornography: “you can’t really define it but you know it when you see it”. That’s why I’m undecided. But I’m wary of labeling anything and everything that offends me as hate speech. That diminishes and dilutes examples of actual hate speech, which should shock and offend everyone. I suspect the moron who left this on our front walk thinks he hates us, but in terms of hair splitting legal standards, I don’t think this qualifies as hate speech itself. Most of the text itself is quotes from various people “featured” on the pamphlet. It’s their own words. Readers have to conjecture their own conclusions based on the context.

Like I said, I’d have a begrudging respect for this small (literally and figuratively) man if he’d had the courage to knock on the door and hand it to me. The best way to fight ignorance and prejudice is to meet those who you harbor stereotypes about. This guy probably doesn’t even personally know a Jew. Only what he’s been told by other morons.

That’s a whole lotta accommodating for something hateful left on your doorstep. I’m pretty gobsmacked by this thread and posters seeming to brush this off as a lone mentally ill person. If that’s the case, we have a preponderance of antisemitic mentally ill people floating around the area. Imagine if instead of targeting Jews, these pamphlets targeted another minority. Would your response be the same? For the record, these pamphlets are far from a single incident. They are distributed regularly throughout the US by an extreme anti-Jewish, Holocaust denying, white supremacist hate group named the Goyim Defense League started in the early 1900s. Their tactics are to harass Jews and goad people into engaging in antisemitic comments and acts. For example, they were responsible for hanging the banner on the highway in LA that said “Kanye is right about the Jews.” So we can brush this off as a crazy fringe group or a few mentally ill people but in reality it is a coordinated effort to normalize antisemitism and make it an acceptable part of our society’s fabric. It’s frustrating and sickening.

I'm the PP who has also had antisemitic fliers left at my house, and I seriously doubt those ones, in a D.C. neighborhood that was still majority-black at the time and mostly focused on alleged harms Jews had done to the black community, were distributed by a Los Angeles-based white supremacist group.

I think unfortunately things like this are fairly common but unconnected. And they aren't illegal, as people have pointed out. So what exactly do you want those of us who have received them at our homes to do about it? For me, I decided to say, "Well, this sucks," post a photo of it on Twitter so people knew it was being distributed, and move on.

White supremacists love nothing more than pitting minority groups against each other. It stirs the pot so yes distributing flyers with misinformation about Jews in a black neighborhood is right out of their playbook. If you receive a flyer like this or any hateful message, you should contact the police non-emergency number to let them know this happened, share the info. with the Anti-Defamation League that tracks these incidents and also inform your local elected officials and ask for them to stand against hate.