Lemonade for Hitler’s Birthday

On Hitler’s Birthday, April 20, a group of neo-Nazis will either march through Cincinnati or prepare a lawsuit if their demonstration is not permitted. City leaders should not fall into the trap of trying to draw a line between what seems like competing interests – protecting free speech and articulating a strong community response against hatred. It can do both, and at the same time decrease the likelihood of future marches.

In 1994, an Illinois community was faced with a Ku Klux Klan march, and, rather than try to stop it or counter-protest, it developed “Project Lemonade.” Designed to make something positive out of a bad situation, people pledged money. The longer the rally lasted, the more money people promised. Money went to things the white supremacists would despise the most. It worked, and other communities have now used this approach, funding anti-hate educational initiatives, police training and supporting victims of hate crimes. The neo-Nazis did not have their free speech rights infringed, but their speech became no longer “free.” The more hatred they spewed, the more money actually was raised for positive things.

Other approaches carry unnecessary risks. Tinkering with laws or changing permits will inevitably invite expensive lawsuits which will give the haters exactly what they want – more free publicity than their march could ever produce. Counter-protests have too often resulted in violence, more so by the counter-protestors. Demands that the haters pay for their own police protection, while understandable, not only make a riot more likely, but also leave the city treasury open to the possibility of expensive lawsuits if neo-Nazis are hurt and they are not given adequate protection.

If Cincinnati is smart, it will allow the neo-Nazis to march, make sure the police presence is sufficient to keep the peace (and thus insure the march does not turn into a long-lived saga), and encourage fundraising for things the haters hate the most tied to how long the march lasts. That is the one sure way to make it less likely they will return for Hitler’s birthday next year.

Kenneth Stern is AJC’s expert on anti-Semtism and extremism, and author of Anti-Semitism Today.