Press release
BATAVIA, New York—The Genesee County Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America
(DSA) is organizing an antifascist teach-in on Saturday, August 13, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Austin
Park [https://goo.gl/maps/Xaos1d8X1nQLLtRD7] to stand against the local stop of the
“ReAwaken America Tour” (RAT).
The tour is “an opportunity for fascists to spread hate and recruit,” said Gina Schelemanow, a
member of the ROC DSA Genesee County Branch Organizing Committee.
“It is important to understand why they are doing this and actively stand against it.”
The August 12 and 13 stop was originally planned for the Main Street Armory in Rochester. A
grassroots effort led by Rochester DSA (ROC DSA) [https://rocdsa.org/] and the Rochester
Mutual Aid Network (RMAN) [https://rocmutualaid.com/] successfully pressured the owner of the
venue to cancel the stop. The stop was then moved to the Cornerstone Church in Batavia.
During the teach-in, speakers will argue “demagogues like the RAT speakers take people’s
justified anxiety and anger about the state of the country and the world and blame the weak for
the decisions of powerful elites,” said Logan Wyatt Cole, a member of the ROC DSA Genesee
County Branch Organizing Committee.
“These people are desperate to stop working people from banding together to make the government work for us. They spread hate to turn us violently against each other—while they laugh all the way to the bank,” Cole added.
Schelemanow put the teach-in in context: “This is also a moment to come together as a larger
Western New York Community that has resisted the RAT for months and reflect on victories, as
well as how to fight fascism locally in the future.”
The teach-in organizers have worked closely with organizers from the ROC DSA and RMAN.
Several other organizations have urged supporters to attend the teach-in, including, locally,
GLOW Women Rise.
Gina Schelemanow of Genesee County DSA urged opponents of fascism, opponents of
Christian nationalism, and opponents of white supremacy to attend the teach-in.
“While we will be three miles away from the hatefest, people who attend far-right events do have a history of aggressive behavior.” Schelemanow therefore suggested that parents exercise caution when
deciding whether to bring children along.
“Hatefest”, hide your children. White nationalists. ”
There is nothing of substance here to “stand against.” You’ve laid out no specific allegations to the event as a whole. As far as what one individual has said at one time or another that you construe as racist, that means you are ideologically possessed and trying to label an entire group based on the actions of a few and on your misguided belief system. You are engaging in tribalism and division.
The lead Pastor of the event is a black man. Okay? There are other black participants in the event. Okay? Are white supremacist racist events usually headed up by African Americans?
So tell us, what exactly are your allegations beyond charged rhetoric and the parroting of far left ideology?
Also, what are your opinions on the RAT criticisms of the destructive covid response and unprecedented mandates that have affected us all and taken away our freedoms? What is your opinion on the relationship between public health agencies and the profitable industries they are supposed to be regulating?
You don’t like capitalism huh? The reason our country is so far ahead of developing countries is because of our systems of accountability and credit. Our property ownership systems are the largest part of our success as a nation.
Lay out your case in factual order and convince people why they should support you. Yelling fascist isn’t going to cut it.