A group called Redneck Revolt was in Kalkaska last Friday protesting the posts on Village President Jeff Sieting’s Facebook page.
Redneck Revolt is an organization whose goal is “to provide community defense for areas around this country at this time that are experiencing any kind of racial-based, misogynist-based, LGBTQ-based aggression and hate actions,” said Timothy Grey with Redneck Revolt.
“We offer armed defense against these people that are trying to continue this horrible American history of oppression," he said.
Members of Redneck Revolt were armed last Friday night in Kalkaska to protect other protestors, Grey said. He said Sieting's supporters, there for an "open carry" rally, were armed as well.
Grey also said members of his group heard “a lot of fear-fueled, weaponized ignorance about the issues.”
For instance, he said his group brought a sign that read, “We stand with you” in Arabic, which he said Sieting's supporters didn't like.
“We were told that we had a banner that was written in 'ISIS' or a banner that was written in Hebrew. And that the official language of the United States is ‘American,’” Grey said. “And we asked about the Muslim threat in this area, and none of them had any good answers. There was little to no reasoning with the people that were taking such a physical stance on that subject.”
“That to me is one of the largest problems with what we are facing with the social divide in our country right now is that people are taking stances based on fear and a lack of knowledge and a lack of understanding of these things,” Grey added.
For the full conversation, listen above.
(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)
