Neighbors Together Against Fascism

***UPDATE***

We are moving the location of Sunday's event from the state-house lawn to the plaza in front of Montpelier City Hall, for multiple reasons. First, Montpelier officials have indicated that State St. will likely be barricaded, making it harder than it needs to be to share food and community. Second, we've received feedback that changing the location of the event would make it more accessible, and we hope that more people will now feel comfortable attending.

Though the location of the event has changed, our intent for the day has not. This is specifically not a counter-protest, but rather a time to come together and hold space for one another. A space to process current events, to build new relationships for the uncertain times ahead, and to begin to build a world with no tolerance for fascism. We want to re-emphasize that we find it deeply concerning when it is considered too dangerous to peacefully gather in public. We've changed locations so we can focus our energy on collective action towards a world we want to live in, rather than remaining isolated in fear and powerlessness.

Dear Neighbors,

In response to the outpouring of concern/critique/feedback we've received, we want to clarify our intentions and offer our thoughts. We hear you and understand where many of you are coming from. Our intent in the original call-out was to make clear that this event is intended not as a counter-protest but as a time to build community and envision a world in which fascism is not tolerated; this effort requires the presence and perspective of everyone. While we invited our own families, given the tension of these times and the ongoing pandemic, we of course respect the need for everyone to do an individual risk assessment and make their own decisions about safety.

We've gotten many questions as to why we planned this event for the time and the place we did, knowing that there is a chance there may be members of the far-right present, though they have no public plans at this . Our answer is that we see the fear created by the far-right as having a much broader and more damaging impact than the actions of the individuals themselves in many cases. To allow ourselves to be incapacitated by that fear is to give them power over our lives and decisions. To permit the threat of fascist control to rise without standing up collectively to confront it is to set an incredibly dangerous precedent that history warns us of in multiple instances. Our intention and hope is that coming together on Sunday will be a time to build unity and relationship across political difference, in the face of something that's a danger to all of us.

One definition of fascism is an autocratic leader who enforces top-down control and rallies their adherents around a personality cult and feeling of superiority, racial or otherwise, that gives them license to oppress marginalized people. What Trump just attempted was by all appearances an attempt at a fascist coup; every time that we stand back in fear or apathy while the far-right mobilizes, we give them more power and make the next attempt more dangerous.

In solidarity,
Neighbors Together Against Fascism