The one Nazi that showed up at the rally under the Space Needle today seemed more confused and lonely than radical and dangerous.
He walked up alone holding an umbrella (something that automatically marks you an outsider in Seattle, a city that scoffs at rain). He also was wearing black leatherboots with red laces, an identifying mark of a skinhead.
He sat down and immediately a counterprotester organizer named Ben who was in his mid forties or early fifties came up and started asking who he was, what he was doing, where he was from.
"Leave me alone," the Nazi said. He looked crinkly browed at the crowd and sniffled.
Ben kept asking him questions and pointed the Nazi out to his fellow counterprotesters.
They all looked at him angrily. The Nazi walked off and sat on the backrest of a bench. He watched the approximately 150 counterprotesters, who had arrived at the Space Needle an hour before the Nazi rally was scheduled to begin, chant various slogans which all basically amounted to: Nazi's get out. You're not welcomed in Seattle.
A group of counterprotesters surrounded the Nazi on the bench and started asking him questions.
He answered calmly, but in a small voice as if he was having trouble speaking loudly.
Where was he from?
LA.
Did he come to Seattle all the way from LA for this?
No. He lived in Seattle now.
Did he consider himself a Nazi?
No. He was a skinhead.
Why did he have a swatsika tattoo then?
He earned the tattoo.
He had a swatsika tattoo, but he wasn't a Nazi?
No.
Did he have any kids?
Yes. He had a little girl who was five.
When she grew up would she be allowed to date black people?
Yes. She could date them. She just couldn't fornicate with them.
Was he a racist?
No. He he didn't hate black people. Just niggers. Niggers were people who pissed him off.
So was a racist?
No. He wasn't. But the counterprotesters were. They were racist against skinheads.
Where did he learn about all this skinhead stuff?
From his brother. He had been hanging out with skinheads since kindergarten.
Where was his brother now?
Iraq.
This went on for awhile. A group of anarchists clad in black wearing bandanas and ski masks assembled in a group behind him. They talked quietly among themselves, seemingly planning the Nazi's fate.
Finally one of the anarchists, a huge twenty-something year old kid with a railroad spike in his belt came up and said that he was a Jew and wanted to talk to the Nazi one on one for a little while. The Nazi got up and walked off with him.
They went around a corner and sat close together on a bench and spoke for about fifteen minutes. When they finished they exchanged phone numbers and shook hands. The Nazi walked off.
The big anarchist with the spike in his belt went over to the other anarchists and told them that the Nazi was just confused. He wasn't even worth kicking the shit out of. Besides there were cops around.
The other anarchists didn't seem to agree though. They took off running after the Nazi.
They ran for about a quarter of a mile through downtown Seattle before cornering the Nazi in front of a liquor store.
The anarchists surrounded him. He hunkered down and looked at the anarchists, sniffling.
The anarchists were telling him to get out of Seattle. To never come back. That he was a fucking Nazi piece of shit. Several of them proclaimed themselves Jews.
A cop car rolled by. It slowed down. The cop saw the anarchists surrounding the Nazi. It didn't stop.
The Nazi began untying his red boot laces. He pulled the laces out of his boots and threw them behind him into a gutter. Then he stood up.
The group of about ten anarchists who had been circling him yelled for him to take off. One of them flung their foot out and kicked him in his butt as the Nazi ran off down the street.
The anarchists yelled a few taunts after him and then congratulated each other for "taking care" of him.
"More of them are coming up here," they said. "We've got to keep them out."
"Check it out," one of the anarchists said. He held up the Nazi's disgarded shoe laces.
"Let's burn them," another anarchist yelled. Lighters were produced. The shoe laces wouldn't catch fire so they were thrown on the ground, stomped and spit on. Then the anarchists walked off, apparently satisfied Nazism had been dealt with in Seattle. At least for today.
