A rebuttal to Richard Spencer’s hate speech and ‘ethnostates’
As a former University of Florida student, a former Gainesville, Florida, resident and Polish-American, I was very disappointed when I heard white supremacist Richard Spencer would be speaking on campus at the University of Florida. I feared for the safety and peace of my friends and the community I love. Gainesville is truly a beautiful place and this intrusion is not something any community deserves to endure. Although upset by the announcement, I was encouraged by the students and the community’s reaction to Spencer’s event. Individuals of varying backgrounds, interests and values together protested Spencer and his hateful rhetoric, demonstrating the love and power of Gainesville’s anti-racist community.