Hate speech not welcome in Petaluma: Group

After white supremacist groups and counter protesters held rallies that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month, Petalumans quickly organized a gathering in Walnut Park to denounce hate groups. The significant feature of that local event was its one-sidedness.

Unlike other recent protests around the nation that have drawn extreme elements and devolved into shouting matches or worse, no groups turned up in Walnut Park to counter the demonstrators. Petaluma Police Chief Ken Savano said that Petaluma’s culture of tolerance is a major reason why rallies here remain peaceful.

“There’s a lot of tolerance and people appreciate where we live,” Savano said. “We want to live happily with our neighbors and treat each other with respect.”

Savano said that there are no active hate groups in Petaluma or in Sonoma County. He said there are individuals in the area who have affiliations with hate groups, and law enforcement officials monitor their public statements, but have not found organized groups like the KKK or neo-Nazi movements.

However, Savano said that “we don’t live too far from where that happens,” referring to protests in the Bay Area that have turned violent.

“Those elements don’t come out of the woodwork here,” he said. “We allow dialogue and respect. But we must stay vigilant.”

Savano spoke at a Wednesday meeting organized by the Petaluma Community Relations Council, a grassroots organization that arose after the November election to address what members see as concerns in the community over an increase in hateful rhetoric in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election.

Despite a lack of organized hate groups in Petaluma, residents spoke anecdotally of a climate that has emboldened people to make hateful remarks. In November, some attendees of the Petaluma Veteran’s Day Parade displayed a Confederate flag, a symbol many consider racist.

Petaluma resident Amy Humz, who started a group called We Love Our Neighbors - Petaluma, which organizes weekly rallies on prominent street corners to support what they see as vulnerable groups including immigrants and minorities, said that she has endured hateful taunts and obscene gestures from passing motorists.

“I am alarmed at how much hate there is in this community under the surface,” she said.

Rabbi Ted Feldman of B’nai Israel Jewish Center in Petaluma, and one of the founders of the Community Relations Council, said that the group was formed to counter a spike in hate groups in the country and to make sure that it doesn’t come to Petaluma.

“Nationally, statistics are way up in terms of hate crimes,” he said. “People are more emboldened to say things.”

Petaluma City Schools District board member Frank Lynch said that the school curriculum includes lessons on combating hate speech. But, he said, schools can only do so much for students who have parents that model hateful dialogue at home.

“All you have to do is look at the adult in the household to find out where hate comes from,” he said. “That’s the sad thing. It’s the adults. That’s who the kids are going to listen to.”

Savano offered suggestions for dealing with speech that one finds hateful. He said that many groups organize lawfully and do so in order to provoke a reaction and test free speech laws, including those that have held or planned to hold rallies in San Francisco and Berkeley recently.

To avoid violent confrontations, he said the best strategy is to not directly engage with these groups, ignore them, and hold counter rallies in a different location or at different times.

“They want people to listen and react to what they are saying,” he said. “When people show maturity and restraint, it takes the wind out of their sails. You don’t have to give everyone a voice. You can choose who you listen to.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)