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The Nazis Come to Town

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In April 2006 the National Socialist Movement -- a NeoNazi group -- came to Michigan's capitol for a rally. Court cases established the right for Nazis to assemble, and government officials decided to erect two fences to keep Nazis 400 feet away from the protestors. Over 500 pollice from 10 agencies were called in, including horses, helicopters, riot squads, and SWAT teams.

Their visit generated a huge controversy in Lansing. Did the Nazis really have the constitutional right to promote racial, religious and homophobic hatred? Why are they allowed to spew their venom on the steps of the State Capitol? And why do taxpayers have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in law enforcement resources to defend the Nazis?

Lansing residents were truly divided on whether to a) ignore them completely, giving them no audience for their intolerant and bigoted views, or b) show up in huge numbers to illustrate that our community will not accept their ideology. Some believed that appearing at the rally gave the Nazis what they were seeking: publicity, validity, and public outrage. Some said that ignoring them was far more dangerous -- just look at 1930s Germany.

I decided to document these conflicting views and show how an organized hate group can chaos and stir law-abiding citizens into a frenzy. Are the protestors demonstrating tolerance? Are the police officers showing tolerance and restraint? Does diversity mean accepting the views of hate groups? Tough questions, with no easy answers.
BrettDreyfus

21 responses // The Nazis Come to Town

  •  

    Great video showing the true diversity that exists in our culture.

    dolphynia
  •  

    Yes, the diversity and also the questions that we need to ask ourselves. How much do we believe in freedom and what does that truly look like?
    Nice job. Also cool getting up in there to videotape. Well played!

    inlawfilms
  •  

    Powerful & frightening. I like how you follow the natural flow of the event -- makes you feel that you're in the middle of the event. Might do with a little trimming, but that's not serious. Stats at the end are a great ideal. GL!

    DanPersons
  •  

    Cut it shorter and go on air! GL

    Voytek
  •  

    the whole thing makes me SICK!!!!!!!!!! why can't people just get along here on earth.

    littleblde
  •  

    This is a very inspiring pod about an issue that needs to be adressed. Personally I believe so strongly against the nazi beliefs, but even so they do have the right to assembly. That is why it is vital to get this message out so that we too can assemble in protest. A little editting to the pod and it would be on TV no problem. I give you a Green Light and wish you Good Luck.

  •  

    thats fucked up

    becker
  •  

    Nice documentary work. Very straight forward approach, nicely done, great B-roll, good editing... just too long.

    Also, those end graphics would serve better supered or slated individually with time to read each one, especially noting the (amazing!) per-attendee cost.

    Cut this down to 5-6 minutes and I'm sure we'll see it on air.

    aiden
  •  

    You get my GL, great job going in the middle of this mess. It shocks me that this type of hate exists...

    Please click on my head and check out the updated version of my latest rant... "shot for a toy"

  •  

    Nice work. I'd suggest more voice over but otherwise nice job. GL!

    I'd love to get your opinion on our doc: link

    dbocaz
  •  

    Thank you for documenting this, if you have any question that light needs to be shed on this, come see my pod, Telling Jokes In Auschwitz about my friend Werner Reich who was a teenager in Auschwitz link it is going to be running on the air soon. As Werner says when he speaks to school children, we must document this horror particularly to this young generation or, it will happen again.
    GL Getreel

    getreel
  •  

    Nice job documenting what freedom and free speech looks like. Freedom is not easy.
    The law enforcement personnel was necessary and the money for them was well spent.
    People would have been hurt badly if the law was not present. How much is freedom worth? I give this a greenlight provided that the current producers help condense this while adding some voiceover content from the well written synopsis. You showed courage documenting such a controversial event and the manner in which you went about it was gallant.
    AlmostRight

    AlmostRight
  •  

    great footage its hard to believe there's people like that still around

    redmoon714
  •  

    Simplistic video technique, images poor quality, too long.

    Modern1
  •  

    Thanks for the positive comments, the thoughtful feedback, and sharing your views about freedom of speech and the Nazis.

    The video quality is actually much higher, but when I encoded the video and uploaded it, it was going to take about 5 hours to upload, and the deadline for the contest was looming ... I had 90 minutes before the Seeds of Tolerance competition would close. So I had to upload a low-resolution version.

    BrettDreyfus
  •  

    camera frenzy..their crazy...lol at white pride isnt that everywhere? what exactly are white people complaining about here? no rights?hmm.. no land??hmmm....what the hell are nazis all about..i mean why the hell are they so angry??

    adachi
  •  

    I don't know who is sicker the Nazis or the cops: or maybe they're one and the same! Check out my pod "Mother Earth".

    VanArk
  •  

    NAZIS ARE TERRORISTS!

    Why doesn't our weak ass President do something about the Enemy in our "homeland"?

    NAZIS ARE TERRORISTS!

    NO DOUBT WE HAVE SOME HOUSE CLEANING TO DO BEFORE WE STEP OFF OUR SHORES TO CLEAN HOUSE SOMEWHERE ELSE...TO HELP SECURE OIL!

    THE REAL THREAT IS BAD PRIORITY ON TERRORISTS. WHY DO THESE SHEETS STILL EXSIST?

    CALL THE WHITE HOUSE AND TELL THEM TO STOP AND ARREST THE KKK AND NEO NAZIS!

    Contact the President.

    Contacting the White House

    Think you "own" this country? This is from the White House Contact page:

    Mailing Address

    The White House
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    Washington, DC 20500

    Phone Numbers

    Comments: 202-456-1111
    Switchboard: 202-456-1414
    FAX: 202-456-2461

    TTY/TDD

    Comments: 202-456-6213
    Visitors Office: 202-456-2121
    E-Mail
    Please send your comments to comments@whitehouse.gov. Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message. For further up-to-date information on Presidential initiatives, current events, and topics of interest to you, please continue to use the White House website.

    Vice President Richard Cheney: vice_president@whitehouse.gov

    gargoylex
  •  

    Editorialize your piece a bit. I would like to know something about the filmmaker and your opinions, emotions. Just to report is not enough, personalize it. Also, where is the pro-Nazi voice, that would be more interesting, in its absurdity, than the multiculturalists.

    rawbird
  •  

    More truth in the KKK history, why so much hate and how do they survive...

    crazy69bug
  •  

    thats kind of ridiculous that $200,000 went into that. If the fences weren't put up, then they wouldn't have come. just let the protesters have at them next time

    DarwinIsThere

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