美国国家公共电台 NPR--New Englanders are fighting back against demonstrations by neo-Nazis

New Englanders are fighting back against demonstrations² by neo-Nazis

Transcript⁴

For months white supremacists have dominated headlines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Residents across the region are organizing counter protests to push back against racism⁵ and hate.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

When neo-Nazis demonstrated in the Massachusetts town of Danvers, dozens of residents pushed back to defend their Jewish neighbors. It's just one example of grassroots organizing against right-wing extremism in New England. Phillip Martin of member station GBH in Boston has the story.

PHILLIP MARTIN, BYLINE⁶: For months, white supremacists have dominated headlines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, generating fear and anger among residents. So when neo-Nazis displayed an antisemitic banner in Danvers recently, falsely blaming Jewish people for the September 11 terrorist attacks, Debbie Coltin (ph) said enough.

DEBBIE COLTIN: We decided⁷ to take back the bridge and not let the neo-Nazis have the final word.

MARTIN: Coltin is executive director of the Lappin Foundation, which helped organize the Take Back the Bridge protest.

COLTIN: And if we didn't take action, the hateful message would have been normalized and gone unchallenged.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: ...Go ahead and get started.

MARTIN: Similar pushback is happening across the region. Last month, residents of Franklin, N.H., organized to scrub Nazi³ graffiti from a wall in that city. Months earlier, two dozen locals crowded into Franklin City Hall to demand that officials take an aggressive stance against growing white supremacist activity. Most showed up specifically to support local businesswoman Miriam Kovacs, who has been in the crosshairs on social media of NSC-131, a neo-Nazi group.

MIRIAM KOVACS: I was listed as being antifa, and it was noted⁸ that people should negatively review my account on Google to try to damage my business.

MARTIN: Kovacs, who is of Jewish and Asian descent, runs a catering⁹ company, and in her brightly colored front window, a sign reads, You are loved, superimposed over the American flag. One negative reviewer of her business identified himself as Rudolf Hess, a reference to Hitler's loyal deputy. Other negative reviews followed.

KOVACS: They left a lot of Holocaust¹⁰ references. Some were as bold as to leave a picture of the train tracks to Auschwitz.

MARTIN: Franklin Police Officer Mark Faro, a friend of Kovacs', said he worries about her in this atmosphere of growing antisemitism.

MARK FARO: With Miriam taking, you know, a stand and being vocal¹¹ and being out there about it, it's pretty much just putting big targets on the windows to say, here I am. This is the place you hate.

MARTIN: Over the summer, NSC-131 protested outside a shop in Kittery, Maine, holding signs reading, Keep New England White. That was the last straw for Dresden Lewis, who runs a bakery near Portsmouth, N.H.

DRESDEN LEWIS: I was reading in the local paper that there had been an NSC demonstration¹ in front of the Kittery trading post, and I thought to myself, well, that sucks.

MARTIN: So Lewis called for a counterprotest in Kittery.

LEWIS: And I suggested to my followers¹², you know, next weekend, same time, same place, do you want to meet up and reclaim¹³ this space and show that, no, we're not going to keep New England white? New England was never white. And this doesn't work for me, and it shouldn't work for you.

MARTIN: Dozens of mainly white families showed up in Kittery to join the protest against right-wing extremists who have set their sights on Blacks, Jews, Muslims, new immigrants and LGBTQ communities.

PATRICK BURR: My name is Patrick Burr out of drag and Patty Bourree in drag.

MARTIN: Burr is often the target of right-wing protests when performing in drag story hours for kids, as he was recently in Boston when neo-Nazis showed up. But an even greater number of supporters arrived. Burr and other LGBTQ activists¹⁴ say they are working with anti-fascists as a counterweight to neo-Nazis.

BURR: I know I can message so-and-so, and they'll phone tree so that we can have our own community be present, because that's what I feel like I need to be safe.

MARTIN: Back in Franklin, nearly a dozen people lined up at a mic at the council meeting to give their take on growing extremism.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: On the way here, I counted two Confederate flags.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: What we do now counts not only for us here in this room, but also the students.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Not taking action is the same as supporting that kind of hate.

MARTIN: At the end of the meeting, officials agreed to pass a resolution like one approved by nearby Dover, N.H., condemning¹⁵ white nationalism. Miriam Kovacs says these actions are a good start, but more needs to be done. She worries that far too many people are not taking the threat posed by hate groups seriously enough. The specter of the January 6 right-wing insurrection in the nation's capital still hovers¹⁶ in her mind.

KOVACS: We've seen what can happen. You know, not wanting it to happen isn't enough to keep it from happening, but ignoring it isn't going to make it better.

MARTIN: Since that meeting, other Northeast municipalities, including Laconia, N.H., and Salem, Mass., have taken stands against groups like NSC-131, Patriot¹⁷ Front, Oath Keepers and other purveyors of hate.

I'm Phillip Martin for NPR News.

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

10 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

11 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

12 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

13 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。

17 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。