Scott Maxwell, the moderator, asked this question: If the neo-Nazis started coming down Maitland Avenue, how should we respond? By the way, I live on Maitland Avenue.
The concensis was "stay home." If you can't do that, just be observers, because violent extremists are almost always trying to provoke a response. If it's one-on-one hate speech we might respond with a personal story of how much that hurts us or somebody we love.
Geraldine Thompson, a former congresswoman, and a person I've admired for a long time told this story. When her husband became the first African-American judge in Orange County a reception was organized for the judges' wives at the Orlando Country Club. At that time they had the policy "No Jews, No Blacks and No Dogs."
Geraldine Thompson responded by saying "It is my intention to attend that function so that if you're going to call the police, you need to call them now, because I'm coming." Then she got a call from another judges' wife whom she'd never met. "I understand that you're going to this reception for the judges' wives. I'll come to pick you up and we'll go together. If they want to arrest you they'll have to arrest me as well."
The point of all this, to me, is that bravery in these instances means being loving and kind in the face of hate.
Another person on the panel, a former skin head, when asked how she got turned around, said that she was in prison for committing a hate crime and one simple question coming from a woman that she didn't feel like she deserved a kindness from said,
"Hey, do you know how to play criibbage?" I wish I had been the woman to ask her that question. You know how much I love to play cribbage.
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