‘Why do you hate me?’ protester questions Nazi at Spencer talk
The man who hugged a Nazi outside Richard Spencer’s speech at the University of Florida on Thursday said: “I could have hit him, I could have hurt him, but something in me said, ‘You know what? He just needs love.’ ”
A man wearing a Tshirt emblazoned with swastikas Thursday was surrounded by a crowd of protesters who screamed, punched and spat on him before Aaron Courtney gave him a hug.
Courtney, 31, a high school football coach in Gainesville, yelled, “Why don’t you like me, dog?”
The Nazi was later identified as Randy Furniss.
Speaking to the New York Daily News early Friday, Courtney said, “One hug can really change the world. It’s really that simple.”
Courtney, who spent nearly four hours protesting Thursday, was getting ready to leave when he saw Furniss causing a commotion among the other demonstrators.
“I had the opportunity to talk to someone who hates my guts and I wanted to know why,” Courtney said. “During our conversation, I asked him, ‘Why do you hate me? What is it about me? Is it my skin color? My history? My dreadlocks?’ ”
But the man simply brushed off his questions as Courtney pleaded with him and grew increasingly upset.
“After beating around the bush, and avoiding my questions, I asked him, I pleaded with him, I almost broke out in tears, growing increasingly angry because I didn’t understand,” he said.
Citing the teachings of his father, who is a clergyman, Courtney said, “Maybe he never met an African-American like this.’”
And so he told the Nazi to give him a hug.
And despite some initial resistance, Courtney said, “I reached over and the third time, he wrapped his arms around me, and I heard God whisper in my ear, ‘You changed his life.’ ”
The crowd around them immediately reacted and when Courtney pressed him again, asking “Why do you hate me?”
Furniss finally answered the question, “I don’t know.”
“I believe that was his sincere answer. He really doesn’t know,” Courtney said.