Public shaming thins the supremacist ranks
The sunshine of public disclosure proved to be a strong disinfectant after neo-Nazis took the streets in Charlottesville last year.
Alt-right street toughs who taped up their hands like boxers, hoisted their burning Tiki torches, and chanted invectives as they marched paid a steep price in this era of social media.
Christopher Cantwell, a white nationalist who attended and later cried on a video discussing the aftermath, was eventually convicted of assault and battery. He has been barred from Virginia for five years.
Tipsters and investigative reporters from Vice and ProPublica who studied videos of the Charlottesville violence notified employers who take a dim view of any hate speech and violence associated with their brands.
The result? A Marine, a substitute teacher at a girls school, a Northrop Grumman aerospace engineer with a security clearance and two restaurant workers — all of whom rallied in Charlottesville — have since been fired or forced to quit.
Wait. Aren’t their free speech rights being violated? The short answer is no. While the First Amendment prevents the government from banning even hateful speech, businesses are under no such constraint when it comes to their workers.
Meanwhile, alt-right leaders have been barred from raising money on platforms such as PayPal, and Charlottesville organizers are defending against civil-rights lawsuits. A toxic combination of confrontation, public shaming and the internet publication of private or identifying information is harrying white supremacists into the crevices where they belong.
Given the pushback against the haters, perhaps it’s little wonder their turnout on Sunday was so anemic.