Here’s How University of Florida Students Greeted Richard Spencer
Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty
White nationalist Richard Spencer brought his racist rhetoric to a Democratic stronghold, and it just went great for him.
Spencer, a Neo-Nazi who is on video doing a Sieg Heil and is famous primarily for getting punched in the face, rented a facility at the University of Florida to give a speech, and it didn’t turn out so hot. The university couldn’t do anything to stop the speech—since the speech wasn’t happening through the University and he was renting the auditorium, it was apparently out of their jurisdiction. Spencer had tried to speak on campus back in August and was rejected, but a guy named Cameron Padgett (because of course) still found a way to bring him to Gainesville, even if it wasn’t through the University itself.
So now Spencer was speaking near the University anyway, and a shitstorm ensued. The Mayor of Gainesville rightly called Spencer a terrorist. Florida governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency over the ordeal. Half a million dollars were spent on riot police in an attempt to control the situation. The president of the University had to make it clear where he stood on the matter:
For the record, I don’t stand behind racist Richard Spencer. I stand with those who reject and condemn Spencer’s vile and despicable message https://t.co/eHFuUUchbh
— W. Kent Fuchs (@PresidentFuchs) October 19, 2017
And when the day finally came, Spencer was greeted by wave upon wave of protestors. Here’s USA Today’s footage:
There were some confrontations. A Nazi (pictured up top) got punched, which is always fun. And once Spencer actually made it to the auditorium, the vast majority of his crowd was just more protestors:
Oh, fun, he did a Q&A session!
An Egyptian/Puerto Rican woman asks Richard Spencer:
“How did it feel to get punched in the face?” ????????????pic.twitter.com/Xv4PejPjDs#SpencerAtUF— Holly O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) October 19, 2017
So it should be clear that Richard Spencer is pretty much universally reviled. Just look at how empty that auditorium is—protestors must outnumber supporters ten to one, and it’s still not even half full.
Spencer’s speech was cut short by about half an hour. Guess he got tired of looking like an idiot. To close it out, here’s the best question he received:
SOMEONE AT THE RICHARD SPENCER THING AT UF ASKED “IF ALL OF YOU ARE SO UGLY WHY DO YOU THINK WHITE PEOPLE ARE SUPREME” pic.twitter.com/VCQT0PmHGe
— baby blue???? (@N_akiah) October 19, 2017