Unmasking far-right wingnuts raises big concerns

[jserraglio]

WAPO/SEATTLE TIMES Unmasking the far right: An extremist paid a price when his identity was exposed online after a violent clash in Washington

In a flash, Laura Jedeed was surrounded by screaming men. The freelance journalist was filming a group of Trump supporters walking the streets of the District after the “Million MAGA March” on Nov. 14 when a man wearing an American flag gaiter mask approached her, stepped on her toes and began yelling.

“What’s up, you stupid b----?” the man shouted, his mask slipping down his face.

Jedeed yelled at the man to stop touching her. A crowd formed around her and another journalist, with unmasked men screaming at them from all directions. Jedeed kept her camera rolling, and when she got away from the crowd, she uploaded video of the incident to YouTube and Twitter, and it went viral.

Reaction was swift.

The man in the flag mask was quickly identified as Washington state resident Edward Jeremy Dawson by a local antifa group. Twitter users mining public records later released his address and phone number.

The video was amplified by Christian Exoo, a prominent anti-fascist activist who tweeted it out to his 50,000-plus followers. Exoo also included contact information for Dawson’s employer.

Two days later, Dawson lost his job as an ironworker, his employer citing his actions in D.C. His wife, Michelle, uploaded a tearful self-shot video to Twitter announcing his firing, and later that month she was asked to hand in her vest and badge at a Walmart in Battle Ground, Wash., where she worked as an online-order fulfiller. She thinks she was fired over her politics but acknowledges that she had missed a substantial amount of work because of back problems.

Anonymous abusive callers deluged the Dawsons’ cellphones, with some urging the couple to kill themselves, the Dawsons said.

The disclosure online of Dawson’s personal information — a phenomenon known as doxing — is part of a growing effort by left-wing activists to punish members of far-right groups accused of violent behavior by exposing them to their employers, family and friends. The doxing of Dawson highlights the effect the tactic can have — unemployment and personal upheaval followed by a new job that pays much less than his old one — but also the limits of the technique: Dawson is unrepentant for his role in galvanizing a mob to harass Jedeed and continues to espouse far-right views.

Indeed, some on the left, including Jedeed, who is a well-known activist in Portland, Ore., have qualms about the tactic and how effective it can be in the fight against extremism.

“From a practical perspective, I feel like being unemployable is going to push him in a more extreme direction,” Jedeed said. “On the other hand, you shouldn’t be able to act like that and then have nothing happen to you.”

REST OF THE WAPO REPORT IS REPRINTED HERE https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-wor ... g-by-left/

[maestrob]

Just read the whole article from the link above.

I had no idea about "doxxing" until now, frankly, but it seems like an appropriate & proportionate response to the violence instigated by Maganderthals.

The only way this can fade is if Republicans in Washington start focusing on preserving the future of democracy in America, rather than on their own individual survival.

[Rach3]

The only way this can fade is if Republicans in Washington start focusing on preserving the future of democracy in America, rather than on their own individual survival.

And start emphasizing appropriate norms for public behavior, rather than remaining silent about, or participating themselves in,inappropriate behaviors.


Insurrectionists, racists, homophobes, White supremicists, xenophobes, mysoginists,criminals,purveyors of The Big Lie,vote suppressors,QAnon, neo-Nazis can’t expect those they seek to harm to suffer them gladly.If you get a traffic ticket, or are arrested for DWI ,your name and address will appear in most local newspapers. But, you should not appear, or be quoted , on TV or social media if you make assault and threaten journalists ? You should be able to dictate which of your public behaviors and comments are publicized and which are not, and be able to dictate to others how others should react if they later learn the whole truth about what you have said and done ? The behavior outlined in the article was quite different from a debate on whether Biden’s infrastructure plans are too expensive or HR 1 is necessary.

[maestrob]

The only way this can fade is if Republicans in Washington start focusing on preserving the future of democracy in America, rather than on their own individual survival.

And start emphasizing appropriate norms for public behavior, rather than remaining silent about, or participating themselves in,inappropriate behaviors.


Insurrectionists, racists, homophobes, White supremicists, xenophobes, mysoginists,criminals,purveyors of The Big Lie,vote suppressors,QAnon, neo-Nazis can’t expect those they seek to harm to suffer them gladly.If you get a traffic ticket, or are arrested for DWI ,your name and address will appear in most local newspapers. But, you should not appear, or be quoted , on TV or social media if you make assault and threaten journalists ? You should be able to dictate which of your public behaviors and comments are publicized and which are not, and be able to dictate to others how others should react if they later learn the whole truth about what you have said and done ? The behavior outlined in the article was quite different from a debate on whether Biden’s infrastructure plans are too expensive or HR 1 is necessary.

Just so.

As of yesterday, CNN was reporting that the Justice Department by now has filed more than 500 cases against insurrectionists who were in Washington D. C. on January 6.

Lock them up!

And never forget.