The Far-Right John Birch Society Wants Anti-Mask Protests to Fuel Its Comeback

[Nevilledog]

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The Daily Beast
@thedailybeast
The John Birch Society, a far-right organization that found the peak of its power in the 1960s, has made efforts to rebuild since the 2010s. And in its opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, the group is hoping to tap into a popular right-wing grievance.

This Far Right Group Wants Anti-Mask Protests to Fuel Its Comeback
The John Birch Society used to boost segregation. Now it’s back to attack schools over mask mandates.
thedailybeast.com
5:00 AM · Oct 11, 2021

https://www.thedailybeast.com/far-right-john-birch-society-wants-anti-mask-protests-to-fuel-its-comeback


On a sunny Saturday in a Knoxville, Tennessee park, a man with a microphone told a crowd of parents to bar entry to their children’s schools.

“Starting Monday morning and until this is over, we need to bring Knox County schools to a screeching halt,” he said to applause. He called on parents, students, and staff to participate. “We have a moral obligation to our children’s future. Block the entrance to the school with your car. That’s my suggestion. Block the entrance to the drive—don’t even let a bus in your schools. If you can be that bold in your groups, do it.”

The event, “Parents In The Park” was billed as a meet-up for parents who objected to a mask mandate in Knox County schools. But the Sept. 26 gathering was more than just concerned caregivers. It was organized and hosted by the John Birch Society (JBS), a far-right organization that found the peak of its power in the 1960s and ’70s—when it fought civil rights legislation, attracted segregationists, and believed that communists were poisoning Americans with fluoride—before rejection by mainstream conservatives sent it into decline. But the organization has made efforts to rebuild since the 2010s. And in its opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, the once-fringe group is hoping to tap into a popular right-wing grievance.

A Facebook event for the “Parents In The Park” event described it as hosted by the JBS’s Tennessee chapter. That chapter’s “field director” Jon Schrock also spoke at a recent “Patriot Church” meeting about the need to demonstrate against Knox County school mask requirements.

*snip*

[cilla4progress]

1. The current obstruction is in the same vein

as the old JBS.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. Remember this?

[Elessar Zappa]

3. The John Birch Society

may be too far to the left for the modern maga fascists. What a sad commentary on our nation.

[7wo7rees]

4. Fred C Koch, founder of Koch Industries one of 3 founders of JBS.

Kochs, ALEC and many more still operating and a clear and present danger. IMHO.
Ms.7wo7rees

[Initech]

5. Bioterrorists!

[BootinUp]

6. Calling it a grievance is giving it

Way to much credibility. It’s a political protest. Period.

[Baked Potato]

7. Grifter-Palooza is full swing. T***p really tapped a big keg. Nt

[jmbar2]

8. Weird

A video clip of an old John Birch speech popped up on one of my stock trading forums this morning. First time I'd seen it. Far right seems to be stalking stock traders a lot since tRump.

[JHB]

9. Why would anyone? Nostalgia?

It's not that they wouldn't fit in, it's just that they're a bit late to the current RW nut bar party. It's a crowded field these days.