Question for the experts - from this thread

[malaise]

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029491136

Why are police escorting nazis and other white supremacists? If it's about free speech, do they escort Black Panthers, BLM or ISIS backing Muslims?

There is something very wrong with this.

[Bladewire]

1. It's their job to protect the peace I wish all nazis would be deported to Africa

[malaise]

2. To Africa - on what fucking basis?

Send them to a racist white country and not my motherland.

[Bladewire]

3. Africa is humanities motherland ...

[malaise]

5. Keep those racist morons out of Africa

thank you

[WheelWalker]

6. I thought the poster's "deport to Africa" was a veiled reference to the Madagascar Plan.

guess not.

[Bladewire]

7. Drop racists off in Ethiopia, Brundi or Zimbabwe with no clothes or money

Why not? Let them suffer and beg for kindness & compassion and / or come to a long suffering end. Just my view

[guillaumeb]

4. I have participated in many marches with a police "escort".

One hopes that the police are escorting the supremacists to protect them from their fellow citizens.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Good points raised!

Malaise raises a number of good points here:
a.) Are the police prejudice in their use of protective force? That is, are they there as a sign of support to those factions (or, conversely to intentionally isolate their views) because they are white or on the "right"?

b.) Does any police "escort" quench the effectiveness of free speech, regardless of which side you're on?

c.) Under what circumstances and context should protection of one side only be provided? In this case, it was a mixed-race progressive enclave with police protecting a mostly white, far-right group. Would that "protection" have been afforded to a BLM or Panther march in an all-white right-wing community (I think we know the answer to that one)?

d.) Should any protest group in any community have the legal right to receive extra protection if they feel they would be at risk of violence?