Statement on Recent Harmful Marching Arts Facebook Group
It has come to our attention that a Facebook group of marching arts community members has amassed to express hateful and dangerous rhetoric towards marginalized groups. After some recent, widespread instances of public backlash against postings made by the group, its members have stated that they feel these criticisms equate to discrimination based off of their political beliefs. We believe if the group was discussing fiscally conservative policy the group’s existence would be a non-issue. The online backlash to the group is justified based on their allowance of racist and transphobic content, not because they are conservatives/Republicans. Many of the people who are claiming personal experiences of discrimination for being a conservative/Republican are facing backlash for bigoted statements and actions, not purely their political beliefs. This has been backed up by people who marched with certain individuals confirming these people were bigoted towards them when they marched together.
Beyond general bigotry, this group has provided a haven for someone part of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys to share their neo-fascist beliefs. You can find plenty of information on the Proud Boys here (link content warning for white nationalism, Islamophobia, and transphobia). The group has also attracted people who have made threats such as “making Kyle Rittenhouse look insignificant.” In case you are unaware, in August Kyle Rittenhouse went to a Black Lives Matter protest to oppose protestors. He brought a gun and allegedly shot protestors, murdering 2 and injuring others. You can read more about Kyle Rittenhouse here (link content warning for gun violence). Allowing these people a platform sets an extremely dangerous precedent for the community. Our community is already facing the challenges of ousting sexual predators, addressing racism, creating safe environments for trans members, and the fallout of COVID-19. The last thing we need is people who are willing to condone white nationalism and domestic terrorism because they are upset someone rightfully called them out for bigotry.
MAASIN’s belief is everyone has the right to free speech and in turn everyone has the right to object to hateful speech that makes anyone unsafe. The right to free speech does not mean one cannot be held accountable for their speech when it infringes on the rights of others. Marching arts is at its core an educational activity anyone from any protected class or marginalized group has the right to safely participate in. We strongly encourage anyone with information on the people in this group to report them to their respective ensemble(s) and/or workplaces and contact us if they want assistance or have information they would like to share.
Thank you for reading. Any questions regarding this statement can be directed to info@maasin.net and assistance with reporting or information on people associated with this Facebook group can be directed to report@maasin.net. Also feel free to DM us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram [@maasinetwork].