Don Feder Protested at UMass

The Coalition Against Hate.
Join the Movement.

Press the HQ button to watch in high quality. Video by samm lyon.

AMHERST, Mass.--

Conservative Don Feder spoke at UMass Amherst on Wednesday, March 11, but refused to finish his speech due to protesting. Loosely organized by a student group, the Coalition Against Hate, hundreds of students and community members showed up to protest Feder's speech: "Hate Crimes Laws and Other Forms of Censorship: The Left's Assault on Free Speech."

Feder claimed that “Your chances of being the victim of a serious hate crime are comparable to being struck twice by lightning and being run over by a high speed train while skateboarding on a national holiday.” He was noticeably upset by the high turnout of protesters, compared to the 10 or so supporters. He repeatedly yelled at the crowd through the microphone, banging on the lectern and calling them "goddamn Nazis."

Though Greg Collins, UMass Republican Club president, said “[w]e brought Don Feder, first and foremost, to challenge the assumptions of Justice for Jason supporters and politically correct liberals on campus that hate crimes are legitimate forms of crimes,” in a statement to the Daily Collegian, he made it clear on Wednesday that Feder would not address Jason Vassell's case. Bringing Feder to campus was a clear attack on the Justice for Jason campaign, and an extension of the hate speech spewed the week before in their newspaper, The Minuteman.

Students met in the Campus Center after the talk to debrief and discuss further strategies to combat hate crimes and hate speech in the Pioneer Valley. Feder continued his speech upstairs in the Republican Club office, relieved to be surrounded only by his bigoted supporters.

Join the Coalition Against Hate. A forum will be scheduled during the week of March 30 - April 3. Check back for more information.

Noho BID Protest With Two Arrests

Get Involved.
Show Your Opposition.
www.nobid.tk



Students and community members protested the Business Improvement District (BID) yesterday, Friday March 13 in downtown Northampton, MA.

Two students were unnecessarily arrested during the peaceful protest, marching down the streets of Northampton. One is being charged for assault and battery on a police officer for resisting being forcefully pushed onto the sidewalk, which is a felony that could result in up to two and a half years in jail. For marching in the streets for justice...

Protest the BID, which would privatize parts of downtown Northampton and push homeless people and street musicians out of its streets. Support public streets and a diverse city.

If you were at the protest and saw the two arrests, please write a detailed statement of what you saw and send to samm.lyon@gmail.com. Thank you.

John Bowes Acquitted

Activist Joe Mirkin summarizes Jason's case

BELCHERTOWN, Mass.--
Jonathan C. Bowes was found not guilty today on charges of a civil rights violation, and guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. To convict on a civil rights violation the prosecution must show 1) that the act was committed or attempted, and 2) that the act was done with intent to impede, oppress or intimidate the victim's free enjoyment of their right to peace. Though racial slurs were used, the Assistant District Attorney Neil Desroches did not make a convincing enough argument 'beyond reasonable doubt' that the vicious language was used, and that their intent was to harm Jason due to the color of Jason's skin. The case also did not address the incident that happened moments after, in which Bowes continued to shout racial slurs and broke Jason's nose in his own dormitory. It would have been impossible for the DA to charge Bowes with assault when they are claiming he is the victim in Jason's case.

Judge John Payne stressed Bowes’ demonstrated pattern of alcohol abuse as reason to sentence Bowes to a “substance abuse evaluation,” to be completed within the next three months. Along with this, Bowes was sentenced to 12 months of administrative probation (which allows him to travel to Baja California for a scuba diving instruction course later this year) and a $200 fine. In light of Bowes’ acquittal on the civil rights violation, Judge Payne denied the request of Desroches that Bowes be sentenced to attend a “diversity sensitivity program”.

The charges against Bowes stemmed from an onslaught of vicious racial slurs he unleashed at Jason last February. Jason’s dormitory neighbor, Barbara Rutman, was called on Thursday afternoon as a prosecutorial witness, and testified that she heard a male voice outside Jason’s window yell “Your family was slaves” and “I’m gonna whip you”, along with ample usage of the word “nigger.” Other eyewitnesses Ashley Clancy and Lindsay Toper, both of whom were present in Jason’s room when the attack took place, also testified to hearing the word “nigger” again and again from Bowes.

A statement from Committee for Justice for Jason member Joe Mirkin claimed that “A prosecutor who seriously wanted to get the conviction for the civil rights violation would have done a much more thorough and aggressive job than Mr. Desroches did in this trial. We can safely assume that the District Attorney’s office will not present such lackluster arguments in their case against Jason Vassell.” The statement continued to attack the District Attorney’s office for pursuing such a watered down set of charges against Bowes. “To drop the assault and battery charge against Bowes is to completely ignore the fact that after violently intimidating and threatening Jason because of his race, Bowes went on to break his nose and give him a concussion. To me this represents an interest in letting Bowes off so as to better frame up Jason on felony charges of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.”

Jason’s case has been delayed until April 28, at which time a status hearing on a recent discovery order will take place in the Supreme Judicial Court. Northampton, Mass. Read about the case in the Motion to Dismiss, and on the Justice for Jason campaign's website.

John Bowes on Trial, March 12

John Bowes Trial
March 12, 2009 @ 9AM
Belchertown Courthouse
205 State Street, Belchertown, MA

Push the HQ button to watch in high quality. Video by Samm Lyon.

John Bowes is one of two white men who attacked Jason Vassell in his own dormitory on February 3, 2008.
He was originally charged with a civil rights violation ending 'with injury.'
Which the Eastern Hampshire District Court has no jurisdiction over, and he should have been indicted instead by the Superior Court.
When David Hoose, Jason Vassell's lawyers, brought this fact to the attention of Assistant District Attorney Frank Flannery, the Commonwealth moved to strike down the words "with injury," allowing it to be tried in the Eastern Hampshire District.

Striking the words "with injury" from the counts against John Bowes ignores the fact that he threw the first punch on the night of Feb 3, 2008, breaking Jason's nose and forcing him to defend himself against Bowes and Bosse with a pocketknife.

Read the details in the defense's Motion to Dismiss the case based on selective prosecution of Jason based on his race.

Bosse faces no charges.
Bowes faces maximum 4 years for civil rights violations.
Jason faces 30 years in prison for defending himself against a hate crime in his own dorm.

His trial is at 9am
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Belchertown Courthouse
205 State Street
Belchertown, MA 01007

Go and show your support for Jason Vassell.
Go and find out why in this case he will be tried for a civil rights violation, but in Jason Vassell's case he is an innocent victim.
District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel: two cases, two standards, same crime.

Resist Hate! Don Feder at Umass March 11

Come protest Don Feder's speech
"Hate Crimes: It's Not What You Think. Hate Crimes Laws and Other Forms of Censorship: The Left's Assault on Free Speech"
Weds, March 11 @ 7PM
Cape Cod Lounge
Student Union
Umass Amherst
Show your resistance to hate speech.
Stay after the hate talk for a discussion and anti-oppression workshop facilitated by the Coalition Against Hate.

Some quotes from Don Feder--
(from www.donfeder.com)

Alternative lifestyles – Those would be the “lifestyles” that don’t actually generate life but which result in extraordinary levels of sexually transmitted diseases and other social pathologies.

Same-sex unions – A euphemism for homosexual marriage, otherwise known as state-sanctioned sodomy.

Cohabitation – It used to be called shacking up or living in sin.... Cohabiting couples is less jarring than long-term fornicators.

Safe Sex -- Also known as keeping a layer of latex between you and your loved one du jour. It’s the sexual equivalent of buckle-up for safety.... In schools across the land, children are taught the proper method of putting on prophylactics, not intangibles like honor, virtue and decency.

Single mothers – Otherwise known as child abusers.

Just to quote a few...
Read the latest issue of the Republican Club newspaper, the Minuteman, for more college-sanctioned hate speech.

To see another bigot protested in the 5-College Area:
Ryan Sorba is protested by Smith College students in April 2008.


Read "the other side" on Mass Resistance - more good video of the protest!