Corgan said he remembered growing up in “a liberal Democratically leaning Chicago that was about tolerance”, and not “shut it down because it’s unpleasant”, citing a 1978 Klan march in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Skokie, Illinois, near where he grew up.
“We may not like it,” he said, “but it’s better to have an America where these idiots get to walk down the street and spout their hate.”
The march Corgan was probably referring to, which was actually planned by neo-Nazis, not Klansmen, initiated a protracted legal battle that went all the way to the state supreme court, but wasn’t much of a march at all. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, about 20 neo-Nazis appeared for about 10 minutes before being shouted down by counter-protesters and going home.
So there was a real story at the root of the Illinois Nazi Party?
“. . . there was a real story at the root . . .”
Yes. True.
Skokie was a place where, for some reason, many death camp survivors happened to settle upon moving to the US. That was the very reason the US Nazi Party chose Skokie for their parade.
My college roomie in the late-60’s married a girl from Skokie. Her parents, wonderful people, always wore long-sleeved clothing, even in the hot Chicago summers. They were self-conscious of their tattoos.
That was less than 25 years after their liberation. I wasn’t yet 25 years old, so it seemed to me then, far in the past. Strangeky the older I get the closer it seems.
“We may not like it,” he said, “but it’s better to have an America where these idiots get to walk down the street and spout their hate.”
Such sentiments seem as historically remote as Nazi death camps.
It was the ACLU that fought for freedom of expression in the case. It divides people who claim to support freedom of expression.
Never much liked the Pumpkins’ music but Corgan himself seems pretty sound on this at least (Alex Jones is a nutter in general, mind).
I wouldn’t call Skokie the root of the Illinois NAZI party as they had existed well before this incident. It is safe to say it was one of the most important moments in the party’s history.
Compare the ACLU, back in the days when it was worth something, with Britain’s nearest equivalent – the Cable Street riots. The Met actually tried to defend the British Union of Fascists right to march. The Hard Left tried to stop them.
Educated British people have consistently supported the Hard Left’s intolerance ever since. We have a monument to the rioters but not to the police. See also Blair Peach.
Apropos of this, The Blues Brothers is starting in 20 minutes on Dave. And 80 minutes on Dave ja vu.