A firsthand account of Florida’s Nazi…non-problem.

The media has been striving for years to prove there is a severe white supremacist problem in this country. While insisting we are enduring a wave of these stunted thinkers, most often what we get treated to is a meandering gathering of attention whores desperate for notice, and the journalists there to play their role. We get told how unacceptable their message is for the general public, all while outlets continue to deliver their message.

That self-induced press paradox is just the start of the problem. Experiencing these same Nazis in person ends the “problem.”

A few weeks back, there was a tempest in a beer stein when a group of supposed Nazis congregated on a street corner in Orlando. The press enthusiastically reported on the cosplay clodpolls, overinflating their import and influence in order to weave a dramatic narrative. Barely a dozen dolts were elevated to a surging hate movement. Democrat candidate for governor Nikki Fried then scampered in front of cameras to express her outrage; not at the Nazis — but at Governor Ron DeSantis, for not being sufficiently outraged.

Media reports and editorials unraveled from there, impugning DeSantis as a Nazi sympathizer, and detailing in a strained fashion how he was a Trump acolyte and anti-Semite; all of this based on the fact that DeSantis did not say anything in support. To attempt to prove complicity, these journalism professionals have to ignore DeSantis having a lengthy history of Pro-Israel and pro-Jewish positions and legislation. One other thing they need to ignore – the Nazis themselves.

At this weekend’s CPAC conference in Orlando, you had some of the expected protesters, airplane banners, and resistance harpies, but on leaving the convention center Saturday afternoon I spied, on one street corner, a clutch of mewling cranks. Hats, masks, and protest signs were visible, but then I pivoted to look for their group when I saw a Nazi flag. A solitary flag.

The first indication of the “Florida Nazi” narrative derailing is the very fact they were on site protesting the convention. Why would this crowd be here barking about the Republicans, given the claims that the GOP, and the various political leaders, are supposedly sympathetic to their cause?! Unlike the staged tiki torch event at a Glenn Youngkin rally, and the uniformed Patriot Front posers at the March For Life, this was an organic gathering of hate mongers. And they were mad at the Republicans.

They were also notably impotent. This looked like a disconnected clutch of unskilled workers who were rounded up after being spotted huddled behind the Burger King, leeching off the wifi signal. They stood around in desultory fashion, delivering no real message. They seemed to look around, as if unsure what to do or say, leaning on each other to remain stolid. The only indicator of political outrage was a sign one of them was holding up that expressed opposition to the Canadian trucker protest, with the others spending the time milling about and looking uncomfortable. 

As I walked up and made eye contact with a few of them, in the hopes of discussion, I instead received shaky expressions and turned backs. I swung my press credentials around so they could see them, and there was less than any interest from them, as far as I could tell. These were protestors who were upfront with their hate, but hesitant with their message. 

Beyond their PR being SOL, perhaps there was no better illustration of how laughable the claim is that this is a serious blight on Florida society than what I saw when I turned around. About 50 feet away, these nine numbskull Nazis were outnumbered by Orlando police officers, wisely in attendance, standing under the shade of the trees. You got the appearance of dysfunctional outcasts who want to be seen speaking out against authority, but were too timid to speak up.

This is what makes the press megaphones all the more aggravating. Note how we never see interviews with the leaders of these gatherings. Instead, you get selectively-chosen, B-roll images shot on the quick, dramatic intonations about what this all represents, and zero explorations into the group itself. This is because doing so would expose the joke of their movement. The press is desperate to inflate the import of these gatherings because they can then inaccurately use them as a cudgel against Trump/DeSantis/Republicans/conservatives.

It is a neutered effort. Journos insist we are being overtaken by a hateful tidal wave of white supremacy, but need to resort to hysterics to do so. They sell it as the equivalent of stadiums filled with wide-eyed citizens swallowing fascist dogma, when in fact you have a tepid smattering of online course dropouts and part-time busboys dressing up to feel accepted. Telling us to take these cammo-mooks seriously means their reporting — and the media itself — has become a joke.