Dover council resolution condemns hate amid neo-Nazi activity. Some say it isn't enough.

DOVER — The City Council made a statement Wednesday night, unanimously condemning “bigotry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and xenophobia in the strongest possible terms.”

The resolution came in response to recruitment flyers a neo-Nazi group has distributed in several Seacoast communities, including Dover. The group is known as the Nationalist Social Club. The Anti-Defamation League says the group “espouses racism, antisemitism and intolerance” online and through graffiti and other propaganda. Its members "see themselves as soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race.”

A few local business owners reported being targeted by the group, due to their participation and promotion of an anti-hate rally held in Kittery, Maine, last weekend denouncing the neo-Nazis, who had gathered in Kittery with a white superemacist sign a week earlier.

'We need more people to speak up': Kittery rally stands against spread of hate on Seacoast

Jocelyn Toffic, business owner of Avalon North in Dover, and other business owners like Deb Simmons, owner of Cake Vegan Bakery, told Foster’s Daily Democrat after the meeting they’ve received threatening phone calls, and other threats from the group. They said personal information, including their home addresses, were shared online among neo-Nazis, and their businesses received an influx of negative reviews, a tactic known as review bombing.

When Ward 2 City Councilor Robert Hinkel proposed the resolution, he said he felt called to take action. Hinkel said that it is meant to be a “statement that reaffirms Dover as an inclusive community.”

“This is a resolution to declare in response to recent white supremacists activity that happened in communities across the Seacoast, across the state and here in Dover,” Hinkel said. “We have to stand up right here and right now ... (Dover) is deeply committed to inclusion and diversity.”

Hinkel said ignoring the recent events would undermine ongoing efforts by the city’s committee on Racial Equity and Inclusion.

“If we don’t take a stand when these things happen, then the efforts we’ve made so far are hollow promises,” Hinkel said. “We can't wait until this manifests into actual violence before we say something about it.”

A citizens petition signed by more than 100 residents in support of Hinkel's resolution was presented to the council Wednesday night.

The resolution is one of the city’s latest efforts to become increasingly inclusive and responsive to the needs and treatment of historically underrepresented and underserved communities, particularly communities of color, immigrants, and refugees.

What does the resolution say?

Mayor Bob Carrier called it a “good faith resolution,” noting that the city does not want to suppress freedom of speech, but there comes a time to “stand up and say ‘that’s not right.’”

The resolution states that “recent racial and religious supremacist activity has occurred in Dover, New Hampshire and elsewhere with the intent to foment hatred and incite fear, intimidation, and the threat of violence,” and that “fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all people, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or place of origin, is a core value and priority of the City of Dover.”

“The resolution is kind of broad for a reason, so it doesn’t call out attention to any specific or direct actions that occurred in Dover or a specific group that did it," Hinkel said. "I felt like it needed to be done and ignoring it would be ignoring the groups that are being targeted by the hatred, which could send a message that we don't care, or even worse, that this is OK.”

The resolution also urges members of the public, including public officials, to “confront the reality of bigotry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and xenophobia, as well as the historical struggles against them.”

The resolution is sending a similar message as the city’s “hate has no home here” signs that were suggested after regional and national attacks on Asian American individuals.

Councilors Debra Hackett, Deborah Thibodeaux, Linnea Nemeth, Lindsey Williams, Dennis Shanahan and Michelle Muffett-Lipinski shared similar comments in support of the resolution, noting its importance.

“These are not things that we can just ignore,” Thibodeaux said. “This is something we have to take a stand on.”

Residents urge specific anti-Nazi language

Several residents and business owners spoke in favor of the resolution, specifying it’s about standing up against the current neo-Nazi presence in New England.

Toffic, the Avalon North business owner, said she hopes to see other businesses join together to vocalize explicit anti-neo-Nazi sentiment, because those that have so far, have become targets and feel alone in the fight. She said the neo-Nazi group is targeting northern New England because of its largely white population.

"They want this to be the new white homeland.  ... That is explicit. Nazis aren't complicated," Toffic said. "They want two things. They want white people to be complicit or afraid to speak up, which is the same as being complicit. They also want families of color to be afraid to live here.  ... So when people are silent and people don't speak up, (the neo-Nazis) have already won."

Several residents said it may start with recruitment flyers, but worry about what happens if it escalates or when it becomes more prevalent in Dover.

One resident said the resolution is too broad, adding it’s not the job of the council to be “the moral compass” of the community.

Cora Quisumbing-King, a member of the city’s committee for Racial Equity and Inclusion, said "being a welcoming city doesn’t mean we welcome white supremacy."

“We shouldn’t welcome those who choose to divide us,” Quisumbing-King said, urging that residents and city councilors become ambassadors of the resolution to show what it “truly means to be a welcoming city.”

Resident and business owner Ash Seeliger said it’s not about just doing the right thing, “it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons.”

“There's a phrase that I hear a lot in protest movements: 'Hate has no home here.' At surface level it's great and everyone can understand what it means. It's a great slogan, but it's not enough,” Seeliger said. “It’s not just hate that we're dealing with. White supremacist and anti-Semitic organizations are what we are dealing with.”

Resident Jeremiah Dickinson said that he first learned about the neo-Nazi recruitment flyers when his daughter was visiting and discovered one on the ground while walking her dog.

“That's not the kind of image we want to present for Dover. That image is one much more out of ignorance and fear,” Dickinson said. “We really want to present a picture of Dover that is inclusive, that welcomes diversity, that is a place where everyone has a place in.”

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH council condemns hate amid neo-Nazi activity locally