A couple of people had emailed me on Thursday, obviously concerned about two planned ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest events planned for downtown Pagosa Springs on Friday June 5 and Saturday, June 6. Their concern may have been related to Facebook rumors spread by County Commissioner candidate Nate Berman and others, indicating that “ANTIFA” — a decentralized anti-fascist collective — was planning to infiltrate the Pagosa events with the intention of promoting destructive actions.
I personally found this development unsettling — this spreading of false news — not least because I had shared a pleasant coffee meeting with Mr. Berman a few days earlier and had published an opinion article, written by him, in the Daily Post last week.
The racial justice protest had been organized, not by outside agitators or extremists, but by recent Pagosa Springs High School graduate Noa Book and several friends. Although a small number of self-appointed “militia” members turned up on Friday brandishing firearms, the events came off without any damage to public or private property, and without any physical violence.
Following the two peaceful protest events, Mr. Berman provided an apology for the Daily Post to publish, which can be found at the end of this article.
Here are some initial scenes from the two afternoons of local political action. The events began with the protesters chanting and waving to the passing traffic at Bell Tower Park, in the heart of downtown, and then marching along Main Street — aka Highway 160 — to the east end of town, and then gathering in Town Park for a ceremony. I will share Part Two of the video tomorrow.
Although the racial justice protests have spread from Minneapolis across the US and indeed around the globe and have involved, in some cases, unnecessarily violent actions by both police and protesters, I didn’t expect to see any such protest take place in small-town Pagosa Springs, nor would I have expected more than 100 citizens of all ages, from this generally politically-conservative community, to show up and participate. Nor would I have expected encouragement — gifts of bottled water — from certain business owners.
I suppose the appearance of a small group of armed “local militia” members was not surprising, considering the Pagosa rumor mill. Fortunately, our local Pagosa Springs Police Department and our Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office supervised the event, from a respectful distance, and no doubt helped to keep things as peaceful as possible.
Here is Mr. Berman’s apology.
“I would like to apologize to members of our community for the tension they may have felt when I suggested that peace loving citizens should prepare themselves for the possibility of malicious actors hijacking the recent youth [Black Lives Matter] protest. In the current climate, especially in the wake of the shooting in Alamosa at the protest the day before, and with the devastation we’ve seen in our state capital, I just wanted to ensure that our community is alert and safeguarded from any similar situation. As a veteran, I have been instilled with an understanding that there is no higher duty of society than defending the lives of our neighbors and the common citizenry, and I wanted to do my part in keeping our protestors safe. Again, to anyone who felt upset, or threatened by these ideas, I sincerely apologize.”
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.