As it turns out, white lives apparently don’t matter all that much to the League of the South, at least not when your group is going to run into a crowd estimated at 1,000-plus and a platoon of law officers.

After speechifying and talking about how to live by the Golden Rule in Shelbyville on Oct. 28, White Lives Matter rally-criers tucked tail and headed for the woods rather than coming to Murfreesboro as originally announced.

Only about 20 of their supporters entered the fenced-off area around the County Courthouse as hundreds of counter-protesters filled the area on the side of yet another fence in the Public Square streets.

This column often gives a hard time to law enforcement leaders, mainly when they act like 6-year-olds. This time, though, they deserve credit for derailing this debacle before it really materialized. Truth be told, and don’t tell anybody, but I get along with most of the law officers I deal with on a daily basis. Who knows when I might need them on my side, and this was one of those times.

Teams of law enforcement officers from across Rutherford County, the TBI and elsewhere patrolled the entire downtown armed to the teeth and with plenty located in sniper positions too, including the highest point of the Judicial Building under construction.

They ran security checkpoints, too, prohibiting just about everything but car keys and cellphones. The check points might have scared off the League of the South.

In fact, so many counter-protesters showed up that a lot of them never got in before authorities called off the event at 4 p.m. after the League of the South sent out word it wasn’t coming to Murfreesboro after all.

A digital message said they received intel that it was a lawsuit trap or some other sort of nonsense, when, really, local officials bent over backwards to allow them to come and say whatever the hell they wanted.

If you’re getting intel from some of the knuckleheads who showed up in advance, though, it raises some serious questions about your intelligence. Seriously, we’re not dealing with Einstein here. Oops, sorry about that. I think he was a Jew, and there’s no way they’d listen to him.

But anyway, and this is simply a question based on a day of observation: Does membership or support of these groups require people to be unkempt, unshorn and almost toothless? Dental insurance is expensive, and trips to the tooth doctor can be painful, so lack of teeth is understandable. Clean clothes, though, are relatively easy to come by. New ones are available at any Dollar Store or Walmart, and laundromats are located across the nation. It only takes a few quarters to wash and dry.

So if you’re going out to parade as a neo-Confederate, Nazi or skinhead, don’t try to make it look as if the entire human race took a step back more than 200 years—unless you’re trying to play the part of Neanderthal.

Setting New Strategy

In the wake of this farce, look for the Murfreesboro City Council and Rutherford County Commission to enact new policies regulating marches and protests.

They have no choice, considering these morons could seek a permit to rally here every week, effectively abusing the First Amendment to hold hostage Murfreesboro’s economy and turn it into a ghost town.

Make no mistake, they have the right to free speech, although the First Amendment clearly states Congress shall make no law prohibiting “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”

Anyone who has seen video of other marches and rallies involving the League of the South, neo-Nazis and other organizations described as white supremacist groups would recognize they aren’t always holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.”

Unfortunately, Murfreesboro and Rutherford County governments weren’t prepared for this type of event. They’re accustomed to local groups holding somewhat peaceful rallies and political speeches in front of the County Courthouse, not hate-filled b.s. that threatens to take our nation back 250 years.

Consequently, they had to tread lightly to ensure they covered their legal rear-ends and could abide by the Constitution and still put on a massive security detail that turned the downtown into a military encampment and allowed law enforcement officers to run metal checkpoints and prohibit anything that could be used as a weapon.

Next time, expect them to be ready for this mess and designate a place for people to hold rallies. A good spot would be the field in front of the sheriff’s office at 940 New Salem Highway. Then authorities could cut the distance they’d need to haul these people when they cart them off to jail.

Better yet: If someone seeks a rally permit and doesn’t show up, they should forfeit any future attempts to rally. No-show means a no-go.

A Tired Argument

In the days leading up to the Public Square protest, a lot of people accused the anti-fascist group Antifa of coming to stir up trouble, too, more or less accusing them of causing these problems. While Antifa is said to be a communist or socialist group bent on confronting white supremacists with violent action, blaming them for the problem is about like blaming the kid who beats up a playground bully.

Without groups such as League of the South initiating these goofy gatherings, Antifa wouldn’t come to town.

Murfreesboro and Rutherford County just didn’t have the rules in place to handcuff this kind of rally. Who would have thought they’d try to come here?

But this is what you get when the president of the United States gives tacit approval for them to wreak havoc. In the wake of the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Donald Trump gave so many conflicting statements, placing blame on and excusing some on both sides, it took a scorecard to keep up with what he said.

But saying there were “good people” among those rallying for white supremacy is simply bad judgment. Since when do “good people” carry torches with neo-Nazis and white supremacists? The answer is: Since the Ku Klux Klan started trying to keep the Civil War going 150 years ago to beat down all those folks who would gain new rights under a new system of laws.

For someone who’s supposed to know how to run the economy, Trump is awfully silent about these rallies, which forced downtown businesses to close and required hundreds of law enforcement officers to work all night and all day.

Notably, though, as people boarded up buildings Friday around the Square, many people stopped to write things on the plywood such as “Murfreesboro Loves” and “Love Love Love.”

City Hall Turnover

Durr

Just a few months after Murfreesboro Human Resources Director Glen Godwin turned persona non grata, Murfreesboro Police Chief Karl Durr resigned suddenly on Oct. 20.

Durr had barely gotten his chair warm at police headquarters, leaving 18 months after City Manager Rob Lyons hired him. Lyons and other city officials declined to comment in the days after Durr left, but either he couldn’t get along with anybody or he got involved in some sort of questionable activity. People don’t just leave positions such as police chief for no reason.

The remaining question, though, is whether the City Council will show Lyons the door. Mayor Shane McFarland expects to start drilling down into the reasons for Durr’s departure, as well as the leadership at the top of the city’s totem pole, which lies in the hands of Lyons.

In recent interviews, council members kept using the word “trust” when talking about Lyons, leading one to believe they are losing “trust” in him. But considering they gave him a decent job evaluation in September and a $5,000 raise, you have to wonder when that “trust” started to erode.