Although there were solemn events marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks across the Tampa Bay area on Tuesday, the sidewalk scuffle in front of the Hillsborough County School Board was not one of them.
Liberal activists crowded the area just minutes before a press conference hosted by Terry Kemple and a dozen other speakers. Kemple, a candidate for the school board this fall, has led the campaign against allowing members of the Council on American Islamic Relations to speak in the schools, after Hassan Shibly from the Tampa branch of the group spoke at Steinbrenner High last year.
But moments before their press conference was to take place, about two dozen activists who had gathered at Lykes Gaslight Park several blocks away assembled to confront the anti-CAIR speakers, chanting "No fear, no hate!" and setting off about ten minutes of angry and intense exchanges between members of the two groups.
"This is what happens when the Left doesn't like what we've got to say," said Dr. Richard Swier to local activist Kelly Benjamin, who replied, "No, no, no. This is what happens when the Right tries to discriminate against people in this country."
"Are you bullying us!" Swier then called out, then looked at a peace sign and asked if it was "an anti-Christian symbol." Various other angry exchanges with people pressed up against each other continued for several minutes until the formal news conference began. Speakers included current School Board member Stacy White, who said no group has an inherent right to speak in Hillsborough classrooms.
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.