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@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas I get what you're trying to say, but you're missing the point of how dogwhistles work, and the INHERENT violence of fascists and white supremacists. Sorry for the thread but this is important to understand & I don't think you're trolling but actually thinking this over. 1/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas Fascists don't have to hold a swastika flag in order to make the people around him feel threatened. If you're queer or a POC & the guy next to you who is clearly 5 beers deep has visible neo-nazi tattoos, you feel unsafe regardless of whether he's taken a swing at you or not. 2/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas So neo-nazis start showing up at NYCFC matches. They're not holding swastika banners, but their very presence makes the rest of the supporters feel unsafe. The supporters beg the FO & the league to do something to remove them, to keep the stands safe for everyone. 3/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas But instead their FO says they don't believe it's a problem, and Garber says “our job is not to judge and profile any fan.” THAT is the first dogwhistle. Dogwhistles sound innocent on the surface to the general population, but have a hidden meaning for specific listeners. 4/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas In this case, it dogwhistles to neo-nazis that MLS doesn't mind if they're in the stands making others feel unsafe as long as they spend $ and don't hold signs. It says "your money is green too, you're welcome to attend matches, & we don't care if that makes other fans unsafe" 5/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas Then the VERY NEXT thing the league does is turn to the LEFTISTS in the stands and say, "YOUR speech is associated with violence, so it's banned." Think about that. Not only are nazis welcome, the league is happy to silence anyone who might make nazis uncomfortable. 6/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas The results? The leftists marching to the match in Seattle wearing the banned image on their shirts are met outside the stadium by a band of fascists who didn't give 2 shits about MLS before Garber's dogwhistles, and are violently assaulted on video. 7/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas MLS does nothing bc that's how dogwhistles work! They can claim it didn't "directly lead to" violence bc 'it isn't THEIR fault if the nazis read between the lines! And if the anti-nazi people had just shut up like they were asked to, this wouldn't have happened!' 8/
@RealMattSears @Ryan_Reilly78 @mlsrumors @FOXSoccer @AlexiLalas That's the problem. They set an arbitrary & specific rule, then only enforced it against 1 side. "Politics" can mean whatever they decide it means, and "on displays" de facto targets the side that uses displays, not the side that uses dogwhistles like tats & hand signals. 9/9
