What motivates people to do something? If you follow the logic of a (satirical) flyer being passed around Atlanta, Georgia, the hope is that by forbidding people from doing something, they’ll do that very thing. What “thing”? Oh—dump trash on the lawn of several known white supremacists. Because as the saying goes, when they go low, we … dump trash?
The flyer, which first went viral on Twitter and has since been reported on by Samira Sadeque at The Daily Dot, claims that people have been dumping trash on properties owned by Sam Dickson and Evan Anderson, both of whom the flyer identifies as white nationalists.
The flyer then goes on to note that the white supremacists don’t have security at these properties, and police can’t always monitor the area … which, ahem, suggests that it may be easier than not to dump trash at these locations. Then, to alleviate any doubt, the flyer lists some properties that Anderson and Dickson allegedly own. But remember, you’re being encouraged “not” to do so!
The flyer bears a stamp that reads “Resurgens Atlanta, GA” but it’s (obviously) not actually approved by the city. The group Midwest Unrest posted the satirical flyer on Monday.
You might be wondering: Who are Anderson and Dickson? And why are they specifically being called out? Interestingly, this isn’t the only time the white nationalist groups they’re associated with have been in the media lately. One example: the group of white supremacists who descended upon a D.C. bookstore just a few days ago. This group has been identified as connected with Identity Evropa, an “alt-right” hate group. The group Atlanta Antifascists identified Anderson as one of Identity Evropa’s leaders.
In addition, Atlanta Antifascists reports that Dickson attended the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dickson, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports, is also a former attorney for the Ku Klux Klan.
While this flyer is, again, satire, it does bring up some ethical questions that have entered our cultural sphere in recent years. Is it okay to punch Nazis? Is it okay to dump trash on the lawn of a white supremacist? Is taking the high road always the right path, or is fighting fire with fire (so to speak) the best move? Those answers really depend on whom you ask.
Oh—and if you’re curious about why the move was dumping garbage in particular, it’s apparently part of a longtime battle for Dickson. Atlanta TV station CBS 46 interviewed Dickson in February, and he complained that there was too much trash in his neighborhood. “They don’t enforce the dumping laws because they don’t get money from someone who dumps this kind of stuff, they get money out of property owners, and the city has no interest in enforcing the dumping laws,” Dickson said. “I would love to see the people perpetrating this to go to jail. As long as they can come here, have the convenience of dumping on my property and not have dump fees they will go on doing it.”
Notably, the station’s coverage doesn’t identify Dickson as a white supremacist. Hmm … maybe the solution is to remove trash from the neighborhood, but not the kind that Dickson is acknowledging.