The Silent Majority

Over Mother’s Day weekend I attended the 2023 Fiesta Asia Street Fair in Washington, DC. It was a mosaic of wonderful music, dancing, art, and food. Afterwards, I was walking along Constitution Avenue close to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. That’s when I heard drums.

Looking around, I noticed a parade of approximately 80 white men dressed in little boy sailor suits. They were banging on drums and waving banners that read RECLAIM AMERICA. When they got close, I could read the blue lettering on their white caps: NAMBI, which stands for National Association of Man-Boys & Incels – a neo-Nazi, white supremacist group. They were surrounded by police officers balancing on road bikes.

Curious, I started walking next to one of the marchers and introduced myself. “Are you related to Jim Crow?” he asked.

“No.”

“That’s a shame. He’s our favorite founding father.”

“Who are you trying to reclaim America from?”

“Anyone who isn’t 100% white, 100% Christian, and 100% performatively-Alpha male.”

“Is anyone in America 100% anything?”

“That’s why we need to act now. Before it’s too late.”

“Are you disappointed no one has come out to support you?”

“Not at all. We know the majority of people support us. They’re just silent.”

“Have you thought they might be silent because they disagree with you?”

“I didn’t get here by having thoughts.””

“Do you find it funny that every police officer here protecting you is black?”

“As far as I know, NAMBIs don’t have a sense of humor. So, no, I don’t find that funny.”

“When you say reclaim America, what do you mean?”

“Go back to the way things used to be.”

“How far back is that? Like, does that mean going back to the days of slavery?”

“No. Don’t be ridiculous. We’re just trying to stop the erosion of de facto segregation. Once we do that, we can work on bringing back de jure segregation. But let me be clear – no one, and I mean no one, is trying to bring back slavery. Yet.”

Saffron Crow, Parade Reporter