Super Happy Fun America (SHFA) is a
-based
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
political organization. SHFA and its leaders are known for their ties to
white nationalism
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
and the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
,
and the organization has been described by ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' as a
front
Front may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film
* ''The Front'', 1976 film
Music
* The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
for the far-right organization
Resist Marxism.
The group first became known for organizing the
2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade, a parade which attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counterprotesters. In addition to rallying in support of "
straight pride
''Straight pride'' is a slogan that arose in the 1980s and early 1990s that has primarily been used by social conservatives as a political stance and strategy. The term is described as a response to ''gay pride'' adopted by various groups (later ...
", the group has opposed
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
prevention measures,
vaccine mandates
A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by State or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or s ...
, and
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
.
History
Super Happy Fun America is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2019 by John Hugo, Mark Sahady, and Samson Racioppi.
The president of the organization is John Hugo, a former congressional candidate who in 2018 unsuccessfully ran for election to represent
Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District.
According to Hugo, the organization's name was chosen to force journalists to repeat the absurd phrase in their reporting.
Views
SHFA was created around the idea that
straight people
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
are an "oppressed majority".
The group also holds broadly right-wing or far-right stances on various topics.
They have opposed COVID-19 prevention measures like stay-at-home advisories and business closures, as well as COVID-19
vaccine mandates
A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by State or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or s ...
and requiring proof of vaccination.
The group has rallied in support of law enforcement and in opposition to the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement.
SHFA members have opposed the teaching about racism in schools, with Hugo saying that he believes racism is no longer a problem in America. SHFA opposes
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. Members of the group also believe that Democrats and leftists are plotting to implement
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
in the United States, with a goal of oppressing conservatives.
Far-right and white nationalist ties
Super Happy Fun America has links to white nationalist individuals and organizations.
The organization has been said to
dog whistle
A dog whistle (also known as silent whistle or Galton's whistle) is a type of whistle that emits sound in the ultrasonic range, which humans cannot hear but some other animals can, including dogs and domestic cats, and is used in their training ...
white nationalists and
alt-rightists, utilizing terms such as "
western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
" and relating them not only to
heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
but to
Caucasians and
traditional values
Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which society should adhere ...
.
The group has occasionally allied with the far-right
Proud Boys
The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right:
*
*
Fascist:
*
*
*
*
*
Men only:
*
*
*
Political violence:
*
*
* It has ...
organization.
Extremism researchers described SHFA in February 2021 as a gateway to the far-right that "offer
people a socially acceptable entry point into extremism".
The organization has publicly stated it opposes white nationalists and neo-Nazis, though researchers and journalists have cast doubt on the sincerity of these denouncements.
Many members of SHFA came from the now-defunct Resist Marxism, a far-right organization founded by
Kyle Chapman.
Some members of Resist Marxism were previously known for organizing the controversial
2017 Boston Free Speech Rally.
Two of SHFA's founders, Mark Sahady and Samson Racioppi, were organizers for Resist Marxism; the third founder, John Hugo, was endorsed by Resist Marxism during his 2018 Congressional campaign.
Following bad publicity stemming from the revelation of internal conversations showing the group using racist and
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
slurs and rhetoric, and fantasizing about attacking leftist activists, Resist Marxism disbanded.
SHFA has been described by ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' as a "front" for Resist Marxism.
Activities
2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade
Super Happy Fun America organized the August 31, 2019
Straight Pride Parade in Boston, Massachusetts, an event they described as "a response to the '
identity politics
Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...
' of the left."
The event attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counterprotesters, who vastly outnumbered participants of the parade.
Thirty-four counterprotesters were arrested at the event. Boston city councilor
Michelle Wu
Michelle Wu ( zh, t=吳弭, first=t; born January 14, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the mayor of Boston, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts since 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
suggested that police tactics and choice of equipment raised tensions between police and counterprotesters.
On February 22, 2020, SHFA held a rally outside of the Boston Police headquarters. Organizers said the rally was intended to thank police for arresting counterprotesters at the August 2019 parade, and to show support for a recent deployment of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
immigration officers to Boston. The rally was again outnumbered by counterprotesters, who said they wished to expose SHFA's ties with white nationalism. The rally ended two hours before schedule, and no arrests were made.
Protests in Washington, D.C. and the 2021 United States Capitol attack
In late 2020, following the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
, SHFA twice chartered buses to Washington, D.C. to protest what they believed to be a stolen election.
SHFA once again chartered six buses to bring around 300 people to the United States Capitol for the
January 6 Donald Trump rally, which precipitated the
Capitol attack later that day.
One person who had ridden on the SHFA bus was arrested on January 6, though SHFA leaders said they did not know him.
Two members of SHFA were subsequently arrested and charged with federal
trespassing
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
and
disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...
in relation to the attack, including SHFA cofounder and vice president Mark Sahady.
Sahady later said he lost his software engineering job in backlash following the attack.
Other activities
SHFA named themselves as one of the hosts of the "Liberty Rally", an
anti-lockdown protest held at the
Massachusetts State House
The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...
on May 4, 2020. The several hundred protesters who participated gathered to call for an end to the
stay-at-home advisory and business closures that had been implemented to try to slow the spread of
COVID-19 in Massachusetts. Protesters largely ignored physical distancing guidelines to stand six feet apart and to cover their noses and mouths.
SHFA organized another rally at the State House in June, which was intended to show support to law enforcement and opposition to
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
.
On November 7, 2021, SHFA organized a rally at the
Boston Common
The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beacon ...
to show their opposition to "
vaccine passports, unconstitutional
mandates, and massive layoffs". They were met with a larger counterprotest, and the events were met with heavy presence of police in riot gear.
A person driving a van rented by SHFA drove through police barricades during the event. No one was hit, and police subsequently apprehended the driver. Due to safety concerns, police ended the event early.
See also
*
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
References
External links
*
* {{Cite AV media, url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/video/2021/02/21/metro/politics/the-history-of-super-happy-fun-america-in-boston/, title=The history of Super Happy Fun America in Boston, date=February 21, 2021, last=Lum, first=Shelby, type=Video, publisher=
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
2019 establishments in Massachusetts
2019 in American politics
Organizations established in 2019
Political organizations based in the United States
White nationalism in the United States