Listening in the crowd was Faizan Syed, the director of the Missouri chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations. Before the meeting, he'd joined the dozens of protesters outside the auditorium to deliver his own message — that anti-Muslim memes and messages aren't "conversation." They aren't excusable.
And, Syed notes during an interview, people who have been exposed for sharing racist messages never seem to want to apologize.
"What kind of conversation is [Heyen] trying to start? That our community would be better without Muslims?" Syed says. "That's the real conversation."