What would happen if counterprotesters didn’t show up to the white nationalist rallies planned in San Francisco and Berkeley later this month?

What if the racists masquerading as guardians of free speech were left with just themselves to talk to?

What if their shields, helmets, bats and flags didn’t see battle on the field?

It happened in late April after Ann Coulter backed out of delivering her hate speech at UC Berkeley. The protesters, many of them supporters of the president, came to Civic Center Park ready to brawl, but instead were left standing around posing for selfies and talking about the custom paint jobs on their armor.

The most heated debate was about where to eat lunch.

The troops got bored. But their thirst for war was so great that they almost marched against students, briefly mistaken for anarchists, leaving Berkeley High School to go home.

With nobody to fight, the “free speech patriots” went home.

Make no mistake, after what happened in Charlottesville, Va., they’ll be expecting combat here. They’ll be ready to dodge fists, smoke bombs, flash grenades and glass bottles.

And they’ll be prepared to return fire.

Just look at the comment thread on the Facebook event page for the Berkeley rally titled “No to Marxism in America.” It’s being hailed as the “Battle of Berkeley 3,” following two spring melees in the park that turned bloody on March 4 and April 15.

“I bought a pair of steel-toe work boots for my birthday. They’ll come in handy,” one man wrote.

A man in from Phoenix cited the advantages of local weather for smuggling “equipment” into the park.

“The average high in August is 74 degrees,” he wrote. “This means wearing sweaters or jackets might be doable, which would help concealing armor or equipment.”

This is real, America.

In Charlottesville over the weekend, a car that barreled into a crowd of counterprotesters was allegedly driven by a suspected neo-Nazi. One woman, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed and 19 people were hurt.

It’s in this highly tense atmosphere that the groups have called for rallies — supposedly for prayer and free speech — in San Francisco and Berkeley.

They’re hoping you and I show up to give them what they want — a violent confrontation.

They want to be able to say their right to free speech is being squashed by antifascists, by Black Lives Matter, by you.

They want the black eyes and scraped skin, because battle scars are a source of pride to brag about online.

They don’t want us to focus on their hateful message, because they know a vast majority of people don’t want to hear it. They want people to believe that their rights to free speech and prayer are being trampled on by a bunch of left-wing nuts.

They’re trolling for hits, not likes — and punching them in the face isn’t going to change their minds. They’ll simply feel more empowered because you’ll help them illustrate their narrative that liberals have lost their minds.

Don’t give them the attention they’re seeking.

There are other ways to protest hate that don’t involve physically beating or shaming racists. Challenge the “facts” white supremacists cite on their websites to indoctrinate the masses. Participate in peaceful demonstrations like the Women’s March, which is still the most sure-footed protest of the president that I’ve seen. And call out the politicians and financiers who made it possible for the country to elect the bigot who is a walking representation of the culture and country white nationalists want.

You don’t even have to go to these rallies to see what hate looks like. It’s right there in the White House, the source of the hate rhetoric that gave rise to the civil unrest, distrust and violence among Americans we see today.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr