For Those Of You With A Lot Of Time On Your Hands

Considering all of the recent attention given to the National Alliance on this page, perhaps it would be appropriate for me to direct you to my lengthy, excruciatingly detailed examination of William Pierce, founder of the NA. This piece was written a while back, and doesn’t cover all of the recent developments within the group. Having said that, it’s still a useful exploration of the beliefs of a man who was probably the biggest single influence on American white supremacist thinking in the last forty years.

No Sympathy for the Devil

Protestant fundamentalists in the United States have always needed scapegoats, physical manifestations of evil that could be used to terrify and motivate the faithful. In the good old days, witches served the purpose well. In these comparatively more reasonable times, less supernatural targets were needed. Communists, feminists, blacks, and liberals in general have served this role at various times. Over the last decade, a new scapegoat has emerged as a potent symbol of Satan’s power: gays and lesbians. An easier target could hardly be imagined: homosexuals comprise less than 5% of the population, and hold even less political power than African-Americans. The Southern Poverty Law Center has issued an excellent report on the subject. I recommend reading it if you would like try to understand the mindset of a person who considers the private sex lives of American citizens to be a threat to the survival of the republic.

Sometimes Democracy Doesn’t Work

Here’s an interesting article on the ongoing attempt by white supremacists to take over the Sons of Confederate Veterans. If successful, it will change the group from a historical association made up of descendants of Confederate veterans to the largest white power organization in the country. The Sierra Club fended off a similar attempt last year. This is illustrative of the problems non-profit groups like these can experience when they are run on a democratic model. It’s easy for extremist groups to have their supporters join the targeted non-profit en masse, and then put forward some of these new members as candidates for leadership positions. If the non-profit’s rank-and-file members do not vote in large enough numbers in the leadership election (as they are apt not to), then the infiltrators can win, gaining power over both the non-profit’s name and bank account. It makes me wonder if these organizations might not be better served by a system that sacrifices some of its democratic elements for more internal stability.

Non-Profit Terrorists?

A conservative think tank has given testimony to the Senate alleging that both PETA and the American Humane Society have been providing material aid to the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The evidence given against the Humane Society seems pretty sketchy; they apparently hosted a website that sometimes posted communiqués from the ALF. The charges against PETA are a bit more serious, and involve providing defense funds for an ALF arsonist as well as direct donations to the ELF. These charges are far from new; last year Penn and Teller devoted an episode of their cable TV show “Bullsh*t” to PETA’s scary activities, including their financial support of the ALF. It is interesting to note that if the ALF and ELF were ever to be placed on the U.S. government’s official terrorist group list (as some would like), it would become illegal to donate money to or in any other way support these groups. Such a step has never been taken in recent times, and its effects on political discourse in this country would be tremendous.

The National Alliance Soap Opera Continues

Attacks against what’s left of the once mighty National Alliance continue to mount within the white supremacist movement. Resistance Records (the oi music label owned by the NA) has created a new section on their webpage dedicated exclusively to refuting this online guttersnipe. You know things are getting bad when you see a NA official posting messages like this:

Erika Gliebe [wife of former NA chairman Erich Gliebe] is NOT and has NEVER been on payroll.
Erika Gliebe has NOT and has NEVER danced for n*gger basketball players or worshipped Satan, or has ever been a prostitute.
Erich Gliebe is NOT and has NEVER been a thief.
Shaun Walker [current NA chairman] is NOT and would NEVER over-charge members dues money.
Get your facts straight before you waste an hour of your day posting your lies, VNN!!!! Or are you getting paid to post these lies?

This section also contains lots of attacks on Kevin Strom, leader of the latest NA splinter group, National Vanguard. Among the accusations is that Strom’s marrying a woman of low genetic quality led to his son being born with autism. Nice.
It seems that many local NA chapters are unsure of how to deal with this mess.The St. Louis chapter of the NA, led by Aaron Collins, is one of the most active in the nation. Their website contains links to both Strom’s National Vanguard site and Resistance Records. They still refer to themselves as a NA chapter, but their e-mail address is NatVan_STL@Hotmail.com. Given the venom being spewed between Strom and the NA leadership, it is unlikely that Collins and other NA members like him will be able to fence-sit for much longer.

FBI Vs. ELF

Officials from the FBI and ATF recently described eco-terrorism as being one of the greatest internal security threats to the US. They mentioned the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) in particular as dangerous groups. I suppose this may be proper, given the increasing militancy and occasional calls for violence one finds in radical environmentalist circles. But I have to wonder if they’re really as dangerous as, say, far right groups like the Hammerskin Nation and the Army of God, both of which have been implicated in several murders. Neither of those groups were mentioned in the media coverage of the recent testimony. I’ll try not to slip into paranoid leftist thinking here, but I’ll note that both the ELF and ALF inflict serious economic damage on corporate entities, and have therefore targeted with extreme prejudice by law enforcement agencies. The Hammerskin Nation and the Army of God, on the other hand, only kill people.

Why Hate Crime Laws Are A Bad Idea

You know, I used to be vaguely supportive of hate crime laws. Sure, there were already laws in place to punish people who burned crosses on people’s yard’s, beat up minorities, and generally acted like racist as*holes. But if you can throw said as*holes behind bars for an extra few years, why not? Then I read about this case. From what I can tell, the guy walked into his neighbor’s apartment, insulted him with a racial slur, then left. And for this he’s facing a felony? The man is not being charged for what he did, but what he said. That, my friends, is bullsh*t. I’m not saying the guy shouldn’t face a trespassing charge. But serious jail time? It’s a very small step from this to prosecuting a white power person for making a racist speech, or even publishing a racist website. And even though most of us despise the neo-Nazis out there, I say that political discourse suffers when we are not exposed to all political thought, even the stuff we find offensive.

The Art of Propaganda

White Revolution, led by Billy Roper, is unusual among white power groups in that it tries to act as an umbrella organization within the movement, attempting to unite its sometimes antagonistic factions behind a common cause. Thus far, Roper (a former big shot with the National Alliance) seems to have had little luck, and his rallies usually only draw 15-20 people. This lack of success may explain Roper’s rather desperate-looking decision to hold a protest outside of a memorial being held for victims of the Holocaust. Of course Roper claims that this is just his way of bringing attention to the “fact” that there was no organized effort by Nazi Germany to exterminate Jews. More likely, he’s fallen into a mindset that is depressingly common among extremists, that being “there is no such thing as bad publicity.” You hear the same thing from anarchists, who claim that sensationalist news images of then vandalizing Starbucks are useful in that it gets people to “think about the issues involved”. What both sides here fail to understand is that Americans as a whole are pretty politically apathetic, and view TV news as a source of entertainment rather than political insight. And even those who might be receptive to your message are likely to be turned off by the thuggish behavior of the anarchists and the sheer offensiveness of White Revolution’s protest. To appeal to Americans, you’ve got to explain what’s in it for them. Currently, White Revolution seems to have little to offer.

Pat, You Loveable Fascist!

Pat Buchanan has been doing what he does best lately, namely pissing people off. His last two online columns have put forth a rather controversial question: Was World War II worth it? (His answer, for those of you who can’t guess, is no.) Admittedly, Buchanan makes a good point when he describes the Western Allies’ betrayal of Eastern Europe to the Soviets. More difficult to agree with are statements like this:

If the objective of the West was the destruction of Nazi Germany, it was a "smashing" success. But why destroy Hitler? If to liberate Germans, it was not worth it. After all, the Germans voted Hitler in…If it was to keep Hitler out of Central and Eastern Europe, then, inevitably, Stalin would inherit Central and Eastern Europe.

So Eastern Europeans would have been better off under the Nazis? And what about all of the Jews and gypsies? Oh, never mind. These columns are not a great shock for those of us who have followed Buchanan’s career; his racist leanings have been evident for quite some time. What is surprising is that a man with such obvious pro-Nazi attitudes is welcomed as a talk show panel member by both NBC and PBS.

A Confederacy of Dunces

Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan, head of the black supremacist Nation of Islam, has called for a new march on Washington. This time he’s calling it the Millions More Movement, and has chosen to allow women to participate this time. How progressive of him. The ADL is not impressed. Farrakhan has enlisted the help of several other prominent African American activists for this project, including Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Malik Zulu Shabazz, founder of the New Black Panther Party. I imagine that the conference call between the four men must have been interesting:

Farrakhan: So, seeing as how I’m Allah’s prophet on earth, I think I should be the guy who makes the keynote address.

Al Sharpton
Sharpton: Hold up there, Lou.
Farrakhan: What?
Sharpton: Well, you know we all love ‘ya, what with you helping to get rid of Malcolm X and clearing the way for the rest of us. But there are some problems with your image.
Farrakhan: Such as?
Sharpton: Well, there’s your anti-Semitism.
Farrakhan: So what? That’s hardly a fatal offense for a black leader! Even Jesse referred New York City as “Hymietown” once!

Jesse Jackson
Jackson: Hey, I apologized for that. And anyway, that’s not the only thing. What about all that crazy stuff with you claiming that white people are the result of genetic experiments carried out by a mad scientist named Yacub? Or that you were taken up into a UFO mothership and given the inspiration for the Million Man March? Or for that matter, your total perversion of Islam as a religion?
Farrakhan: Guys, I’m feeling much better now. I promise it won’t be a problem.
Sharpton: All the same Lou, I think we should present a leader who’s a bit more media
savvy. Like, for instance, me.

Malik Zulu Shabazz
Shabazz: I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. After all Al, you are a convicted liar.
Sharpton: Well, who would you suggest? You?
Shabazz: Yeah me.
Sharpton: OK, mister “I’m more anti-Semitic than David Duke.”
Jackson: And I heard that Bobby Seale, co-founder of the original Black Panther Party, says you stole the group’s name and are now using it for your own unethical ends!
Shabazz: That’s a Jew lie!
Sharpton: Bobby Seale’s Jewish?
Jackson: And anyway, you’ve got a funny name.
Farrakhan: Brothers, please! It doesn’t really matter who gives the keynote speech! The Democratic Party will still kiss our collective asses, and the media will ignore our past and present indiscretions.
Jackson: Well, maybe so, but being black America’s most respected leader, I think I should probably give the speech.
Sharpton: Uh, Jesse, I think Barack Obama holds that title now.
Jackson: Really? Well, maybe he would give the speech.
(Pause)
Farrakhan: No. I think he’ got a reputation to uphold.

Everyone Goes To Hell!

OK, this has got to be one of the strangest things I’ve seen all year. Fred Phelps (of www.godhatesfags.com and www.godhatesamerica.com fame) has produced a South Park-inspired animated short explaining how anyone who is not a member of his church will be roasting in the eternal hellfire. Strangely, Phelps has removed the link to this from his main webpage. Maybe he realized how many people (like myself) were watching it for its pure bizarreness. I do agree with the part about Jerry Falwell going to hell. Thanks to J.D. for the link.

The Judean People’s Front!

For those of you still interested, the recently expelled members of the National Alliance (see below) have formed a new organization called “National Vanguard” which now claims to be carrying out the dictates of the late William Pierce. They refer to the old Alliance as a “rump” organization. It’s always amusing to watch such small, insular extremist groups split into yet smaller factions, who of course all hate each other. My brother said it reminds him of that scene in Life of Brian where the title character tries to remind the warring People’s Front of Judea and the Front of Popular Judea that they should work together to fight the Romans:
Brian: Brothers! It is time we united against our common enemy!
The Crowd in unison: The Judean People’s Front?!

PETA Backs Down

In 2003, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) ran a series of ads comparing the sufferings of animals in slaughterhouses with the Holocaust. In several of the ads, photos of diseased, emaciated animals were placed next to photos of starved concentration camp inmates. As might be imagined, there was quite a furor over all of this, especially from Jewish groups. This week, PETA issued a half-hearted apology which most of the protesting groups accepted. An interesting thing to note is that to my knowledge, none of the criticizing organizations in any way tried to dispute the suffering of the animals involved, only stating that the ads were generally “offensive”. So my question is this: If humans are just animals who possess an unusually high level of intelligence (as I believe), and they are capable of feeling pain in the same way we are (which is almost universally accepted), in what way were these ads incorrect? Animals in slaughterhouses are put through tortures comparable to what the Jews in the death camps faced. I’m honestly curious; what is the difference? Please comment below.

Anarchists+Cops+Racists=A Surprisingly Dull Event

Being a citizen of the once-great city of St. Louis, I try to keep up with the actions of our local political malcontents. I recently came across this on the St. Louis Indymedia site:

Every White Supremacist Uprooted is a Fertile Field
The racist motherf*ckers at the Council of Conservative Citizens intend to further offend and threaten the Latino and Mexican-American community by conveniently holding their fourth annual “Immigration Reform Rally” on Cinco de Mayo. We will not allow this brand of intimidation to occur; let’s let them know that our city is off limits to their hate
May 5 Cinco de Mayo
6 pm
St. Peters
Corner of Mexico Road and Spencer Road (just south east of Mid Rivers Mall)

So a bunch of dreadlocked anarchists are going to try to prevent some racists from exercising their right to free speech? I feel safer already. Anyway, this promises to be something of a non-event. If past counter-protests like this are any guide, there will be lots of name-calling between the two groups, and a heavy police presence to keep them apart. And even if the cops weren’t there, what then? Would the anarchists actually beat the CCC members up? Who comes off looking like a bunch of thugs then?

A Quick Note on Internet Safety

Several years ago, my home computer was infected with a Trojan Horse while on the web page of an obscure white power group. I had to wipe and then reinstall my whole hard drive. Big pain in the ass. Since I’m posting links to all sorts of extremist websites, I thought I should mention security issues. Make sure your virus definitions are up to date. Most of the big sites are OK, but be careful on the lesser-known ones. Or just do what I do and use a public computer for this type of research. Of course, you can’t do this at a lot of public libraries, as the Internet filters will block most of these sites for their “objectionable content”. Blame Bush for that one.

The National Alliance Self-Destructs

Those of you who keep up with the American white power scene probably already know about the virtual collapse of the National Alliance (NA), the country’s largest and best-financed neo-Nazi group. You can go to the National Alliance site for the lame explanations given by those still sticking with the current leadership. One People’s Project has a leftist interpretation of events. And best of all, go to Vanguard News Network and check out the message board for all the juicy gossip and backstabbing. It must be ironic for the NA leadership to realize that in the end their organization was destroyed not as the result of some Jewish plot, but due to their own arrogance and their adherence to the absurd “leadership principal”.

Into the Heart of Darkness

Anarchism. National Socialism. Communism. Christian fanaticism. These are a few of my favorite things. I intend to use this blog to examine, explain, and mock the words and actions of political extremists in America (and trust me, there’s a lot to mock). And we might even gain some political insight along the way.