Published in The Enterprise, 4-20-98
Challenging the Threat of Racial Hatred and Violence
by Rocky Anderson
“Hatred is not something to shy away from, to dread or to avoid. Hatred is our friend. Embrace him.”
Those loathsome words (found in an article on the Internet advocating racial hatred, at www.resist.com/AOurracialhatred.html) are illustrative of the mindset – and message – of a huge, and growing, segment of our country’s population. Dozens of wanna-be Hitlers are spewing forth their rabid rantings of racial superiority, hatred for everyone other than the “White man,” and the “final solution” – RAHOWA (Racial Holy War), according to the World Church of the Creator. And those vile ideas are attracting hordes of followers, throughout the United States and around the world.
If you think that neo-Nazism is a harmless movement, with only a few adherents in this country, check out the dozens of hate-filled web pages listed on the Internet at http://stop-the-hate.org/bizarre.html. There you will find listings of web pages for such organizations as the Posse Comitatus, White Aryan Resistance, Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist White Peoples Party, and Skin Heads.
Advocates – and practitioners – of white supremacy, racial hatred, and violence are not just a few sociopathic wackos – though sociopathic they may be, and wackos they certainly are. They are armed-to-the-teeth members of huge, often well-organized groups who can be disregarded only at great risk.
Here is a characteristic sampling of the diseased ravings offered by America’s hate-mongering racists:
- “I have no animosity towards Orientals in China. . . . [B]ut since being around them in school, I’ve learned to really hate the little yellow bastards.” (“Our Racial Hatred,” http://www.resist.com/AOurracialhatred.html)
- “Our racial hatred is nothing more than an internal defense mechanism that Mother Nature has blessed us with.” (Id.)
- “If you see yourself as a racial revolutionary, then be about that work. For instance, are you infiltrating every group that is a threat to our Struggle? Are you fantasizing or imagining what the Struggle will evolve into and steeling yourself for a take-no-prisoners struggle to come? . . . Do you waste time watching Nigger Ball on TV?” (Tom Metzger, Editorial, “History of White Aryan Resistance,” (February 1998) http://www.resist.com/februaryedit98.html.)
- “Tolerance, [sic] is the whole problem! Also, we of the Posse Comitatus do not believe that racial aliens to this country are going to fight to defend a cause by which when regaining power they will be deported. Do you, for one instance, [sic] believe that the Vietnamesse, [sic] Cambodian or Pakistanie [sic] that [sic] purchased the gas station, general store and laundry matte [sic] down the street are [sic] going to fight side by side with racially aware Whites against the New World Order? The N.W.O. is the very reason that these racial aliens are in our country, by the numbers they are, in the first place! Our call goes out for other [sic] of our White Racial Brothers and Sisters to come out from amoungst [sic] the masses and join us in our struggle to regain a future for OUR RACE. . . To do WHATEVER IT TAKES to take OUR country back!” (“Posse Comitatus,” http://www.webexpert.net/posse/p1.html.)
- “Roquefort Dressing is not “enriched” by the addition of chicken droppings. America is not enriched by the mongrels of Mexico, nor will it ever be.” (Paul Householder, “Survival of the Race,” http://www.resist.com/ASurvivaloftherace.html.)
- “By this thundering call the Aryan Warrior awakens his racial kindred from his sleep of death. By this SIGN does he smash the lying, murdering jew!” (“Ecce Signum,” http://www.nidlink.com/%7Earyanvic/1-AryanWarrior.html.)
- “We mean to polarize our Race on behalf of itself, and once this is done, the mud races will be on their way out of this country, and that which we love, our Beloved White Race, will be protected for all time. . . . RAHOWA!” (Matt Hale, “Love and Hatred – Two Sides of the Same Coin,” The Struggle, http://www.creator.org/frames.html.)
To consider the twisted, hateful bigotry spreading rapidly throughout our nation is repulsive, yet to ignore it is to aid and condone it. We have heard the refrain from Germany ever since the defeat of Berlin: “We did not know.” Let us never hear ourselves utter the same excuse.
In the way in which we lead our daily lives, we can each counter the hatred, bigotry and ignorance. When we are told racist “jokes” or when we hear racial slurs, we can let it be known that we find such manifestations of racism offensive. We can volunteer with one of the many community organizations that assist members of minority racial and ethnic groups to become fully integrated into our community. We can broaden our social circles and get to know on a personal basis people of other racial and ethnic origins.
And, perhaps most importantly, we can teach our children well. When we refuse to ignore the threats posed by racism, and when we exercise the courage to stand up and speak out against it, our children will assimilate the same values. And they will understand that there are really only two choices: We will either condone bigotry by remaining silent and still, or we will affirmatively challenge racism and the calls to violence by raising our voices in opposition and taking effective action to promote compassion and understanding between all people.
After all, love, not hatred, is our greatest friend. Embrace it.