American Nazi Party Holds Rally at Valley Forge caption
Valley Forge, PA- September 25: Aryan Nation member Charles Juba (C) along with other members participates in an American Nazi Party rally at Valley Forge National Park September 25, 2004 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of American Nazis from around the country were expected to attend. (Photo by William Thomas Cain / Getty Images).
Posted by Team B 3:37 PM
Terminology
As journalists we work to be fair and accurate. When dealing with an issue as difficult, divisive and explosive as racism, it’s hard to even find language which is neutral. The very words used to describe the different factions and ideologies are loaded with meaning and bias.
The crux of the division is that while most people see groups like Ku Klux Klans and Aryan Nation as stemming from racism and hate, people within the movement argue that it’s a political movement to keep the white race alive. They say it’s not about hating other races, but about having pride in their own.
With no middle ground to be found, deciding which words to use pits a writer between two fiercely competing groups. We have used the phrase “white nationalists” when these groups describe themselves, but have opted to use “supremacist” at other times.
To give you a fuller understanding of the words, here is a brief summary.
White Supremacist:
Who uses it: Anti-racists like the Anti-defamation League, (and hopefully you.)
Implications: These whites think they are better than everyone else. It is about hatred and racism.
Complaints: People in the movement argue they aren’t hating, they just want their own piece of the pie.
White Nationalist:
Who uses it: It is the most common umbrella term used by people in the movement to describe themselves.
Implications: Whites should stick together and have their own nation. Others should go back to where they came from. It’s about pride, not about hate.
Complaints: It erases the racism and hatred that is behind the movement. Clearly white washing.
White Separatists:
Who uses it: Mainly people within the movement, but to refer to a specific subgroup of people who want to separate the races instead of eliminating some.
Implications: An extreme version of separate but equal, like Jim Crow law, on a nation wide scale
Complaints: Once again white washes the issue—these groups tend to do more than just move away from other races. There is real violence and hate. Doesn’t apply to all factions.
Posted by Team B 8:56 PM
Labels: terminology
The Nuts and Bolts of Stormfront
The ease of partaking in a movement by simply clicking one’s mouse may seem too small of a commitment to really amount to much, but Stormfront has tried to counter this by adding incentives for greater involvement and dedication. Positive feedback on your posts helps graduate you to a higher member status with more site access; monetary donations grant entry into the secret VIP chatroom. Moreover, to create a greater sense of an immediate and tangible community, they added a list of the other members currently online, which often includes the high profilers within the movement like David Duke, Bob Whitaker (a former Reagan administration member in charge of security clearances, one of the few white nationalists to gain prominence in government despite being openly racist), and April Gaede (mother of Prussian Blue, the 14-year-old blonde twin girls who perform pop songs with racist lyrics, a sort of white supremacist version of the Olsen Twins) all of whom are just a click away. A section even alerts users of other members' birthdays.
View Prussian Blue music video below:
Click here to view ABC News' report on the group.
More importantly, the ease in joining has paid off in the long run through its ability to draw people into what can be an intimidating and scary communities. There are ignorant rants and overt hate, but the site prohibits discussions that aren’t “civil and productive, ” and have even taken down posts which seem too extreme or ignorant. Profanity is coded to appear as asterisks. The site prohibits anyone “advocating or suggesting any activity which is illegal under U.S. law.” (The rules are enforced, but they are easy to get around. There are no guns listed for sale, for instance, but plenty of advice on buying them, and no monitoring of private messages sent between members. Members discuss strategies for possible race wars, and ask for specific help in dealing with Jews and ethnic minorities causing problems. One can only surmise that the talk could lead elsewhere.) While the legal incentives for such a ban are clear, it also helps dispel the stereotype of ignorance and extremity. A more mainstream image furthers their cause politically and helps with recruitment.
Stormfront works hard to make the movement seem welcoming. The very medium of the internet portrays a more mainstream image, and self-selects only those with internet access. Stormfront’s Jaime Kelso conducts outreach on other websites and in the real world, which includes promoting the very use of the Internet. He personally found Stormfront through the benign Google, which is not surprisingly the most common way that people find the site. Members have even created videoblogs on YouTube to counter the stereotypes. Their efforts may just be working.
View a white nationalist's YouTube video response to a newscast on Stormfront:
View NBC newscast:
Click here to learn more about how New Yorkers organize on Stormfront.
Posted by Team B 8:26 PM
Hiding behind the Internet
Jaimie Kelso describes Stormfronters as intelligent, tech savvy, and upstanding members of society, who defy the usual stereotype of white hate-mongers. “We are portrayed as being fringe and marginal but we have high powered attorneys, doctors, military and law enforcement officers, and college professors. When we hold gatherings, the quality and caliber of the people is extraordinary,” he says.
Coming out as a racist can be a dangerous thing, which is why the anonymity of the Internet is so crucial. “Most people who hold our point of view are reluctant to become publicly known. They’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs or they will be subject to other forms of harassment. In fact it’s a very small minority of people who don’t care if their names are associated with what has become a politically unfashionable point of view,” explains Black in Hate.com. The ability to freely exchange information and partake in a cyber-community in the safety and privacy of your own home is a major break-through. Anonymous web monikers have become the new hoods in the Internet Age.
While Stormfront assumes the government and anti-racist groups are monitoring the site, the medium means less of a risk for members getting outed to the neighbors or co-workers. The FBI could potentially track down information, but it’s more difficult for the average person. In fact Black’s neighbors recently told a newscaster on the local nightly news that they didn’t even know he was a racist.
Some groups successfully use the information on the web to counter white supremacists. Groups, such as the grassroots group, Anti-Racists Action, who stage direct actions against white supremacists at their rallies, can find out about upcoming events to protest, through Stormfront. Other anti-racists groups have used cyber-terrorism to hack these websites.
The desire for anonymity is even more extreme in politically liberal and diverse places like New York City. While there is some white supremacists activity, like the National Socialist Movement chapter in Brooklyn, New York Stormfronters complain that the lack of out racists makes “Jew York City” a frustrating and alienating place to live. One lonely New Yorker posted recently, “I was growing worried that there was no one left here, besides perhaps a small group of friends. I live in Brooklyn, and oh dear. I’d love to talk to those who live here.”
Click here to go back and read about the ease of taking part in the movement and to view videos by White Supremacists.
Click here to learn more about how New Yorkers organize on Stormfront.
Posted by Team B 8:18 PM
Labels: David Kelso, New York, Stormfront
Video
Stormfront.org video:
Prussian Blue video "Victory Day":
NBC News package on Stormfront.org:
White Nationalist response to news package:
Posted by Team B 7:57 PM
Resources
Resurgence of the Klan:
Los Angeles Times: "The Klan is still dead." Feb. 27, 2007
Los Angeles Times. "Letter to the editor from the Anti-Defamation League." March 3, 2007.
Anti-Defamation League "Ku Klux Klan Rebounds With New Focus On Immigration, ADL Reports." Feb. 6, 2007.
Resources:
Anti-Defamation League
Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project
Anti-Racist Action Network
Further Reading:
Soldiers of God : White Supremacists and Their Holy War for America,
by Howard L. Bushart, John R. Craig, and Myra Barnes. New York, NY :
Kensington Books, 1998.
Spaces of Hate: Geographies of Discrimination and Intolerance in the
U.S.A., edited by Colin Flint. New York : Routledge, 2004.
“Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online,” by Jordon Kessler.
Posted by Team B 7:37 PM
Labels: anti-defamation league, links, resources, resurgence klan
Conclusion
But for all the online activity and unity, there are also places where the momentum breaks down outside of the virtual world. Here in New York City, for instance, things are still somewhat bleak for white supremacists. For all the talk of meeting up locally for beers, when I followed up, the night of camaraderie had never materialized. “People are lame in NY or is it just me? When u answer them they just stop talking like a bunch of scared lemmings,” one New Yorker posted.
“White Supremacists think it’s crazy to even try and live in New York City,” says Marcus who has spent the last fifteen years tracking white extremists on the web. “Try having a Klan rally there and you’ll just get a handful of Klan, five hundred policemen, and thousands of protestors. It just wouldn’t work.”
Posted by Team B 4:21 PM
