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| Witchvox Chapter: Wren's Nest News | Chapter Page Views: 59,684,553 |
 North Idaho’s Scourge Of Hatred Shows Signs Of Resurgence Author: Bill Morlin Source: The Spokesman (ID) Title: NORTH IDAHO’S SCOURGE OF HATRED SHOWS SIGNS OF RESURGENCE In a small house in Coeur d’Alene, 89-year-old Sid Rosen lives out his sunset years going through his life’s mementos. Tucked away in a box, the World War II veteran finds two small, dog-eared photographs of anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed on his Coeur d’Alene restaurant in 1980. The vandalism – which still angers Rosen, his son says – was one of the first in a series of incidents that led to creation of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. Today, as the nationally recognized group prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary, other racist, anti-Semitic graffiti and literature have been turning up not far from Rosen’s home. There’s also been a spike in racist activity and hate crimes in Spokane and other Pacific Northwest communities – indeed, almost everywhere in the United States. Racist graffiti, acts of malicious harassment and distribution of hate literature in 1980 marked the emergence of the Aryan Nations in North Idaho, recalls Marshall Mend, a founding member of the human relations task force. | |
| Community Thoughts: There are 9 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Yes, The Theory Of Race Is Racist | Feb 9th. at 10:10:23 am EST |
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karrie9 (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - Email Me - Web [Web LINK] When asked for race on forms, I write in my own option when I can -- Human Race. I did it this year on my daughter's school papers and nobody challenged me on that. Ha ha ha ha. Gods, I wish more people would refuse to answer the race question. We can't minimize the danger of hate groups and their ramifications, but it's not just about the hate groups, is it? We humans tend to draw lines in the sand that often seem to greatly replace the ability and willingness to peel back layers of misconception and ignorance to have valuable discussions of issues, from root to peripheral issues if necessary. Yet it's at that magical level that we can better decide which the more valuable issues are and what are our more cognitively mature potentials. It's at that level we better understand our choices of power and how we go about having power. [Web LINK] Instead, we often see not just hate groups but nations and international religious fronts (such as what happened after the Mohammed cartoons worldwide) trapped in inferior abusive power and control struggles, the most worrisome and volatile kind. We can't only learn the important lessons on a local or hate group specific level. It's no wonder that Karen Armstrong's TED talk caught my eye recently. [Web LINK] The whole of humanity is in a dark age in that it's constantly, due to world wide emotional-social immarity, that we clash over just about anything we can, any identity difference. Because I value equality and robust pluralism, I often talk in terms of behaviors rather than identities and I do think it's incredibly valuable to mind how we refer to each other. That's no small thing. I'm not just concerned about those hate groups because right now, our polarized political parties are acting only slightly more civilized than the hate groups. The linguistic and cognitive similarities are totally amazing, those of hate groups and those of many of our political pundits and much of our political "discussion" today. And it matters. |
| Hate Is STILL Hate | Feb 9th. at 12:32:24 am EST |
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nasionnaich (Stanchfield, Minnesota) - Email Me Back in the mid-1980s, I once knew someone who lived in Spokane, Washington, a mere hour or two drive from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. When I visited that person, and expressed a desire to take a day-trip to Coeur d’Alene, they politely (yet very firmly) told me about the city and surrounding area. Now I'm very glad I decided not to go on that day-trip. I may have been welcomed (at least not turned away) around Plummer or Worley -- but I would likely have been in extreme danger had I set foot in Coeur d’Alene. Although I am considered "white", my "Native-ness" is easy to see in my face. The article points out that the many of "today's" racists, who "happen" to have criminal records, profess -- CLAIM -- to be "Aryans, skinheads, neo-Nazis or Odinists". It does not say that Odinists are racists (although, going by the publicly proclaimed tenets of the religion, wherein "whites" are to stay with "whites" and "blacks" are to stay with "blacks" - and the twain shall never mix...well, Odinism is extremely close to being racism) . "Slow news day"? Clearly, someone doesn't want to be educated on just how easy it is for hate groups to take root in even their own neighborhood. Or, perhaps, they might agree with the hate being spewed by these groups and just do not want other to be educated. Note that I said "perhaps". But, if it strikes a nerve, there is likely a reason..... No, a "slow news day" would be an article on how today's potatoes are a parallel of the parsnips of the Middle Ages. And the "anti-semites" supposedly surrounding Obama? If you drive a Ford it must mean YOU are anti-Semite, too -- since Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Corporation, was a notorious anti-Semite; if you like the man's product, you must also agree with the man's ideals. Hey, it's the same leap of "logic" used by those who claim that a statement such as "I don't like that Jew, he's just a greedy pig" is "anti-semitism". (not that anyone has made any such statement, just that it's the same leap of "logic".) --nasionnaich |
| Oh The Morons | Feb 8th. at 2:18:53 pm EST |
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Fraoch (Shelby, North Carolina) - Email Me Did anyone ever explain to these clowns that race is bs? There is only one race of homo-sapiens. The rest is just ethnicity. A basic education would enlighten them. I can't understand why some people choose to remain ignorant in light of all of the knowledge that is floating around. However this is Idaho (no offense to certain folks from Idaho as you'll gather as I further this paragraph) . This is the place where they are determined to destroy every wolf in its natural habit. They have erroneously calculated that wolves are diminishing the elk population when the opposite is true. They also assume that wolves are the greatest detriment to farm animals when wolves count for close to 1% in farm animal deaths. (Theft is like 5%) . So in answer to their false beliefs they are hell bent on killing one of the US's top predators regardless of the drastic effects it could have on the environment, plus the fact that wolves are beautiful animals. I guess the motto up around there, at least with some people, is, "Hell let's just kill everything. Save whitey!" Bull#$^@! On another issue... I don't think that the author of the article was really saying that *all* Neo Pagans are racist bastards. I *do,* however think it wouldn't have hurt him to mention this or at least alluded to it. He did, of course, leave his email address so it probably would be nice of us to drop him a polite and informative line mentioning this. |
| Perspective | Feb 8th. at 12:40:47 am EST |
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R. Cicero (Seattle, Washington) - Email Me Human nature being what it is, hatred will probably always be with us. If birth is such a glorious, magical thing, how come so much garbage is produced? It never ends. I heavily suggest the use of contraceptives . . . stop the cycle! Meanwhile, our own goverment kills all sorts of people all over the world, every freaking year. Plenty of 'innocent' people get caught up in MOUNDS of their (not mine, necessarily) political enemies. So who are the real thugs? Hateful thoughts are a shame, hate speech can be extremely ugly, and if it escalates to crime, dehumanizing for all, right? But who stacks the most corpses? I mean really . . . |
| Yeah... | Feb 7th. at 10:07:03 pm EST |
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Zodiac (Waverly, Nebraska) - Email Me Nevermind the hateful antisemites the President is surrounded by, the real threat to Jews is the Nazis.... |
| ... | Feb 7th. at 7:04:37 pm EST |
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Draken (Bronx, New York) - Email Me - Web Must be a slow news day. |
| Tactical Crush Job | Feb 7th. at 4:39:01 pm EST |
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Terry (Irvington, Virginia) - Email Me While the "told you so" element of this story, and hate cults using Obama's election as a convenient excuse to prod a minor resurgence, did come true, a linked background piece on how the last major Aryan Nations group was crushed stands out to me: [Web LINK] As someone who has made the front cover of trade journals using creative civil litigation to enforce law government officials didn't, and who at times suggests hardball legal tactics mixed with silly but effective theatrics to push important issues, I've been faced with more than a few lawyers and activists who've acted like some of those tactical strategies were crazy and impossible. In fact, this is a case that shows while some creative legal strategies can be risky and difficult, the nay sayers are the psychotics relative to real history as was present in this case, among others. Read the linked story above or below, and if interested do further research on the legal and practical history, to see how a $35 civil suit for a petty assault medical bill was transformed into a $6.3 million judgment, bankruptcy of the dominant Aryan Nations group in recent decades, and conversion of its training camp into a peace park. While difficult to document, the loss of assets and stress of litigation likely accelerated the death of the leader of that group as well. All that takes is finding the right angle and underlying case, a lot of hard work, some intensely motivated strategic planning, and a huge amount of luck. That's also true of preparation meeting a window of opportunity for civil rights precedents, as the underlying effort to network with potential witnesses, litigators, and parties with standing, generally must be at least partially in place for major advances to take place when windows of opportunity arise. The real difference between average legal process technicians, and serious issue oriented activists, is that the former only see routine procedural games as their route. Serious activists look towards needed societal and legal goals, and demand brainstorming on how it might be possible to get there, regardless of how difficult, or what "first impression" issues need to be successfully presented. |
| Not All Odinists Are Folkish. | Feb 7th. at 3:06:29 pm EST |
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Medea (Somewhere, Massachusetts) - Email Me But of course, this article doesn't mention that. |
| Speaking Of Fighting Resurgence Of Creedist Hate | Feb 7th. at 2:43:04 pm EST |
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karrie9 (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - Email Me - Web Since any type prejudice can tip things (prejudicial contagion affecting more than one group) more toward the [Web LINK] abuse paradigm, as opposed to the equality power paradigm, while covering racist/creedist hate groups as is done in this The Spokesman article, it's to proactively avoid inflaming other creedist undercurrents. Therefore, when covering racist creedist Pagan groups, one must take care to: * Avoid conflation of issues/groups. * Make clear how small a percentage of the Pagan population these groups are so that it's clear whether these groups are representative or aberration. * Make clear some of the come ethical and moral structures/ethos in Paganism that not only oppose racism, creedism and associated criminal activities but that promote sound ethical structures and moral citizenship. If such things are not sufficiently clarified and seen to, minority religions that do **not** support hate, racism, creedism, and criminality may suffer resurging hatred aimed at them when they too have already fought such things for years. I don't want the rest of Paganism to be colored with broad look-at-those-damned-occult-skinhead-criminals brushstrokes. As for Pagan community taking care of its own, well, just as there are people we can't help, there are groups that don't want to listen. And then there are things we can do within our own communities to keep people and ideas in check. (Teach emotional intelligence, learned empowerment, functional ethics, and what abuse and equality are...) However, how people might react to Pagan worship within jails and the military after reading an article like this, well it makes the fight for the right to Pagan worship, materials and even clergy all the more important. [Web LINK] |
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