White Nationalist Movements + American History X

I first saw American History X when I was 12. My brothers and I were flipping through the channels when we came across this movie. We had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. After watching the first five minutes (we all know what happens), we immediately changed the channel. At that age, I knew that the movie was about white supremacy, but until this class, I never understood the meaning behind the movement.

Before the class, I had no idea that the hate the white supremacists were spreading encompassed more than just people of color. Films like American History X provide the example of how white nationalists hate any race they deem to be inferior. It is evident in the film that all the factors that affect a person to resort to white nationalism are based on hate for another group, whether the hate is valid or not. For instance, Derek comes from a home where racism is discussed among the dinner table. And when his father is killed by a minority, Derek feels the only place he can turn to to feel accepted is within a white nationalist circle. As disgusted in class and in the other books we have read, the story of Derek perfectly fits into the stereotype that white nationalists are looking to feel accepted by a group of people. Instead of searching for acceptance in other places, they lean towards the power and intimidation they see within the white nationalist society.

Frank Meeink, the inspiration behind the film American History X, tells his story in his biography. His story tells of his troubled childhood and how he found himself a place to feel like home within the Skinhead organization. What I found interesting about the story of Frank is that it seems to fit into the stereotypes of a youth getting dragged into gang violence because they live in a large city. But when compared to the Aryan Nations, an organization started in Hayden Lake, Idaho, a small, rural community when compared to Philadelphia, it changed my ideas of how gang violence is usually associated with large, urban cities. I realized it is not about the location of where a person is, but factors affecting their life that leads them to become attached to the violence and hate of the white nationalist organization.

All in all, what I learned is racism can stem from anything. Growing up in Eastern Washington, I would say I was pretty secluded from a lot of forms of racism. This class, with the help of the four books we have read over the semester, the discussions in class and the research for this blog, have opened my eyes to realize what is going on around me and how this affects people. Similarly, I have learned how easy it is for the message of hate and violence to be spread thanks to the internet and media. This class was a way for me to say I learned something new every (tues and thurs)day.

Local Connection

The Pacific Northwest, specifically Idaho, has been stereotyped as being ignorant and racist. This can be attributed to the fact the Aryan Nations was born in Hayden Lake, Idaho with the ultimate intent of establishing an all-White homeland in the Pacific Northwest.

That being said, its not often that images like the one above are flaunted in shop windows. This was the case in John Day, Oregon. The residents of this town took it upon themselves to make it clear they do not want to be associated with such a negative, racist stereotype. This article from Ethos Magazine tells the story of how the residents of this Oregon town have protested members of the Aryan Nations or any white nationalist organization from purchasing or owning property in their community. Similarly, the Aryan Nations, who are used to being the ones using intimidation and mockery to instill fear in the people around them, are the ones being denied of certain rights in the area.

One local resident states, "I don’t believe in their doctrine, and it won’t be good for the local economy...Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but [the Aryan Nations] are bullies. They won’t accept other ethnicities, and this community is too tight knit to accept that.”

"The Pacific Northwest’s ongoing history of white supremacist leanings forces this region to ask deeper questions of what its citizens truly believe in as Americans and the cost associated with defending these beliefs" (source). With the stereotype of the Pacific Northwest being a headquarters for white nationalism in the United States, its refreshing to see a community work to combat the ideologies of the Aryan Nations. This article shows its clear that what Americans truly believe in is promoting equality within a community and protecting the rights of its citizens, as well as defending these beliefs when they are threatened by ignorant white nationalist groups.

"The hate group subculture thrives largely because the U.S. puts great stock in encouraging openness and freedom of belief. These core values are how this country is defined and proudly promoted to the rest of the world. The U.S. must condemn hate speech, but also exist alongside it as a result of living in a truly free nation"  (source). The dichotomy between free, open speech and eliminating hate speech ties back into the notion of extreme versus mainstream ideologies. Clearly, ideologies associated with groups like the Aryan Nations are extreme ideologies based on hate and eliminating the inferior races. Whereas, mainstream ideas as enforced by our government, like freedom of speech and accepting the religious and cultural views of our neighbors, are what people in areas linked closely to white nationalism must strive to maintain.

To combat hate speech and prevent the spread of violence associated with groups like the Aryan Nations, communities, states, governments, etc. must take a stand against the social injustice of these groups, similar to the way the community of John Day, Oregon did.

Combating White Nationalism: The Southern Poverty Law Center

With the number of hate groups increasing rapidly every day, it is necessary for another group to counter the movements of these hate organizations and shed light on the values of equality and social justice within our society. One such group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, "is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society" (source).

The SPLC monitors hate groups, like the Aryan Nation, and reports their movements to the federal and local government. The SPLC works to promote tolerance and respect in our schools, unlike the Aryan Nations whose goal is to promote an all-white society and rid their homeland of any less worthy group. The SPLC has "crippled some of the country’s most notorious hate groups by suing them for murders and other violent acts committed by their members" (source). 

"Since 2000, the number of hate groups has increased by 54 percent. This surge has been fueled by fears of Latino immigration and, more recently, by the election of the country’s first African-American president and the economic crisis" (source). Those who "fear" this Latino immigration and the election of President Obama, groups like the Aryan Nation, are taking extreme measures to fight the social injustice (as they see it) happening in our country by these actions. "This growth in extremism has been aided by mainstream media figures and politicians who have used their platforms to legitimize false propaganda about immigrants and other minorities and spread the kind of paranoid conspiracy theories on which militia groups thrive" (source).

In opposition to this, the SPLC works to stop exploitation of immigrants in the workplace by filing court cases and encouraging the federal government to act upon the injustice. Similarly, they falsify the mainstream media figures extreme ideologies against immigration by teaching tolerance to people around America through magazines, multimedia outlets, films and a number of other resources. Again, the boundaries of extreme and mainstream become blurred due to mainstream media taking on extreme ideologies, ideologies in correlation to racist hate groups, like the Aryan Nation. This video is a good example of what the SPLC is working to combat, racial intolerance:

Clearly the SPLC has had an affect on many hate groups. Images from their Teaching Tolerance report have been revamped to fit into white supremacist ideologies. Or images like the one below have been created by hate groups as a way to make fun of the ideas the SPLC promotes.

As stated before, the Southern Poverty Law Center is working to spread the word of racial tolerance and put an end to the increasing numbers of hate groups growing with the United States. The idea that the SPLC "track[s] the activities of hate groups and domestic terrorists across America, and launch[es] innovative lawsuits that seek to destroy networks of radical extremists, provide[s] educators with free resources that teach school children to reject hate, embrace diversity and respect differences and use the courts and other forms of advocacy to win systemic reforms on behalf of victims of bigotry and discrimination" (source) is a refreshing counteraction to all of the ways white nationalism affects society in America today.