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.
Great post it is refreshing to hear about people that are standing up to these groups and the stereotypes that are placed on communities because of them. I think that often times the response of normal people to white supremacy is to ignore it when there needs to be more responses like this. The only way that these groups will every truly go away is when people acknowledge them and stand up to them.
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