Bad Economy May Fuel Hate Groups, Experts Warn

[onehandle]

Source: Washington Post

For 20 years, Bart McIntyre has tracked white supremacist movements, even spending two years undercover in Alabama to penetrate a violent young band of criminals who called themselves the Confederate Hammerskins.

Away from his wife and young daughter, McIntyre took the alias "Mark," attended Ku Klux Klan rallies and educated himself in racist propaganda. He and a law enforcement partner ultimately helped build criminal cases that sent more than 10 men to prison for their involvement in the murder and vicious beatings of black men in the Birmingham area in the early 1990s.

Now, as McIntyre prepares to retire from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, he and other analysts are warning that the threat from hate groups and splinter organizations connected to the Klan should not be underestimated, especially at a time of economic unrest.

"In society, you have a very small number of people who are going to push the envelope and take it to the next step," said McIntyre, the resident ATF agent in charge in Roanoke.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011002039.html

---

Republicans being out of power will fuel hate groups.

Not to mention the rise of new McVeighs (Former Republican and NRA Member).

[no_hypocrisy]

1. That's what happened with the Weimar Republic in Germany

after the first World War. Deep-seeded humiliation at "losing" the war, hyperinflation, centuries of hostility toward "Auslanders" (foreigners, i.e., anyone who wasn't Catholic/Protestant and Germanborn for generations). Hitler got his start talking/shouting his indignation to drunks in cellars in Munich as a rabblerouser.

[BR_Parkway]

5. And people wonder why Palin is still popular with her crowds? They

always need someone else to blame - and a politician who can point out that "somebody" (or a RW radio screecher) will always find an audience of those who can't ever see anything bad happening to themselves as a result of their own actions - there always has to be a "them" if "we're" going to feel special.

[Enthusiast]

9. Very perceptive, BR_Parkway. nt

[Cronopio]

14. Continuing media coverage helps the impression that she's more relevant than she is.

Sciafe is still throwing money around and calling in favors.

[Enthusiast]

8. You are exactly correct, no_hypocrisy.

There is a direct parallel to today's challenges.

[SpiralHawk]

2. This is a republicon shock & awe wet dream

Ptooooey on republicon fear, hate, totalitarianism, and general all-around deviancy...

[ikojo]

3. While the US government has been

profiling people of Middle Eastern descent, the homegrown terrorists continued to recruit.

[leveymg]

4. I wish Bart delays retirement for a while.

We need "Mark" to stay at his post. Progressives should be thankful for his bravery and commitment to law and the public safety.

[leftyclimber]

6. Sociological explanation: When the economy is poor hate groups flourish.

People who are in dire straits look for a scapegoat. Why are they out of work? Why can't they find a job?

They're vulnerable, and it's easy for hate groups to convince some of them that it's the fault of the "other." And the other ain't Reaganomics and related government policies in this world. Recruitment to these groups is easy when the recruits are looking for some out-group to blame. Hate groups convince desperate people that their situation is not their fault (usually true), and that they are heroes in their own little play -- they are fighting an enemy who is trying to bring them down. And the enemy is people who do not look or believe like them.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest when The Order, Tom Metzger, Aryan Nation, and all of those related white supremacist groups were actively working to "take" the PNW for their "own." They wanted to create a "white homeland" and secede Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana from the U.S. by force. (I did quite a bit of study on this in college.) In my high school, we had a group of Hammerskins. To a one, they were from families who had, for whatever reason, struggled to get by and who were looking for someone to blame. They took the unthinking course.

A good documentary about this, if you can find it, is called "Blood in the Face." If you're interested in this disturbing phenomenon, I highly recommend it.

[AlbertCat]

17. Hmmmmmm....

They're vulnerable, and it's easy for Religious groups to convince some of them that it's the fault of the "other." And the other ain't Reaganomics and related government policies in this world. Recruitment to these (Religious) groups is easy when the recruits are looking for some out-group to blame. Religious groups convince desperate people that their situation is not their fault (usually true), and that they are heroes in their own little play -- they are fighting an enemy who is trying to bring them down. And the enemy is people who do not look or believe like them.

[leftyclimber]

18. Religious and nonreligious groups alike.

Although there is a subset of the white supremacist movement known as Christian Identity, which believes that Jesus was a white man and that he came to save the white "race." They interpret the supposed "mark of Cain" as nonwhite skin. The Church of Jesus Christ, Christian is one.

It's really sick.

[notesdev]

7. Consider the source

These guys are the same folks who came up with the idea for engraving equipment with the phrase "Always Think Forfeiture".

Who here thinks they number won't come up the next time the wind blows from the easterly direction?

[L0oniX]

10. Here's one of them ...

[Festivito]

11. Bullshit. It's backlash from GOP campaign against Obama.

And, Republicans now trying to rebuild their base for eventual return to power.

McVeigh was angry at a secretive, misguided government. The kind built by current Republicans. His attachment to right-wing idealism was to actually believe that Dems take guns away from people. Had he seen Katrina where Republicans took guns from people, he'd have still been foolishly mad, but conflicted as to what side he was against.

[MidwestTransplant]

12. The economy can be blamed on our black president...oh wait he isn't president yet.

Well in a couple of weeks it can.

[hadrons]

13. Well, we can't expect them to blame the rightwing economic policies they've supported can't we???

[8 track mind]

15. It's already started

on the Shortwave radio dial. I have been a shortwave radio geek since 1981, and i have never heard it this bad even when Clinton was in office. It was really amusing at first after Mr. Obama won, but it's rapidly turning into outright racism. There was a Broadcast on WWCR a few nights ago that outright stated that people of color are inferior. Pretty crazy shit. I am truly hoping that they start investigating these groups and quash them once and for all, otherwise it's rapidly going to get out of hand.

Here's a link to the station:
(warning, some of the radio program links are very offensive)

http://www.wwcr.com/

[llmart]

16. What I never understood.......

was all the hate-spewing crap that was prevalent during the Clinton years when the economy was going gangbusters and most people were doing very well. That had nothing to do with money and the economy. It was fueled by groups like the NRA who couldn't stand the fact that the Clintons, who were considered progressives, were in power. To me it always seemed like it was because of the fact that people's lives were pretty good and some of them had nothing better to do but look for something to complain about. I remember saying many, many times that these idiots who were so anti-Clinton needed to have a huge economic meltdown where they had to worry about the roofs over their heads and feeding their families instead of if they could afford to buy another gun to see how silly they had been. But, of course, these aren't the types of people who are particularly introspective, so I never really expected them to come to that conclusion.

[caseymoz]

22. It was sparked by the deaths at Waco.

Which were then pushed by the likes of G. Gordon Liddy. Clinton's term did not begin well, and it also began in the recession of 1992, which ironically probably put him in office. Many people put into poverty under the 1992 recession formed their opinions of the Clinton administration from Waco and Ruby Ridge. Also, that's when bases were being closed at the end of the Cold War, and so people whose careers were centered on the military were hurt bad, right when Waco occurred. Add to that suspicions over things like the suicide of Vince Foster-- which with some imaginings by Limbaugh and Liddy could look like political assassination, and neo-Nazism was off to a start.

It was around in the 90s, but it really had no momentum, except for the parts the Republican Party could co-op with the right winks, nods and catch-phrases.

[Hannah Bell]

20. Now ask: who's funding them, & why?

[Quantess]

26. I was hoping to find something that was "very offensive" but I couldn't find much.

It just looked like generic, fundamental, bible-thumping to me.

[tclambert]

19. "THIR TAKIN' AR JOBS!"

You get that reaction whenever the job market gets tight. When jobs are plentiful and employers are scrambling to find enough workers, we don't so much mind the foreigners, minorities, gays, and women taking the jobs "we" don't want. Hike up the unemployment rate, and now "we" want those jobs, and "we" hate "them."

Plus, you have all those idle hands out there for the devil to make playthings out of. You wanna keep people out of mischief, you gotta keep them busy. Any good military commander will tell you that.

[Doctor_J]

21. I think we need to bring the Nazis and other Repuke subgroups out into the light

If instead of coddling these roaches and letting them hide like they did during Clinton's terms, we draw them out and stomp on them, this could turn out to be a good cleansing for the country. We let Gingrinch and his slither away, and now he's back. He should have been imprisoned for treason, slander, and sedition when we had the chance.

[caseymoz]

23. Bring them out? I don't think there's going to be a way to keep them hidden.

I realize this isn't exactly what you meant, but I'll connect back to it.

Let's see: We're looking at absolutely horrible economic times, a crumbling of social structures as States are running out of money (for good or bad, they've had to lower prison populations), our country has been shamed internationally from all the blunders and abuses from the Bush administration, and meanwhile, we have for the first time a President who isn't white. Also consider how badly educated Americans are now, with a school system that has been failing for 40 years.

For a surge in White Supremacists and neo-Nazism this is perfect. Already I've seen posts giving lists of Jewish players in the financial debacle, given in a tone as if it's a momentous discovery, like the poster has now seen the light-- how blind he was to not see it before. I've been hearing of too many a-ha moments like that, even within my own family.

Last note, the unknown factor in all of this is the Internet, whether it will help White Supremacists more than it hurts them.

I believe the Republican Party is gone. It will split, and maybe more than once. It might go two ways: it's more White Supremacists members will begin to bolt for a 3rd Party. Defections to that party will bleed the GOP. It will leave them with old-time "moderate" Republicans, and the ones still too proud and self-deceived to call themselves racist. Or the Neo-Nazis will take over the GOP and the rest of them will split off that and form the "moderate" party.

Now, that bled out GOP will probably invite Sara Palin to lead them, but she will probably go for a career in the 3rd Party.

It will be interesting to see just which people bolt to the 3rd Party. Gingrich? Buchanan? If their gig with the GOP is shrinking they might. I mean Buchanan admires Nixon, so you know that his gag reflex is pretty dead. Either way, you'll know then just who is the real White Supremacist.

[Lithos]

24. may????

Excuse me while I laugh. May???? The only question is how much in "your face" they will become and how hard they will attempt to "mainstream" their hate. This is an area of personal interest and unfortunately, I have already seen that hate groups have already started gaining traction.

[Odin2005]

25. Looks like we are gonna have domestic terrorists and racist traitors to crush.

n/t

[sendero]

27. There's little question..

... that this is going to happen. First, in hard economic times there is always a search for the scapegoat. The real perps are the Reagan-Deregulation monkey true believes who actually thought that if you ceased all regulation and oversight of business, they'd do the right thing. Oops. Second, there are still LOTS of racist assholes in this country that cannot accept that a black man is our president.

Besides the clear and obvious racist scapegoating we're going to see is an overall increase in all sorts of crimes as some try to just survive and others decide to vent their anger in violence.

The next few years are going to be unpleasant.

[Thor_MN]

28. Circle of life: Bad economy created by hate group aka GOP