Hate Crimes, the Economy and Obama
White Supremicist Groups React to the New President and the Economy
Jan 27, 2009
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported in November 2008 that hate groups saw their membership increase within hours of Obama's election ("Hate Groups Claim Obama Win is Sparking Recruitment Surge"). However, white supremicist groups are known for inflating their numbers, perhaps to instill fear in communities of color. United Press International suggests that the worsening economy, along with Obama's presidency, is what is fueling any potential increase in hate activity ("Economy, Obama Spurring Hate Groups." United Press International, January 11, 2009). As more and more middle class Americans lose their jobs, hate groups are reaching out to the disenfranchised, seeking new members and promising an outlet for anger. But are people buying into their propaganda?
Hate Crimes and Economic Downturn
The belief that the economy impacts hate crimes is controversial. In the July 1998 issue of The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, The American Psychological Association published the results of a study that looked at the rates of crimes based on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation in New York City between 1985 and 1997; the study suggested there were no increases in hate crime based on the unemployment rates. However, historians have long asserted that the drop in cotton prices increased the number of lynchings between 1882 and 1930. This does not explain the sharp decrease in lynchings seen during the Great Depression.
"The Final Insult"
Mark Potok, chief of the SPLC's Intelligence Project, stated that a black man in the white house is "the final insult" for already rageful hate mongers. In truth, the election of a non-white, non-Christian president has long been thought to be the catalyst for a nationwide race war, so predicted in the white supremicist bible, The Turner Diaries. The book, published in 1978 by the founder of The White Alliance, William Luther Pierce (under the name Andrew Macdonald) is the fictional diary of a man who belonged to a hate group that destroyed the US government. The government in Pierce's book is run by Jews, who take away civil liberties one by one. The Organization, the book's fictional hate group, takes control of the world, eventually eliminating all non-white, non-Christian humans.
While the book is fiction, it has been associated with hate groups and hate crimes since its publication. Timothy McVeigh, who was executed for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, had several copies of The Turner Diaries in his posession ("Hate Groups Are Infiltrating The Military, Group Asserts" by John Kifner. The New York Times, July 7, 2006). The Order, a hate group responsible for the murder of Jewish talk radio host Alan Berg, claimed to have based their group and its activities on those in the book.
Anti-Hate Groups Fight Back
As there have always been hate groups commiting biased crimes against innocent people, there are also organizations that work to defeat these groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center regularly monitors the activities of various hate groups in order to bring their activities to light and expose their leaders to the public. They also aim to educate young people about how hate destroys communities. Similarily, the Anti-Defamation League strives to stop hate crimes and speech directed at the Jewish community. SPLC also provides legal representation for victims of hate crimes and has won huge settlements against several white supremicist organizations.
While hate groups may indeed be inflating their numbers to cause fear, it cannot be denied that economically, politically and racially, the United States is in a state of major change and therefore, vulnerable, even to her own citizens.
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