White Supremacists Propaganda Is On The Rise (1 Viewer)

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    So the ADL's Center of Extremism is tracking a dramatic (double, in most cases) rise in white supremacists propaganda being promulgated in the US.

    The 2019 data shows an increase of incidents both on and off campus, with a total of 2,713 cases reported (averaging more than seven incidents per day), compared to 1,214 in 2018 – a doubling in activity year over year. This is the highest number of propaganda incidents ADL has ever recorded.

    It seems they are deliberately targetting US campuses.

    Approximately one-fourth (630) of the total (2,711) white supremacist propaganda incidents in 2019 took place on campus – nearly double the 320 campus incidents counted in 2018. The 2019 propaganda efforts targeted 433 different campuses in 43 states and the District of Columbia. An overwhelming majority of the campuses (90 percent) were targeted only once or twice, which suggests that despite their increased efforts, white supremacists seem to have failed to gain a sustained foothold on campus.

    Klan events are down.

    America’s Klan movement continued its decline in 2019. The combined efforts of seven different Klan groups resulted in only 53 propaganda distributions – a significant drop from the 102 incidents in 2018 and well off the Klan’s five-year average of 82.

    Public opposition is possibly a deterrence.

    ADL documented 20 percent fewer white supremacist events in 2019 than 2018, down from 95 to 76 events.

    White supremacists continued to rely heavily on so-called flash demonstrations, preferring not to risk the exposure of pre-publicized events.

    2019 saw very few pre-announced white supremacist events, rallies or protests, and those that did occur suffered from dismal attendance and were met with heavy opposition.


    The messaging and tactics have become less overtly racists yet more insidious because it delivers the message using seemingly innocuous themes like patriotism or nationalism.


    These and other white-supremacist groups largely favor veiled hate over explicitly racist language, and some, such as the Patriot Front, lean heavily on “patriotic” imagery, incorporating American flags or red, white and blue color schemes. They all tend to use toned-down language about how “diversity destroys nations” and the need to take pride in “Western” culture.

    This is purposeful; it gives white supremacists an opening to a population of curious young people who would most likely be turned off by explicit neo-Nazi rhetoric or overtly racist language.



    "The barrage of propaganda, which overwhelmingly features veiled white supremacist language with a patriotic slant, is an effort to normalise white supremacists' message and bolster recruitment efforts while targeting minority groups including Jews, Blacks, Muslims, non-white immigrants and the LGBTQ community," the statement added.

    Center on Extremism Director Oren Segal told the Associated Press that the groups are making an effort to emphasise "patriotism" in an attempt "to make their hate more palatable for a 2020 audience".


    Community takes notice; on alert.


    The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) increased the threat level of white supremacist extremists from moderate to high, according to a report released by the state agency Friday.

    The change comes amid increased rates of crimes linked to white supremacist groups, such as a New Jersey man who allegedly conspired with members of a neo-Nazi network to vandalize synagogues in the Midwest.

    "The threat from white supremacist extremists is also high due to the number of threats, plots, and attacks in 2019," the report read. "In 2020, white supremacist extremists are likely to cite accelerationism as a motivation for future violent acts, and recruitment efforts promoting extremist ideology continue throughout the State."


    My take: Obviously, this is troubling, especially for members of such targeted groups. Not included or linked to, in this post, is the alarming rate at which white supremacists have infiltrated law enforcement and its evidenced by their public assertions on social media and the like. Their messages are finding homes and we need to vigilant in discovering why so we can properly combat. Now, with the "why", President Trump is the obvious low-hanging fruit. And, while I think there is legitimate conversation to be had about any atmospheric influence his Administration has had in this issue ( https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...ller-white-nationalist-trump-immigration-guru) I also believe focusing on him, or even solely blaming him, is missing the forest for the tree. This is a centuries old issue that seems to be undying in our culture. I think this is more of a reflection of us then Trump.

    Thoughts?
     
    Do these people like to use racist dog whistles while HATING to be called racist and say things like ‘being called racist is like using the n word’?
     

    So the ADL's Center of Extremism is tracking a dramatic (double, in most cases) rise in white supremacists propaganda being promulgated in the US.

    The 2019 data shows an increase of incidents both on and off campus, with a total of 2,713 cases reported (averaging more than seven incidents per day), compared to 1,214 in 2018 – a doubling in activity year over year. This is the highest number of propaganda incidents ADL has ever recorded.

    It seems they are deliberately targetting US campuses.

    Approximately one-fourth (630) of the total (2,711) white supremacist propaganda incidents in 2019 took place on campus – nearly double the 320 campus incidents counted in 2018. The 2019 propaganda efforts targeted 433 different campuses in 43 states and the District of Columbia. An overwhelming majority of the campuses (90 percent) were targeted only once or twice, which suggests that despite their increased efforts, white supremacists seem to have failed to gain a sustained foothold on campus.

    Klan events are down.

    America’s Klan movement continued its decline in 2019. The combined efforts of seven different Klan groups resulted in only 53 propaganda distributions – a significant drop from the 102 incidents in 2018 and well off the Klan’s five-year average of 82.

    Public opposition is possibly a deterrence.

    ADL documented 20 percent fewer white supremacist events in 2019 than 2018, down from 95 to 76 events.

    White supremacists continued to rely heavily on so-called flash demonstrations, preferring not to risk the exposure of pre-publicized events.

    2019 saw very few pre-announced white supremacist events, rallies or protests, and those that did occur suffered from dismal attendance and were met with heavy opposition.


    The messaging and tactics have become less overtly racists yet more insidious because it delivers the message using seemingly innocuous themes like patriotism or nationalism.


    These and other white-supremacist groups largely favor veiled hate over explicitly racist language, and some, such as the Patriot Front, lean heavily on “patriotic” imagery, incorporating American flags or red, white and blue color schemes. They all tend to use toned-down language about how “diversity destroys nations” and the need to take pride in “Western” culture.

    This is purposeful; it gives white supremacists an opening to a population of curious young people who would most likely be turned off by explicit neo-Nazi rhetoric or overtly racist language.



    "The barrage of propaganda, which overwhelmingly features veiled white supremacist language with a patriotic slant, is an effort to normalise white supremacists' message and bolster recruitment efforts while targeting minority groups including Jews, Blacks, Muslims, non-white immigrants and the LGBTQ community," the statement added.

    Center on Extremism Director Oren Segal told the Associated Press that the groups are making an effort to emphasise "patriotism" in an attempt "to make their hate more palatable for a 2020 audience".


    Community takes notice; on alert.


    The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) increased the threat level of white supremacist extremists from moderate to high, according to a report released by the state agency Friday.

    The change comes amid increased rates of crimes linked to white supremacist groups, such as a New Jersey man who allegedly conspired with members of a neo-Nazi network to vandalize synagogues in the Midwest.

    "The threat from white supremacist extremists is also high due to the number of threats, plots, and attacks in 2019," the report read. "In 2020, white supremacist extremists are likely to cite accelerationism as a motivation for future violent acts, and recruitment efforts promoting extremist ideology continue throughout the State."


    My take: Obviously, this is troubling, especially for members of such targeted groups. Not included or linked to, in this post, is the alarming rate at which white supremacists have infiltrated law enforcement and its evidenced by their public assertions on social media and the like. Their messages are finding homes and we need to vigilant in discovering why so we can properly combat. Now, with the "why", President Trump is the obvious low-hanging fruit. And, while I think there is legitimate conversation to be had about any atmospheric influence his Administration has had in this issue ( https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...ller-white-nationalist-trump-immigration-guru) I also believe focusing on him, or even solely blaming him, is missing the forest for the tree. This is a centuries old issue that seems to be undying in our culture. I think this is more of a reflection of us then Trump.

    Thoughts?

    I have no relevant expertise to add to this, just my own perspective, so take this with a grain of salt.

    The Obama era tested — and represented — the limits of diversity/inclusivity our society was willing to tolerate at that time, and Trump was elected as that pendulum swung back in the other direction. Trump masterfully (he’s mostly a 🤡, so I don’t use that word lightly) tapped into the sentiment of people who thought the pendulum needed to be “corrected,” but that group is a WIDE range of people —> people who are annoyed or angered by PC/woke culture; people who feel threatened by immigrants for a number of reasons; people who didn’t like Obama appointing women and/or people of color to positions; people who don’t like aggressive pro-LGBTQ legislation; people who were annoyed or angered by Black Lives Matter; and on and on. (Also, I’m well aware that there were plenty of people who voted for Trump for none of those reasons - that doesn’t change this analysis). Trump didn’t create those sentiments, but he very deliberately tapped into them. That’s why he loves picking fights with AOC and Ilhan Omar — women, of color, not like “regular Americans,” etc. — symbols of what he sells as the folly of progressivism. That’s why he promoted birtherism and “the wall” no matter how unserious those ideas were when the rubber met the road.

    White supremacists are a fringe group who view diversity and inclusivity not as just an inconvenience or annoyance, but as an existential threat. In the mid 2010s when the pendulum began swinging back away from diversity and inclusivity and toward nationalism, populism, etc., white supremacists became emboldened, their ideas spread more quickly, and they started coming out of the woodworks. They have likely taken notice that we have a president who favors mostly white male political appointees, who belongs to a party whose leadership in congress is made up of mostly white males, who is married to and descendant from white immigrants but favors building a wall to keep out brown-skinned ones, who goes into double-speak when confronted about white supremacy, and who shows obvious preference for places like Norway over “s***hole” countries. It’s hard for white supremacists to ask for much more than that in a president in 2020, so whether or not Trump actively and openly courts them, his presence emboldens them.

    But to me, this is all much more indicative of Trump being a symptom of a larger problem than as the problem itself. The current global movement toward neo-nationalism — far right populism, Brexit, anti-immigration, anti-globalism, islamophobia, anti-semitism— has been trending since before and after the Obama-Trump transition, which indicates to me that there are many other factors at work beyond just my oversimplified pendulum analogy (the role of the internet, for example). Trump happened to be one of the best at capturing a sentiment that already existed here and abroad. So if we focus on him as a problem, we are almost certainly missing the forest for the trees.

    I think the best ways to combat white nationalism — one of the most evil and extreme manifestations of the recent wave of backlash — is from the ground up. If Trump was elected on momentum of a pendulum swing, it stands to reason that sentiment made its way into more elections than just the 2016 presidency. But democracy tends to work because good people always outnumber bad people, so it’s incumbent on the voters to keep fringe extremism on the fringes where it belongs and not in our city councils, mayors offices, governors mansions, etc. Our elected officials are the people who allocate resources to help minimize those more immediate threats, and the more good leadership we have, the more we can expect to see those extremists go back to their own rat nests, until the next time. And there will always be a next time, because there will always be racists.

    I’m a white male, so I recognize my take isn’t likely to be particularly comforting for those in targeted groups in the short term. I just think that despite this being an ugly moment in our history, we’ve demonstrated the ability to overcome this sort of thing many times over.

    P.S. I have lots of friends who support Trump who I truly don’t think are motivated by race, so this should not be read to imply that it’s racist to support or vote for Trump. I just believe that a big part of Trump’s game is stoke that type of anger, some of it racially charged, and that it’s clear why he appeals to white supremacists.
     
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    The thing that gets me about all of this is the growth within the educated community.

    Your past visible members were blue collar and extremely identifiable by just about anyone with vision.

    The growth within the educated youth is crazy.

    After hearing that girl on npr I looked her up she looks like a regular privileged little girl. The kind you see all day in coffee shops.

    Just crazy stuff.

    I would like to think we as people would be smarter than this.
     
    If an organization makes more money, receives more contributions and generally raises its public profile by finding and identifying more white supremacists, it is not surprising that it would be tempted to find ways to increase the count, such as expanding the definition.

    It worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center, expanding hate crimes to include religious groups that opposed gay marriage.
     
    If an organization makes more money, receives more contributions and generally raises its public profile by finding and identifying more white supremacists, it is not surprising that it would be tempted to find ways to increase the count, such as expanding the definition.

    It worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center, expanding hate crimes to include religious groups that opposed gay marriage.


    We as a people should also be smart enough to not engage with this type of excuse.

    Try again
     
    If an organization makes more money, receives more contributions and generally raises its public profile by finding and identifying more white supremacists, it is not surprising that it would be tempted to find ways to increase the count, such as expanding the definition.

    It worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center, expanding hate crimes to include religious groups that opposed gay marriage.
    It makes sense that white supremacists would be working to find more subtle ways to make fringe ideas become mainstream -- otherwise they'd always stay on the fringe.

    If you're implying that overreach in identifying that sort of propaganda is potentially more harmful than the actual dissemination of disguised propaganda, that doesn't make sense to me. ADL and similar orgs identifying a piece of information as propaganda does not establish it as such; it gives people the opportunity to discern for themselves. If a piece of propaganda is not identified for what it is, then the people it's weaponized aren't necessarily equipped to recognize it. That is, after all, what disguised propaganda is designed to do.

    Moreover, the threat of white nationalist violence is clearly on the rise notwithstanding ADL's classification of propaganda. Complaining about ADL and SPLC distracts from a problem that needs to be addressed head on.
     
    I I don't think you can gather much from an increase in "propaganda events." A propaganda event could be just hanging up a sign somewhere or putting flyers out on cars. What seems good is that these events are often met with public outrage. And that is also reflected in seeing fewer public demonstrations by these groups.

    But I think First Time Poster is correct - these sorts of groups have always been with us. I actually think their scope and reach is less than it was 20+ years ago. Although I do think there has been an uptick in their energy over the last 5-6 years.
     
    I think First Time Poster is correct - these sorts of groups have always been with us. I actually think their scope and reach is less than it was 20+ years ago. Although I do think there has been an uptick in their energy over the last 5-6 years.

    Yeah, it is deep-seeded and embedded within the fabric of our country. Yet, as you noted there is an uptick, an energy that wasn't present a decade ago and that is worrisome to me. I disagree on scope and reach. I think in the internet/social media era, scope and reach is unlimited. Because they are less unified and organized as a group, our perception is that their reach and scope is limited but I believe that makes them more dangerous. Like a terrorist splinter cell that works independently from another, each group is free to operate with their own agenda, own leadership and own objectives. Which makes them harder to track and more conspicuous. But, they have the ability to recruit/proselytize to whomever they want.

    And, yet, it isn't so much volume that bothers me but the methodology, seemingly effective methodology, that they employ their proproganda with. Lacing it with patriotism and nationalism. It makes it more palatable to pique interest, harder to discern intent (for some) and, quite frankly, harder to combat.

    Some well-meaning persons end up inadvertently parroting white supremacist and white nationalist rhetoric thinking they are simply defending/promoting patriotism or some innocuous form of nationalism.
     
    Is there a corresponding rise in Black Nationalism and Separatism? The Southern Poverty Law Center says there is. They blame it on the police and Trump.

    They also note that Black Nationalist groups tend to be strongly anti-Semitic. This gives rise to increased racially motivated incidents against Jews as reported by the ADL.

    Existing black nationalist groups have grown in size and new groups have formed. This growth is a response to the current climate of racial divisiveness, specifically police violence and Donald Trump’s derisive remarks about African Americans, including journalists and NFL players, and majority-black countries. Group leaders have played on people’s fear and distress to recruit new members in 2018. Leaders have also become emboldened in their rhetoric. Hashim Nzinga of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense called Hitler a great man, and Louis Farrakhan told congregants at a February conference: “I don’t care what they put on me. The government is my enemy, the powerful Jews are my enemy, and scared to death negroes are my enemy, and weak Muslims and hypocrites are my enemy, but here I stand! Unfazed by a government that wants my life.”

     
    Last edited:
    Is there a corresponding rise in Black Nationalism and Separatism? The Southern Poverty Law Center says there is. They blame it on the police and Trump.

    They also note that Black Nationalist groups tend to be strongly anti-Semitic. This gives rise to increased racially motivated incidents against Jews as reported by the ADL.

    Existing black nationalist groups have grown in size and new groups have formed. This growth is a response to the current climate of racial divisiveness, specifically police violence and Donald Trump’s derisive remarks about African Americans, including journalists and NFL players, and majority-black countries. Group leaders have played on people’s fear and distress to recruit new members in 2018. Leaders have also become emboldened in their rhetoric. Hashim Nzinga of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense called Hitler a great man, and Louis Farrakhan told congregants at a February conference: “I don’t care what they put on me. The government is my enemy, the powerful Jews are my enemy, and scared to death negroes are my enemy, and weak Muslims and hypocrites are my enemy, but here I stand! Unfazed by a government that wants my life.”


    How should we address the rise in black nationalism?

    This should be in it's own different thread unless you're making that connection that the rise in extremist white nationalism has caused a reactionary rise in black nationalism and that it's all tied to Trump's fervent rhetoric ginning up this type of extremist behavior. If so, good point.
     
    How should we address the rise in black nationalism?

    This should be in it's own different thread unless you're making that connection that the rise in extremist white nationalism has caused a reactionary rise in black nationalism and that it's all tied to Trump's fervent rhetoric ginning up this type of extremist behavior. If so, good point.

    It's reactionary and all tied to police violence and Trump's rhetoric, according to the SPL's write-up.

    "...specifically police violence and Donald Trump’s derisive remarks about African Americans including journalists and NFL players, and majority-black countries."

    So, thank you for saying it's a good point. :9:
     
    If a piece of propaganda is not identified for what it is, then the people it's weaponized aren't necessarily equipped to recognize it. That is, after all, what disguised propaganda is designed to do.

    That is exactly correct. "America. Love it or leave it." One may believe they are simply promoting nationalistic or patriotic pride but if that term is weaponized mostly/solely against minorities or marginalized persons, it becomes something more insidious. Moreover, if that term is historically, traditionally and, even, in present tense used as a slight to such groups then, regardless of personal intent, using the words, rhetoric or phrasing is still harmful because it has traditionally been employed as a weapon to such persons.

    I may be genuinely attempting to compliment someone by calling them a "system quarterback" or a "game manager." The reality is that those terms have been historically and presently used, mostly, as a back-handed compliment, at best, or as a slight or disparagement, at worst. The terms are loaded even if I meant no ill-will. Which is why if someone is labeling someone else as such, they usually preface the comments with a vociferous explanation of why they are using the terms in a complimentary fashion. To just throw the term out there, ignorant of its historical and present weight, is inflammatory and irresponsible.

    We have to call it out. Not only to combat its promulgation by the ill-intentioned but to shed light on its "gravity", its "weight", to the uninformed.

    Moreover, the threat of white nationalist violence is clearly on the rise notwithstanding ADL's classification of propaganda. Complaining about ADL and SPLC distracts from a problem that needs to be addressed head on.

    This is the other side of the coin to just focusing on Trump. That isn't to say I'm not concerned by white nationalist rhetoric that comes from POTUS or his Administration. Trump is riding the wave. With this issue, I'm less concerned about the dude who has mastered surfing the wave than I am of the wave itself. It's an issue, no doubt. We shouldn't get lost in the weeds.
     
    'System QB' and 'Game manager' are racist or not appropriate to say anymore? What if that player is a 'System QB' or 'Game Manager'? How would one describe QB that will probably not win a game but will definitely not make the mistakes that will cost a game, despite physical talent?
     
    'System QB' and 'Game manager' are racist or not appropriate to say anymore? What if that player is a 'System QB' or 'Game Manager'? How would one describe QB that will probably not win a game but will definitely not make the mistakes that will cost a game, despite physical talent?

    If I'm understanding FTP correctly, it was meant as an analogy to explain why "America, Love it or Leave it" was problematic. He wasn't saying that "System QB" and "Game manager" are racist or have racist meanings, just that they're loaded terms.
     
    I am admittedly naive about these things - what is loaded about "system QB"?
    I understand that some people call a black QB a "running QB" no matter what, but I never knew there were some racist connotations to "system QB" or "Game Manager"

    And I know, of course, that the QB position and race has been intertwined for generations.
     

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