History of White Supremacy in American Culture
History of White Supremacy in American Culture
The sixties and seventies were a turbulent time in this nation’s history; the very framework of the government was throbbing with injustice. We were a nation at war both abroad and with ourselves. Biased people filled streets throughout the country, determined to succeed at their task of ridding the United States from the evils that the Jews, blacks, homosexuals, and handicapped created. These acts still continue today, there are thousands of instances of verbal, physical, and emotional abuse each year.
One common misconception today is that with the demise of the Ku Klux Klan, the organized hate groups also disappeared. This would be wonderful, but as long as there are differences in this country there will be hate. “Differences are the gas in hate’s car or the bullets in hate’s gun, without them every-one would get along” (Church). Just as the KKK had thrived during the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement, as did the White Aryan Militias during the Vietnam war. The United States was influenced by England’s rise in hateful demonstrations starting in the sixties during the ‘free love’ movement. As America started to face ideological divisions, like Great Britain had, Adolf Hitler’s teachings of extreme hatred spread through cities and towns and finally rested in peoples’ minds (Church). Hitler preached hatred of mainly blacks and Jews (McKissack, 152), but also homosexuals and other minorities.
A hate crime is a crime that is committed against a certain race or group. The causes for hate crimes are endless. A parent is an influential voice that often molds a child’s mind towards hate, as are the children at school. Peer pressure is another prominent source for the spread of hatred (Church). However, in this day and age with the rapid growth of technology it is now much easier to disperse the white supremacist ideas to complete strangers. This is accomplished mainly through web sites, but there is also a record label, Resistance Records, that promotes racism (Anti-Defamation- Deafening).
As a society, we must help stop or at least prevent hate crimes. If we can’t stop or prevent them, there is no telling how terrible they will get. One way that people have found to do this is by bankrupting hate groups. In Morris Dees’s book...