Neo-Nazis in the US military. Why isn't this getting more coverage?

I note with approval that Salon has a front page article on the spread of Neo-Nazis in the military.

Neo-Nazis are in the Army now

Why the U.S. military is ignoring its own regulations and permitting white supremacists to join its ranks.

I am happy that Salon has written this article on an issue which should worry everyone, considering recent events such as the murder of Dr. Tiller and the shooting at the Holocaust museum. The problem is of course that this is not exactly news. Back in 2006, the Intelligence Report, published by Southern Poverty Law Center, wrote about this very issue. See:

A Few Bad Men

Ten years after a scandal over neo-Nazis in the armed forces, extremists are once again worming their way into a recruit-starved military.

Extremism and the Military
Racist Extremists Active in U.S. Military
Pentagon in Denial About Racist Extremists in Ranks

They followed up on the issue, with articles such as 'Killing a Brown' - New Evidence of Extremists in the Military (winter 2008), which David Neiwert commented on.

None of this made the news media in any notable way.

And then, there was FBI's (in)famous report White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel since 9/11 (.pdf), which was covered by the media, but where the coverage was drowned out by the widespread denouncements of the report made by Republicans and right-wing pundits.

So, what does it take for this to make the main-stream media? Why aren't they following up on these things? Currently there is a very worrisome uptick in US domestic terrorism, often perpetrated by people with ties to the far-right. Shouldn't this worry the media a lot more than it apparently does?

I hope that Intelligence Rapport and Salon keep up the good work. No one else seems to be willing to do it.

Words have consequences

In my last post, I shared the news that Dr. George Tiller has been murdered. I have absolutely no doubt this happened because of his willingness to do his job as a doctor and provide late-term abortions to his patients.

Now I see that Operation Rescue, an anti-choice organization, which has tried to stop Dr. Tiller in the past through lawsuits, have put up a post denouncing the murder.

It has been learned today that George Tiller was shot and killed while entering his church on Sunday morning, May 31.

Operation Rescue releases the following statement:

We are shocked at this morning’s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

This is an understandable reaction, but it doesn't absolve Operation Rescue of guilt.

One of David Neiwert's points in the Eliminatorists is that dehumanizing of people allows other people to commit atrocities against them, and Operation Rescue has been very busy dehumanizing Dr. Tiller indeed.

I took a screenshot of their denouncing the murder, and posted it below (click on it to see a larger version).



If you look closely at the image, you might notice a image in the lower right corner saying "America's Doctor of Death" bearing an image of the face of a man wearing spectacles. That man is Dr. Tiller, and clicking on the image on their website brings you to a category under their website called "Tiller watch" (the URL is http://www.operationrescue.org/category/tiller-watch/).

Calling someone "America's Doctor of Death" is dehumanizing him to an extreme degree, allowing people to ignore the fact that he is a person, which again allows people to do things like murdering him. Operation Rescue might not have pulled the trigger on Dr. Tiller, but they created an environment, where someone could pull the trigger on him.

Update: Jill Filipovic has written a piece in the Guardian which explains my sentiment a lot better: Who killed George Tiller?

Book Review: The Eliminationists

The Eliminationists - How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right by David Neiwert

The author of this book, David Neiwert, is a well-respected blogger, who blogs at Orcinus. In my opinion, he is one of the best writers in the blogsphere. His blogposts are well written and well researched, building on top of his great knowledge of the topics he blog about. On top of that, he is one of the few genuine experts in the blogsphere - he is your go-to man, if you want to know something about the far-right movement(s) in the US; a subject he has written books about in the past.

His newest book also relates to the far-right movement(s), and this time he focuses on how pundits, especially talk radio hosts, transmits extremist ideas into the mainstream conservative movement, by either transmitting these ideas as facts, or by allowing right-winged extremist access to their microphones, presenting them as mainstream voices and/or experts on the subject being discussed.

If you've read Neiwert's blog, Orcinus, you'll recognize the theme, and in many ways, the book can be considered a collection of his blogposts on the subject, distilled down to the core ideas and concepts, and fleshed out a bit.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the book, since it was neither as scholarly nor as journalistic as I had expected, based upon his earlier books. This time Neiwert's own opinions come to the fore much more, though still backed up with research and references. Even so, I would still consider this an important book, showing both how extremist ideas can spread and become mainstream, and how there are some real worrisome tendencies towards fascism among these extremists and their broadcasters.

This should not be misunderstood to mean that Neiwert thinks that the conservative movement is fascists, but he thinks the tendencies towards fascism are there, and he explains why he reaches this conclusion.

If you live in the US, or are interested in US politics, I recommend this book. It's not pleasant reading, but it's important, and even if you end up disagreeing with Neiwert's conclusions, you will have some things to think about.

David Neiwert has a new book out

David Neiwert, whose blog Orcinus I've been a fan of since it started, has written a new book.

Here is his blogpost about it: Announcing 'The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right'

His earlier books Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community, Death on the Fourth of July: The Story of a Killing, a Trial, and Hate Crime in America, and In God's Country: The Patriot Movement and the Pacific Northwest were all really great, so I am looking forward to The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right (all Amazon links goes to his Amazon affiliate program).

In my opinion, David Neiwert is one of the best bloggers out there, and if people haven't read his earlier books, I certainly suggest checking them out.