From: djweisberger@amherst.edu (David Weisberger)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.german
Subject: Re: Neo-Nazi Movie
Date: 27 Mar 92 23:49:28 GMT
Organization: Amherst College, Amherst, MA.

In article <kt6kg1INNsmv@west.west.sun.com>, markk@sagredo.West.Sun.COM (Mark Kampe) writes:
> Andreas.Bartelt@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de (Andreas Bartelt) writes:
>> Am Ende des Films wurde gesagt es seinen etwa 200 solcher Organistationen
>> in den USA taetig. Stimmt diese Einschaetzung? Wie wirken sich die
>> wirtschaftlichen Probleme der USA auf solche Entwicklungen aus?
> 
> I think that 200 such groups is a totally believable number, and if anything
> lower than I might have guessed.
> 
The number seems reasonable - most of the neo-Nazi groups are apparently
small and localized.

> If I properly understand the last question, I'm not sure I understand it.
> I translate it as "How can the business problems of  the US be addressed in
> the face of such (presumably the growth of such hate groups) developments?
> 
Maybe only a slightly different interpretation, but I understand the
question to ask, "How do the USA's economic problems affect such developments?"
I believe these groups pay little attention to economic problems, to a far
lesser extent than European far-rightists seem to be reacting to increased
immigration.

Nearly all of the American neo-Nazi groups that I have read about emphasize
Aryan supremacy/Whites Only as a purely racist notion, divorced from
any concept of economic (or other!) reality.  

> It is important to realize, that although there are many hate groups and that
> racial and cultural problems are common, that Americans are all very thoroughly
> educated on such matters.  Every day, every school child recites the pledge
> that ends "...with liberty and justice for all."  We are taught that we are
> all immigrants, and that this is a melting pot.  We taught about a long history
> of race and cultural problems, and how people of good conscience have solved
> them.  These are not problems that we sweep under the carpet.
> 
Most people learn enough to reject the neo-Nazis immediately, but not
to lessen their own racism.

> In my experience, people complain about how the Arabs own all the gas stations,
> or how the Vietnamese are forming a new mafia, or how the Japanese are buying 
> all the commercial realestate in California, or how the Koreans are setting up
> a business community where English is not spoken, or how Castro emptied his
> prisons into Florida and California.  This makes it seem that race hatred 
> abounds everywhere.  
> 
> You see something different however when the American Nazis want to march,
> or when a cross is burned on someone's front lawn, or when some other overt
> act of racial biggotry takes place.  All those people who were complaining
> about everybody else will unify to condemn hate crimes.  We all complain alot,
> but most of us know that the KKK and the American Nazis are a much greater
> threat to our country than any racial minority group could possibly be.
> 
On the other hand, the private racism is more mainstream than the organized
radical right and therefore more dangerous than the KKK or neo-Nazis.


> No matter how you feel about the irish, italians, germans, japanese, koreans,
> puerto ricans, vietnamese, cubans, arabs, iranians, chinese, ... people who
> are in this country, they all came here for hope and to build a better future.
> This makes them far better than people who are unified only by hate.
> 
Truly.

Not sure this belongs in soc.culture.german anymore.

 -Davebo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 David Weisberger                  INTERNET:  djweisberger@amh.amherst.edu
                                   BITNET:    djweisberger@amherst

         "This is not a quote.  No-one ever really said this."
Newsgroups: soc.culture.german