Will We Continue to Ignore the Messages of White Supremacists?
White Supremacists in North Carolina are trying to tell us something and as Maya Angelou said; we should believe them.
Anti-Semitic incidents reached all-time highs in 2021 and this year is on track to match or exceed that trend. In the final months of 2022 a slew of high profile events bring new light to this dark time in American history;
Former Duke basketball player Kyrie Irving promoted a film with anti-Semitic messages on social media (Oct)
Kanye West went on to Twitter to make anti-Semitic statements (Nov)
Donald Trump dined with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist who denies the Holocaust even happened (Nov)
Fliers promoting “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” (one of the most notorious modern anti-Semitic texts) were distributed in Wake County (Dec also Jan & Aug)
Domestic Terror attacks on Moore County electrical substations left around 45,000 households without power (Dec)
A swastika and hate message was spray painted on the Apex Senior Center (Dec)
“heil Hitler” was announced over the intercom at Enloe High School (Dec)
A sign was hung over a bridge in Moore County that included swastikas and the code “1488,” which stands for the white supremacist “14 words” slogan and the phrase “heil Hitler” (Dec)
A second sign was hung over U.S. 1 also depicting swastikas and other Aryan Nation references (Dec)
Striking fear into the minds of anyone that threatens their beliefs, MAGA-centric hate groups like the Proud Boys and the Klu Klux Klan continue to spin millennia old prejudices into present day persecutions. They need people to be just as afraid as they are. It’s a strategy of intimidation that requires everyone to cower because they might be the next victim. It involves threatening workplaces, appearing at public gatherings, using the courts and especially social media to, as one Moore County school board member recently put it, make it “uncomfortable” to pursue happiness wherever you live. In some cases it goes so far as to threaten people’s families, including children and even dogs.
It used to be easy to ignore the threats these bullies proffer, mostly because they always seem to be directed at someone else. But doing so puts everyone at risk eventually. It ignores the reality of the recent past and the clear fact that none of us are truly safe. Law enforcement, the media and local government officials continue to underestimate the risk to the safety of citizens posed by the people who empower these extremists. They remain blind to the signals that light the way and refuse to acknowledge the inevitable consequences.
I have a running joke with a close friend who has been a civil rights activist for more than half a century; I often say "We've been dealing with this stuff for 20 years" and he responds "No Lowell, we've been dealing with this stuff for 200 years" and I respond "OK actually we've been dealing with it for 3,000 years."
Some local conservatives want to keep challenging conversations out of classrooms because it might make kids uncomfortable, the very goal they advocate. Doing this keeps that hatred alive for another generation, which may very well be their plan. Ignoring the long history of racism, anti-Semitism and minority persecution helps the perpetrators stay out of the limelight and allows them to operate under the cloak of anonymity.
It’s once again time to see if our local leaders have the backbone to stand up against hatred. Don’t bet on it. They still don’t see that this type of divisive, offensive hatred will eventually destroy this community. It’s long past time for Pinehurst Resort, the Moore County Visitor’s Bureau, Sandhills Community College and most importantly, our County Commissioners, to show some leadership.
It will also take some leadership on the part of our elected state representatives. Right now North Carolina’s hate crime law is ineffective and many classes of people are not protected at all. Ethnic Intimidation or assault is only a Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 14-401.14) punishable by a maximum of 120 days in jail.
So what to do?
As a community we must come together and demonstrate our solidarity. Leaders at all levels must clearly express that these hate crimes will not be tolerated.