Welcome to the Neighborhood… Now Get Out

Don’t sleep on homegrown hate, it could be right outside your front door.

Home is where the hate is

For years, when visiting my mother, I would retrieve her mail and pick up any newspapers (when they were a thing) or loose flyers lying about the front lawn. On one particular day, a rolled-up paper wrapped in plastic, lay inconspicuously on the front walkway. Thinking it was just another flyer I paid little attention to it. Once inside the house, I noticed peering from the protective plastic membrane, a black illustration of a “knight” on a horse. Intrigued, I unwrapped it only to find staring back at me, a recruiting pamphlet for a local far-right extremist group looking to spread its bigotry.

My heart leaped into my throat as I gasped for air. What I had seen or read about in previous years was now suddenly a reality and it hit close to home — my mother’s home.

No matter where you go or how you live, if you are Black in America, there never seems to be a safe place.

Leaving hate print on front lawns or in mailboxes might be old school but it was standard practice years ago. Today, the intent is more pointed than ever before no matter the strategy or medium — hate groups do their recruiting and indoctrination in the depths of social media and other outlets. From there they can advance their agenda of division much more efficiently. These days, wherever you turn you will undoubtedly be exposed to some new form of hate at the ready to infiltrate your consciousness.

Hate is everywhere.

Over the last decade, right-wing extremists have been responsible for more than 75% of extremist-related murders in this country. — Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO

Disgusted by what I was reading, this pamphlet of racism quickly found its final resting place in the trash. After that day, every time I went for a visit I would approach the front lawn with suspicion, careful of what I might find. I couldn’t shake the reality of how my world (my mother’s world) was now infected with such extreme prejudice, how the atmosphere of safety was now compromised.

Sure, there was an element of paranoia that came along for future visits — I was never sure if I would see a repeat delivery or if, because of my presence in this all-white neighborhood, I would be targeted again. Was this beacon of bigotry on the walkway a way to send a message by someone who observed my routine or was it one of many placed blindly around the neighborhood in an effort to recruit? Honestly, who knows, but this is what goes through your mind when you are Black and faced with such hate so close to home.

Helplessness becomes your shadow and anxiety your co-pilot.

Weakness in numbers

It's no secret that there has been a surge in far-right extremism over the last half-decade. Whether this destructive doctrine teases your worst sense or not, there is no denying its effect on American society, especially now. If you are a person of color, the understanding of right-wing extremism is paramount and needs to be taken seriously as this poisonous ideology has been steadily growing and gaining momentum.

To defuse the underlying causes of domestic terrorist attacks, we must promote a society that is tolerant of our differences and respectful in our disagreements. — Attorney General Merrick B. Garland

Seth G. Jones, Senior Vice President; Harold Brown Chair; and Director, International Security Program discusses the rise and threat of right-wing terrorism in the United States and how it targets racial, religious, ethnic, and other marginalized groups because of outright opposition to a diverse society. This threat is no longer underground. Extremists feed off a divided country and look to swell their numbers with angry disenfranchised people looking to place blame for the ills in society, and their own failed lives. By targeting innocent communities with misplaced anger, many with ill intent are furthering a divide and perpetuating a toxic, and violent environment.

Far-right extremists don’t even hide their bloodlust at this point — did they ever? After a huge helping of ideological support from the last administration leaving them drunk with allowance and permission, the strategy of doubling down to get what they want propels their blind mission to rule any and all who are different, and to amplify that ingrained fear of a “browning” America.

There should be no second-guessing about this strategy. The only question becomes, what can we do about it?

Where do we go from here?

Almost daily we bear witness to yet another example of extreme hate and just how far the far-right will go to keep the social landscape in this country from expanding. The tragedy at the Charleston church in South Carolina on June 17, 2015, comes to mind — nine innocent parishioners were gunned down by a white supremacist, who subscribed to the poisonous trappings of indifference and violence. The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on October 27, 2018 — another horrific tragedy, was carried out by a neo-Nazi who believed it was his duty to rid the world of the Jewish community. In both incidences, the prime objective was to put into action, a deeply disturbing belief in murdering innocent people who were considered subhuman and the root cause of a crumbling society.

But these acts of violence are not perpetrated solely on American soil. This increased hostility toward others has been widespread wreaking havoc in many countries. Another heinous example of right-wing extremism happened last summer when a white supremacist slaughtered 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques.

The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it. — George Orwell

Right-wing terrorism is scary stuff no doubt and deserves our full, undivided attention as it will not go away any time soon. With the passing of hate crime laws and increased convictions of people who rely on violent crimes to further their hateful agenda, we are seeing some progress. However, in a divided country teetering on the brink of complete civil unrest, the alt-right movement has steadily influenced policy in an effort to advance its ever-increasing violence against minority communities.

For a group that promotes alpha dominance and overt displays of misguided masculinity, white supremacists hide behind the laws and constitution to justify their actions. With support from some high-level government officials and those in our legal system, as well as certain media outlets… reigning in this evil has been a challenge to control.

The crucial work that needs to be done can seem far-reaching and overwhelming.

Identifying the sources of where this hate lives, will require more effective monitoring, increased willingness to issue indictments, and tougher sentences for those who commit these heinous acts, and yep, I’ll say it… police reform and perhaps a reimagined justice system, is just a start. Consequences for this disturbing behavior, however, must come swiftly and without hesitation.

We can entrench ourselves in the psychology of why many turn to these hate groups and act on their violent tendencies, and yes, true understanding of how people are indoctrinated should be a focus so that we can address it at its inception. But taking people to task for their harmful displays of inhumane treatment of others must be a prime factor in preserving equality and safe society for everyone.

Acts of far-right extremism aren’t just something we see on the five o’clock news or as the latest post on news sites… they happen in city and town centers, at places of worship, in the workplace, and at home in our neighborhoods. Educating one’s self on why, and more specifically, where these hate groups germinate and manifest is a first step in controlling this danger. We need to not only address this threat but also root out the disease.

When overt racism hits close to home it becomes much more real and worrisome. Watching it spread with impunity gives little reassurance things will ever change. At this point, we are used to the ugliness of this destructive belief system being a part of our daily lives (well, for many of us).

Although deliberate displays of racism exist everywhere in America, especially these days, it isn’t as common here in the northeast as it is in the south — at least it wasn’t 20 years ago. If you are Black and come face to face with such hatred, it can be jarring, to say the least. Your world seems that much smaller and, understandably, less safe.

I never did tell my mother what was on her walkway that day.

Thank you for reading!

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