From the Southern Poverty Law Center:
The number of hate groups operating in the United States continued to rise in 2008 and has grown by 54 percent since 2000 — an increase fueled last year by immigration fears, a failing economy and the successful campaign of Barack Obama, according to the "Year in Hate" issue of the SPLC's Intelligence Report released today.
The SPLC identified 926 hate groups active in 2008, up more than 4 percent from the 888 groups in 2007 and far above the 602 groups documented in 2000. A list and interactive, state-by-state map of these groups can be viewed here.
There is an historical parallel between what is happening now in America and what happened in post-World War I Germany. And it is not a good one.
After it's defeat in WWI, Germany was further humiliated by the victorious Allies who imposed harsh post-war monetary reparations and emasculated of its ability to wage war. The Weimar Republic which came to power after the war found itself bogged down in an economic quagmire brought about not only by the aforesaid crushing debt but also sky-rocketing levels of inflation and unemployment. This resulted in a toxic brew of xenophobia, poverty, and violence. It set the stage for the rise of the Nazi party with its simplistic and cynical scapegoating of the Jews as the reason for all the ills of the nation. It was a message that found its strongest resonance among those who believed themselves to be the most forgotten by their country. We all know in what that eventually resulted.
In America today, we find a climate of fear and apprehension among most of our citizens who jobs and homes have been threatened by the current economic crisis. And those who are suffering most are those who already had the least. Many of them are good people who still believe in the American way of life and the American dream. But there are some among them who see the solution to all their problems in the message of hate which is spreading across the Internet in dozens and dozens of white supremacist websites. They have targeted immigrants especially Latinos as the primary focus of their vitriol. This smoldering anger and resentment has been stoked by people who should know better like Lou Dobbs, Tom Tancredo, and Rush Limbaugh whose celebrity lends an aura of acceptability and respectability to this hatred.
The election of the first black president has only added fuel to the fire. Decades of regional racism serves as the underpinning for this new angle of attack against the "others" who are perceived as having stolen jobs, stolen health care, stolen the schools and most importantly stolen the American birthright. We know from experience that hate-filled speech inevitably leads to hate-filled violence. We have already seen random acts of violence some ending in murder directed against immigrants around the country. These will continue to grow in frequency and numbers for the foreseeable future.
I find myself at a loss in offering any solutions to any of this. How do we instill hope in those men and women who see no hope for their future and their children's future? How do we counter the hate?