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Racialist
Groups in Pocahontas County
Often
labeled by both supporters and opponents by terminology such as neo-Nazi, white
supremacist, hate groups, or racialist organizations, this movement shares
several ideological traits among its various manifestations and groups:
(1) The
superiority of the white race, in particular those whose origins are from
northern and eastern Europe. In contrast, people of Asiatic, African,
Australian, and Native American (Indian) origin are considered genetically,
biologically, and culturally inferior .
(2) All
Jews are loathed. Jews are believed to be conspirators in a plot to take over
domination of the world’s governments, economies, and culture. Jews are
considered to be the primary instigator of multiculturalism, which includes
racial mixing.
(3) Although
strategies vary among the neo-Nazi groups, recruiting new adherents to their
ideology is primary right now. Much of this recruitment is through online
websites, which are inexpensive to operate. Specialized music, magazines and
print materials, radio broadcasts, and various paraphernalia abound.
Conferences, protest gatherings, and various rallies are held throughout the
country. The movement has relative strength also in Great Britain and in
Germany.
(4) The
movement is aware that propagating massive violence now would be
counter-productive to their goals. Too their minds, too many of their leaders
are already in prison. At some point, many of them believe that a combination
of a build-up in their own membership, a growing dissatisfaction and resentment
among white people, and a catalytic event or catastrophe will set the stage for
a successful revolution. Violence would then be used to finalize their goals.
Often referred to as “The Day of the
Rope”,
from William Pierce’s book
The
Turner
Diaries,
or “Rope Time,” Jews, non-whites, and whites resisting the
revolution would be executed.
(5) Much
of their propaganda utilizes an inductive form of reasoning, trying to
demonstrate by handpicked examples and statistics that blacks and other
non-whites are intellectually and morally inferior, and that Jews are construing
the world toward their domination.
(6) Adolph
Hitler is held in the highest esteem. His faults are that of strategy, for
example, for not building unity with Great Britain and other white European
nations.
Why
does Pocahontas County now have several racialist groups? The main reason is
that the National Alliance purchased property near Hillsboro to be their base of
operations. The remote location along with the proximity to their ideal of white
living space (Pocahontas County has few non-whites) are likely factors. Since
William Pierce’s death, the National Alliance has had numerous people
defect or otherwise leave the group. Some of them have stayed in the area and
are working on other projects. Others, perhaps, have been drawn to the area by
the National Alliance but yet have decided not to have direct
involvement.It
is important to note that The United States gives all of its citizens the
freedoms to exercise speech and expression, to assemble, and to practice their
own religion. These freedoms grate on many people when dissident groups
exercise these rights. Pocahontas County citizens are noted for their
friendliness, their hospitality, and their tolerance for people to “do
their own thing.” Members of neo-Nazi groups have the right to practice
their beliefs as long as they are non-violent and non-intrusive to other
people’s privacy. They have the right to use our libraries, call for
police protection, have access to the court system, and the right to avail
themselves of the services of local businesses for non-political purposes (buy
food, supplies, etc.). They have the right as US citizens to non-obtrusively
and non-invasively petition, pass out literature, assemble in public places, and
propagate their ideology. WV Code
and William
& Mary Law Review
NOTE:
The following is information on the National Alliance and other neo-Nazi groups
of local impact. NOTE: The information on these neo-Nazi groups will be
expanded and updated periodically. Persons interested in furthering this
neo-Nazi ideologies project of the Pearl S. Buck E Pluribus Unum Collection may
contact the Library Director at Pocahontas Libraries.
Below
are references to the following neo-Nazi organizations with local impact: The
National Alliance; Thunderbolt of Truth; The Creativity Movement; White
Revolution; Panzerfaust.
The
National
Alliance
The
National Alliance, considered by organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law
Center as the most notorious and influential neo-Nazi white supremacist
organization in the USA, has been headquartered near Hillsboro, West Virginia
for about two decades.
The
National Alliance’s founder and ideological font, Dr. William Pierce, died
after a short illness in July, 2002, leaving the organization in the hands of
Erich Gliebe. Shortly thereafter a rift broke out in the organization over the
new management, with one faction, headed by recruiter Billy Roper, being
expelled. Many other members have followed suit, leading to a 33% decline in
membership since Pierce’s death. Current membership is about 1000, which
is the largest neo-Nazi organization in the United
States.
The
National Alliance compound is located near the southern end of Pocahontas
County, with a mailing address of Hillsboro. The compound is over 300 acres at
the base of Kennison Mountain, reputedly has caves, is heavily wooded, isolated.
The property is private and
uninvited persons should not
enter.
The
National Alliance openly advocates racialist policies, such as these quotes,
many of which can be dug out from their web site at
www.natvan.com
“We
must have White schools, White residential neighborhoods and recreation areas,
White workplaces, White farms and countryside. We must have no non-Whites in our
living space, and we must have open space around us for expansion."
“We
need a strong, centralized government spanning several continents to coordinate
many important tasks during the first few decades of a White world: the racial
cleansing of the land, the rooting out of racially destructive institutions, and
the reorganization of society on a new basis."
“We
are obliged to oppose the Christian churches and to speak out against their
doctrines," read the group's tenets. "It is not an Aryan religion . . . like the
other Semitic religions [it] is irredeemably primitive."
“Ultimately,
we must separate ourselves from the Blacks and other non-whites and keep
ourselves separate, no matter what it takes to accomplish this. We must do this
not because we hate Blacks, but because we cannot survive if we remain mixed
with them. And we cannot survive if we permit the Jews and the traitors among us
to remain among us and to repeat their treachery. Eventually we must hunt them
down and get rid of them.”
“The
great cleansing which must come may destroy millions of our own people, the
innocent along with the guilty, the good along with the bad. . . . But
eventually it must come, because otherwise our people will die, and everything
that has gone before as well as everything that might come in the future will be
lost forever. The great cleansing must come, and we must do whatever it takes to
ensure that it does, so that our people will
live.”
The
National Alliance principles can be summarized from the Wisconsin National
Alliance former
website:
From
http://www.winatall.com/goals.htm
(currently not operable link)
• (1)
White living space (full separateness of whites both physically and
culturally)
• (2)
An Aryan society (total censorship of any non-white materials and
culture)
• (3)
A new form of government (an intrusive eugenics program to “purify the
white
race”)
• (4)
A new educational system (building the super
race)
• (5)
An economic system based on racial principles (to service “white racial
progress”)
Resistance
Records is the music label that is a major outreach of the National Alliance.
The heavy metal “hate core
music”
appeals to skinheads and racialists. Many bands are featured on the label.
Resistance Records is a source of approximately $1 million per year to the
National Alliance. Its web site is www.resistance.comWhen
Resistance Records was acquired by the National Alliance several years ago, the
generated sales created the need for many workers to work the sales and
distribution at the headquarters. To handle this, the National Alliance acquired
properties in the county seat of Marlinton as well as rented lodging quarters.
Many of the workers came in to volunteer services for a few weeks while others
moved in permanently. In addition, the National Alliance operated a youth camp
during the summer for its adherents.
With
the influx of new arrivals to work the Resistance Records business, the National
Alliance had a much higher profile in Pocahontas County. At times these workers
frequent local restaurants, businesses, and become neighbors. Some of them have
tried to convince local folks of their beliefs. For the most part relations have
been cordial, with a few isolated incidents of outward conflict. Some adults in
Pocahontas County have expressed concern that the National Alliance might try to
recruit local youth to their ideology.
However,
the infighting and resultant loss of membership following Pierce’s death
in 2002 has lessened the relative strength of Resistance Records and the
National Alliance’s numbers and prominence in the local county. Overall
the National Alliance appears to take an approach of living quietly within the
local community. The National Alliance’s aims are national and global,
its strategy and outreach are through print, music, and radio. Grassroots
activism in our local community is likely to be thought of as counterproductive
to the larger aims of the organization.
The
National Alliance has a longstanding philosophy that tends to keep it at a
distance from other neo-Nazi organizations. Its critics among white
supremacists charge the NA with elitism. A major reason why Billy Roper, now
head of White Revolution, had a falling out with the NA is that he has taken an
active role in trying to build alliances with the various neo-Nazi
organizations. Ironically, the National Alliance belies its own name in being
unwilling to form alliances with the other white supremacist
groups.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ON THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE
Link to
biographical information on William Pierce (from ADL) This information is
dated.Current
update on National Alliance (ADL-November,
2004)Excerpt
from Pierce’s
The
Turner
Diaries.
This chapter 23
details
“The Day of the Rope” when thousands of white people who betrayed
their race are hung from lampposts, power poles, and
trees.
**********************************************************************************************************************
Thunderbolt
of Truth
Thunderbolt of
Truth
is the name of a monthly magazine put out by Dr. Bob DeMarais, with its mailing
address in the Pocahontas County seat of Marlinton. Each issue of the magazine
is essentially a compilation of dozens of news stories mostly from around the
United States of black on white crime. The more grisly the murder or outrageous
the rape, the better to make the white supremacist claim that blacks (and
Oriental ethnics, and Native Americans, and Jews) are genetically predisposed to
violence and crime. The idea behind the magazine seems to be to get the
magazine into the hands of white people who after seeing page after page of
non-white violent crime would join the white supremacist
movement.
As
stated in their website, “Thunderbolt goal is to bring readers news and
information needed to ignite action. Each monthly issue will document the
behavior of nonwhites--Blacks, Mexicans, Jews, Asians and American
Indians.”
Besides
non-white violent crime, news stories focus on what the magazine describes as
“the coming police state...you will lose your gun
rights...schools...immigration...the media.”
Thunderbolt
of Truth is offered to distributors at very low prices to facilitate the
widespread dissemination of the magazine. For example, a supply of 100 copies
per month for 12 months is $500.
The
founder and editor, Bob DeMarais, a former college business professor who later
became National Alliance (NA) founder William Pierce’s business manager,
had a major falling out with the NA in June, 2003. He continues litigation with
the NA over a property dispute at the Hillsboro compound.
*******************************************************************************************************************
The
Creativity Movement
(TCM)The
Creativity Movement (TCM), formerly named the World Church of the Creator, has
an outpost in Frost, Pocahontas County. This movement is a non-Christian,
non-profit, religious organization based in Illinois with a number of regional
and local branches. They promote the religion of "Creativity, based on the
eternal laws of
nature."
Their prime objective is: "The survival, expansion and advancement of the white
race."The
founder and mentor of World Church of the Creator, Matt Hale, is in prison on
charges of threatening a US District Judge over an issue of copyright
infringement. Judge Joan H. Lefkow ruled in November, 2002, that the TCM
violated the copyright of a Christian organization in Oregon, the
Church
of the Creator,
by
copying their name. A fine of $1000 per day was levied against the organization,
which unable to keep their name, changed to
TCM.Craig
Cobb, who moved into Pocahontas County in 2003, has a small grocery business.
Racialist literature is also available in the store. Cobb has recently engaged
in local activism, including distributing music CD’s for the controversial
Panzerfaust Project
Schoolyard,
leafleting at local public events, and advocating the boycott of a local school
Christmas production. Cobb seems to concentrate on locating media news stories
that portray non-white violent crime. Cobb posts to forums such as
Vanguard News Network
Forum
under the pseudonym “Chain.” He is also a supporter of various
organizations such Stormfront and White Revolution, and advertises the websites
of several racialist organizations on the side of his business at Gray’s
Groceries in Frost.
Cobb
contends that Creativity is not a hate group. This might be a matter of
semantics and interpretation, however. According to a premier website of The
Creativity Movement, www.creator.org,
the following describes the position on hate: (see faq)
Question:
Isn't your religion based on hate?
Answer:
No, on the contrary, it is based on love--love for the White Race. Besides being
based on the Eternal Laws of Nature, Creativity furthermore is based on the
lessons of history, on logic and common sense.
Question:
The Creativity Movement is often described with words like "hatemonger," "hate
organization," "hate speech." Is this fair?
Answer:
No, it isn't fair since every organization--whatever it may be--hates something
or someone. Since other organizations aren't labeled "hate" groups, etc., why
should we be singled out like this? We don't exist out of hatred for the other
races but out of love for our own Race.
Questions:
But isn't it part and parcel of your religion to hate the Jews, blacks and other
colored people?
Answer:
True, but if you love and want to defend those whom you love, your own family,
your own White Race; then hate for your enemies comes natural and is inevitable.
Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Only a hypocrite and a liar will
go into battle against his enemies proclaiming love.
Question:
But weren't all the atrocities committed by Christians throughout history done
by people who were not following Christianity's teaching of love?
Answer:
Since these killings, tortures, and persecutions were carried on by the highest
leaders and authorities of the various Churches themselves, such as the Popes,
by Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, etc., we must presume that the teachings of
Christianity, which at best are ambiguous, contradictory and hypocritical, must
be held responsible for producing these kinds of people and this kind of
insanity. But if we turn to the New Testament, we find Christ himself dispensing
such hateful advice as, for example, in Luke 14:26: "If any man come to me, and
hate not his father, and mother and wife, and children, and brethren and
sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." What idiotic and
destructive advice!
Question:
What then is CREATIVITY'S final position on love and hate?
Answer:
We follow the eternal wisdom of Nature's laws, which are completely opposite to
the suicidal teachings of Christianity. Whereas Christianity says to "love your
enemies" and to hate your own kind (see, e.g., Luke 14:26), we say just the
opposite. We say that in order to survive, we must overcome and destroy those
that are a threat to our existence; namely, our deadly enemies. At the same
time, we advocate love and protection for those that are near and dear to us:
our family and our own race, which is an extension of the family.
Question:
How does this differ from Christianity?
Answer:
Christianity teaches love your enemies and hate your own kind, while we teach
exactly the opposite, namely hate and destroy your enemies and love your own
kind. Whereas Christianity's teachings are suicidal, our creed brings out the
best creative and constructive forces inherent to the White Race. Whereas
Christians are destroyers, we are builders.
TCM
was ruled a religion by a Wisconsin judge involving a case of employment
discrimination. The religion does not believe in a supernatural being or in an
afterlife, but does have its own moral code as outlined in 16 principles of a
508 page book,
Nature’s
Eternal
Religion
along with another work,
The
White Man’s
Bible.”
TCM’s battle cry is RAHOWA, an acronym for Racial Holy War. Adolph Hitler
is held in high esteem in the movement, with differences primarily one of
strategy.
Creativity
seeks segregated white living space to preserve the “biological and
cultural purity” of the whites. Non-whites would be forced out of the
United States. Creativity sees Jews and non-cooperative white people as a major
obstacle to their goals.
Click
here for an Anti-Defamation League’s bio on imprisoned leader
Matt
Hale.
White
Revolution
This
organization was started in Pocahontas County by Billy Roper in the fall of 2002
shortly after he was fired from his position as recruiter for the National
Alliance. William Pierce had recently died and the National Alliance was going
through a major reorganization. Roper has since moved from Marlinton back to
his native
Arkansas.White
Revolution seeks to establish white living space and governance. Included in
its mission is “We seek to secure the existence of our people and a future
for White children by creating the opportunity for the establishment of a
government which has only the interests of our people in mind when deciding on
its foreign and domestic
policies.”The
current strategy of this organization is “When some people think of
revolution, they think of guns and bombs and hand grenades. But for us, at this
stage of the revolution, our weapons of choice are the pen, the leaflet, the
keyboard, the videocamera, and every other weapon of mass construction which
allows us to reach out to our people and awaken them to the dangers which
threaten our very existence. The time may well come when we will communicate to
our enemies in a manner which they will find unambiguous, but for now we must
lay the foundation and create the support networks which will be necessary for
any future
endeavors.”Roper
styles White Revolution as a networking organization to bring unity to the many
factious splinters of the racialist movement. “We are determined to
provide a central organizing structure in which members of different
organizations can work together for the overall good of our people without
feeling that they must sacrifice their membership or affiliation in another
organization to do
so.”White
Revolution is active in recruiting and expanding the movement by attending mass
rallies with other organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads, and
National
Socialists.Roper
is a former high school teacher, is married, and is rather young for his
leadership level. Go to this link for the
ADL biography of
Roper.*************************************************************************Panzerfaust
Project
SchoolyardPanzerfaust
is a record label with a mailing address in Minnesota that specializes in white
supremacist music. This music is self-styled by its adherents as
Hate Core
Music,
As critic Penny Burns has described it, “"Hatecore" is loud, angry music
with a message of hatred towards ethnic and religious minorities. Through record
sales and tours, White Power groups are making millions of dollars a year to
finance their message of hate. On first listen, some of these songs might sound
like regular hardcore or heavy metal, but the lyrics are meant to insight rage
against any non-white group and encourage kids to join the ranks of the white
supremacist army.”
Project
Schoolyard
is a major recruiting effort by Panzerfaust to “appeal to those whom
[Panzerfaust] want to focus on reaching, namely White kids between the ages of
13-19.” Originated by German white supremacists in spring, 2004, the CD
was banned by the German government under their hate laws. In September 2004,
the concept crossed the Atlantic with thousands of the CDs now being passed out
to school-age children. Panzerfaust is reaching out to members of various
organizations across the neo-Nazi spectrum to recruit them to pass out the CDs
to white youth. The CDs are available for distribution, according to the
Panzerfaust website, at $15 per 100 copies, or 15 cents
each.The
CD sampler contains 20 music tracks with titles such as “Hate Train
Rolling;” “Jig Run;” “Thirst for Conquest;” White
Supremacy;” and “Teutonic Uprising.” Several skinhead bands
perform the various music cuts. Panzerfaust claims that those criticizing their
music are hypocritical inasmuch as some of black rap and hip-hop music is
anti-white racist.
In
October music CDs were distributed to students outside their schools in
Pocahontas County, igniting considerable concern among school officials and
parents. Many students willingly gave up their CDs to school officials and to
parents.The
Pocahontas County prosecuting attorney, Walt Weiford, is monitoring this matter
closely. It is ironic that those who are passing out the CDs use the First
Amendment right to free speech and assembly, yet in their ideal world their
fascist government would not tolerate dissent.
Parents
need to be aware that many people who are active in the racialist movement were
primarily influenced by the music. As Mark Potok of The Southern Poverty Law
Center says,
“I've
heard testimonial after testimonial from people who have been in the white
supremacist movement..... who have said, "believe it or not, the music was the
single most important thing to
me."Parents,
schoolteachers, clergy, coaches, scout leaders, and other influential adults can
teach children to firmly refuse unsolicited approaches from adult strangers.
This recent wave of pushing hate core CDs opens up opportunities for parents,
teachers, and clergy to discuss racism.
ADL perspective on Project
SchoolyardADL Update November 23,
2004Tolerance.org link
on Project
Schoolyard**********************************************************************************************************************
NOTE:
Persons interested in furthering this neo-Nazi hate ideologies project of the
Pearl S. Buck E Pluribus Unum Collection may contact the Library Director at
Pocahontas Libraries.
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