Dismantling Hate
White supremacy threatens us morally, physically and politically. While the stakes vary from person to person, we all suffer if the alt-right and anti-democratic movements persist and grow. These movements are a cancer on our democracy, and they are a parasite that feeds on the chaos and division. White supremacist and alt-right groups have used this separation as kindling and dutifully stoked it into a fire. But embers of progressivism abound. We cannot stand by while these hateful forces exploit the pain people are feeling to further polarize and demoralize us.
THE CRISIS WITHIN THE CRISIS
“The extremism that has been awakened and emboldened by the current administration has revealed the deep trauma and pain of race discrimination that founded this country and continues to permeate every institution to the detriment of black and brown people to the benefit of white people. Hate groups are increasingly infiltrating and deepening their foothold in rural areas of the country.
They exploit the economic struggle and personal pain of the working class and poor, offering community, connection and a social and political analysis that offers the cause and the anecdote, albeit one steeped in bigotry and hate.
“Hate groups, their architects and leaders now occupy some of the most important positions in government, courts and institutions. The threat to our democracy cannot be overstated, nor that it will remain long after the election of 2020.
“United Vision for Idaho and SPLC understand that our collective liberation requires people and organizations working together in a fundamentally new way to unite rural, suburban and urban communities across the country in a shared struggle.”
– Adrienne Evans, Executive Director at United Vision for Idaho
INSIDE THE FAR-RIGHT “PEOPLE’S RIGHTS” NETWORK
This report by our partners at the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights and the Montana Human Rights Network explores the breadth and depth of the network built by Bundy and named “People’s Rights.” What started in late March with a few dozen supporters in a rural Idaho warehouse has swiftly expanded to a membership base of over twenty thousand across the country.
Why Is This Happening? Chris Hayes speaks with grassroots organizer George Goehl, the director of People’s Action, who is focusing his efforts on white rural America. Organizing in Trump country with George Goehl: podcast & transcript