Editorial: Purveyors of hate are among us

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

A number of Henderson residents woke up one recent morning to find a racist pamphlet left on their doors by a neo-Nazi group, the National Alliance. As the Sun's Greg Harman reported Friday, the National Alliance has opened a chapter in the area. The group is relatively small nationwide -- it has roughly 1,500 members -- and it is unknown how many actually are members here in Southern Nevada. Nevertheless civil rights organizations that track hate groups believe the National Alliance is one of the most dangerous operating today.

The pamphlet contains the usual litany of comments made by neo-Nazi groups. For instance, the National Alliance rhetorically asks: Where will a child find the truth? "On Jewish-controlled television, with its racially mixed couples and multicultural propaganda? In Jewish-controlled Hollywood, where almost no film can be made unless it contains a politically correct, anti-white message? In the newspapers, where the same alien control prevails? In her classroom, which has been converted into a neo-Communist brainwashing pen? On the streets, where she stands a greater than one in four chance of being raped, probably by a non-white?" And that's just a sampling of the group's sickening, paranoid and racist commentary.

The pamphlet likely is being distributed by no more than a few individuals. They show their cowardice by anonymously leaving the pamphlets at homes during the night -- obviously afraid of a confrontation with residents who object to their malicious views. For that matter, the pamphlets don't contain the names of the local individuals who belong to the group -- and only a private post office box is listed, no street address is given. As has been the case with similar hate groups over the years, this one, too, probably will vanish quickly as it discovers that its repugnant views won't find a home in this metropolitan area, which prides itself on its diversity.

Some would suggest the best way to handle such intolerance is to ignore it, since condemning it provides these hate groups more attention. The problem with that thinking, though, is that bigotry and racism flourish when met by silence. The way to extinguish such hatred, and prevent it from spreading, is to speak out against its poison. Sure, the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech extends to even abhorrent views, including those espoused by the National Alliance. While that constitutional freedom should be cherished, it doesn't mean that hateful speech should go unchallenged.