Coming out of hatred.My name is Mark Flanigan, and I am a former neo-Nazi, so I speak of intolerance from an intensely personal perspective. Nearly 13 years ago, at age 18, I joined the white supremacist white supremacist n. One who believes that white people are racially superior to others and should therefore dominate society. white supremacy n. Noun 1. movement in Pittsburgh. I became a skinhead skinhead Member of an international youth subculture characterized by hair and dress styles evoking aggression and physical toughness. Typical skinhead style includes shaved heads, combat boots, tattoos, and prominent body piercings. leader: organizing rallies, Writing articles, and making hatred were the very center of my existence. People of color Noun 1. people of color - a race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks) people of colour, colour, color race - people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock; "some biologists doubt that there are important , gays and lesbians, Jewish people--they did not measure up as members of the "Aryan race This article is about the racial theory. For the full range of meanings of "Aryan", see Aryan. For Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Jain spiritual interpretations, see Arya. ," I preached, and were not worthy to share this country with the white heterosexual Christians who built it. Although I have long since rejected that message of hate, I live each day with the grim reminder that the poisonous rhetoric I once spouted is the very same venom that manifested itself in the senseless, brutal killings of Matthew Shepard Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was fatally attacked near Laramie, on the night of October 6 – October 7, 1998 in what was widely reported by international news media as a savage , Brandon Teena Brandon Teena[1] (December 12, 1972 - December 31, 1993), born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln, Nebraska, and known simply as Brandon, was a physiological female living as a transsexual man[2] who was raped and eventually murdered[3] , and James Byrd Jr. It has taken me nearly a decade--I am now age 30-to feel comfortable speaking about my past mistakes, but if my life story can change even one person's mind, that's a burden I am willing to bear. As a former white supremacist I understand some of the motivations behind hate crimes. Hate groups feed our natural aversion to "the unknown" by providing easy answers to complex social and political questions, and quick comfort to unhappy people. Many things led me to the white supremacist movement: my parents' divorce; shame over the economic indignities my family suffered when I was growing up; the rudderless, antisocial antisocial /an·ti·so·cial/ (-so´sh'l) 1. denoting behavior that violates the rights of others, societal mores, or the law. 2. denoting the specific personality traits seen in antisocial personality disorder. behavior I indulged in while in the punk rock scene. My anger was fueled by drugs and alcohol, and soon fanned into flames of hatred by neo-Nazi mentors who made me feel like a part of their movement. I was told that my hard life was part of an orchestrated anti-white conspiracy. I finally felt as though I had come "home." Hate crimes are the very real manifestation of irrationally blaming others for our problems and disappointments in life. One powerful way to counter the rhetoric of hatred, I believe, is passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would add crimes motivated by a victim's sex, sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. , or disability to the list of hate crimes already recognized by federal law: those motivated by race, religion, color, or national origin. Whether or not the act can somehow prevent such crimes may be open to debate, but passing this act would certainly represent a clear, unambiguous message by the federal government of support for tolerance. Without such leadership neither state and local governments nor the private sector can be expected to enforce similar policies on the street and on the job. Certainly, no group that experiences hate-motivated violence should be willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) excluded from such protections. But we have to recognize that political change is effected by coalitions. The gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered transgendered adjective Relating to a person who has undergone genital/sexual reassignment surgery Transgender health issues Hormonal therapy, cosmetic surgery, fertility options–eg, egg and sperm banking. See Sexual reassignment. Cf Transsexual. community must continue to build bridges of consensus among heterosexuals of all backgrounds and races, and to flame the debate in terms that Middle America Middle America 1 A region of southern North America comprising Mexico, Central America, and sometimes the West Indies. Middle American adj. & n. can appreciate: liberty and individual freedom. What could be more eloquent and clear than the Declaration of Independence? All people, it says, "are created equal [and] endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable UNALIENABLE. The state of a thing or right which cannot be sold. 2. Things which are not in commerce, as public roads, are in their nature unalienable. Rights ... Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." We must make the clear case to Middle America that legislation protecting gays and lesbians as well as other groups is not a "zero-sum" game--that is, protecting one group does not lessen the freedoms that any other American currently enjoys. To the contrary, an inclusive hate-crimes law will further validate our nation as a free government of laws, a nation that protects the rights of the individual citizen. These are not "special rights," but essential and equal protections. Fifty-six years ago we shed our blood on the beaches of Normandy in a united effort to liberate Europe from the dark cloud of Nazism. If we truly believe in the freedom that Normandy preserved, then we must also believe that anyone's exclusion from the blessings of liberty is fundamentally inconsistent with our most cherished values. In the name of liberty, Americans of all races, religions, and sexual orientations must work together to ensure the passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Flanigan is now a teacher in Arlington, Va., and regularly volunteers with human rights groups. You can reach him through www.advocate.com. |
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