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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2012)
News Hate Metal Music is Part of White Supremacist Circles By Patrick Condon and Todd Richmond The Associated Press MILWAUKEE Wisconsin (AP) — When they aren’t ranting in Internet forums, many of the nation’s white supremacists seek a louder outlet for their extreme views: thunderous, thrashing heavy metal or punk The National Alliance, a prominent white- power organization, sometimes cleared $1 million a year in profit from music, books and magazines, video games and other supremacy products with lyrics that call for a race war. Wade Michael Page, the gunman who killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wis- consin before being killed by police, was deeply involved in the “hate rock’’ scene — a shadowy world of hundreds of performers in the U.S. and Europe, most of them play- ing metal or hardcore punk. Some also play country, folk and other genres. Largely unknown to most Americans, this musical subculture is an integral part of neo-Nazi circles, offering a way for like- minded followers to connect with each other and socialize, recruit new members and raise money for their cause. “It really was a good political weapon for the agenda,’’ said Jason Stevens, who once fronted a white-power band called Intimida- tion One in Portland, Ore. Page played guitar and bass with Intimi- dation One in the early part of the last decade. He also appeared in bands named Definite Hate and End Apathy. Stevens, who turned his back on white supremacy in 2004 and now owns a small business, said he was shocked to hear that a friend he remembered as “mellow and quiet’’ had committed such a heinous crime. The two last talked on the phone in 2010, and Stevens said Page was “his usual laid- back self.’’ At the time, Stevens said, he had a job at a Colorado metalworking shop. Stevens said money raised by his band’s tours and record sales was often funneled to legal defense funds for white supremacists charged with federal crimes, including Randy Weaver, whose 1992 standoff with federal agents in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, left a U.S. marshal and two Weaver family mem- bers dead. The music “brings in more revenue than virtually anything else,’’ said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor at California State University at San Bernardino, who has con- sulted for the FBI and other federal agencies on white supremacists. The National Alliance, a prominent white- power organization, sometimes cleared $1 million a year in profit from music, books and magazines, video games and other supremacy products, Levin said. One of the most influential white- supremacist record labels, Resistance Records, often sold hate-rock albums for $14.88 — “14’’ represented the 14 words in a popular skinhead mantra, and “8’’ pointed to “H’’ as the eighth letter of the alphabet. Hate rock concerts and festivals are commonly held on private land. Smaller shows are held at clubs or bars, with the groups often concealing their ideology from venue owners “Doubling it up stood for `Heil Hitler,’’’ said Todd Blodgett, a former Reagan White House aide who once had an ownership stake in Resistance Records but later informed on white supremacist groups for Intimidation One, of Portland, Ore. the FBI. Senior leaders of the groups see hate rock as the most effective way to recruit young followers, said Blodgett, who said he never held racist views but got wrapped up in far- right organizations without knowing the full implications of their beliefs. The band now viewed as the pioneer of hate rock was called Skrewdriver, hailing from Britain’s skinhead scene in the late 1970s and pioneering a genre called “Oi,’’ which sounds similar to punk bands of the period such as the Sex Pistols. The genre quickly spread to the U.S. and mushroomed in the early 1980s. The Inter- net enabled much wider distribution of the music, with many of its so-called record labels run by a single person with a post- office box. Not all the music is abrasive. Current per- formers featured on the Resistance Records website include Saga, a Swedish singer who sings about how “this is the way my race ends’’ in a lilting voice that recalls Sarah McLachlan. White supremacists have rebranded their version of folk music as “volk,’’ using the German word for “peo- ple.’’ Still, aggressive punk and metal are hate rock’s main outlets. That was what Page played while fronting End Apathy. Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center tried to decipher Page’s lyrics, but found them mostly unintelligible beyond choruses of “Sieg Heil.’’ Label 56, the Baltimore-based outfit that released End Apathy’s music, on Monday removed from its website all images and products related to the band, and denounced Page’s actions. An email inquiry sent through the outfit’s website did not get an immediate response. Hate rock concerts and festivals are com- monly held on private land. Smaller shows are held at clubs or bars, with the groups often concealing their ideology from venue owners. “You’ll see a lot of machismo, a lot of aggression,’’ said Pete Simi, a University of Nebraska-Omaha social scientist who’s done field research into hate groups and attended shows. “It’s a very hyper-masculine space. The men will have their T-shirts off, and most See HATE on page 7 Group Accuses 5 Florida School Districts of Discrimination By Melissa Nelson-Gabriel The Associated Press PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Black children in five Flori- da school districts are suspended from school, arrested at school or given other punishments at a higher rate than other students, according to a federal civil rights complaint filed on Tuesday. The Southern Poverty Law Center said the complaint, filed with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, was based on a year-long study of disciplinary actions taken by Florida School Districts. “Many Florida School districts criminalize children for the most-minor, nonviolent infractions such as dress code violations and cell phone infractions that result in lengthy out-of-school suspensions, corporal punishment, school arrests and expulsions for children as young as eight and nine years old,’’ Stephanie Langer, an attorney for the cen- ter, said at a news conference. “African-American children across the nation and in the state of Florida are subjected to these unforgiving disciplinary measures at alarmingly high- er rates than their white counterparts.’’ Langer said the Bay, Escambia, Flagler, Okaloosa and Suwanee county school districts were found to be the worst offenders. The complaint asks the federal government to investigate the districts and use its oversight to change the policies. Malcolm Thomas, superintendent of the 40,000-student Escambia County School District, said the district will com- ply with all requests for information. But Thomas said his Page 6 The Seattle Skanner August 8, 2012 district does not base student discipline on race. “I’d love to see zero suspensions, but that is not reality,’’ he said. ``It’s not about race. If we discriminate, we dis- criminate against bad behavior. If you are getting in trouble, it’s not because of your color.’’ According the study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, black students make up 36 percent of Escambia County School District’s population and 65 percent of out-of- The study found that 16 percent of Flagler County’s students are black and 31 percent of all out-of-school suspensions are African- American. school suspensions. Thomas said he couldn’t verify the center’s numbers, but that school has reduced its overall number of out-of-school suspensions in recent years from 7,482 in 2007-2008 to 4,251 in the 2010-2011. “We have a standard discipline for all students. If there are more black students who are suspended, it is because there are a disproportionate number of black students com- mitting offenses.’’ Flagler County School District attorney Kristy Gavin says her 13,000-student district is gathering documents to respond to the allegations and will cooperate with any requests for data from federal authorities. Gavin said she had not had time to review all of the allegations in the lengthy complaint, and could not comment about specific charges. The study found that 16 percent of Flagler County’s stu- dents are black and 31 percent of all out-of-school suspen- sions are African-American. The three other districts named in the complaint did not immediately respond to calls from The Associated Press. The study by the civil rights group found that black stu- dents are 15 percent of Bay County’s student population and 30 percent of out-of-school suspensions, 12 percent of Okaloosa County School District’s study population and 12 percent of out-of-school suspensions and 14 percent of the Suwane County School District’s population with 31 per- cent of the out-of-school suspensions. Jackie Brazzell’s son attends high school in Okaloosa County. Brazzell said he has been unfairly targeted by school officials. ``My son has been humiliated, traumatized by school offi- cials. He’s been told he will never be an A student. My son is a regular, kind-hearted teenager who enjoys skateboard- ing and playing football. I’ve done everything I can to sup- port him and his dream,’’ she said.
