Sandy GholstonHave these tea parties become a fertile recruiting ground for white supremacist groups around the United States of America? The Anti-Defamation League has an article about the tea parties that first sprouted up as “tax” tea parties around the nation on April 15, 2009.
An excerpt from the Anti-Defamation League article:
The Tea Party phenomenon, which began with anti-tax rallies staged across the country on April 15, 2009, will continue as activists in almost every state are planning similar events on July 4. Notably, white supremacists are again planning to participate. As they have done with other political and social issues, for example, promoting the Ron Paul campaign and using the immigration debate, white supremacists and anti-Semites are planning to exploit Tea Parties to disseminate their hateful views and recruit a larger following.
This is also from the article:
Stormfront, the most popular white supremacist Internet forum, is home to discussion between extremists eager to influence the events. In addition to circulating a list of local organizers and promoting planned rallies, Stormfront members are trying to find ways to involve themselves in the events. In posts to the forum, many voice their intent to attend the Tea parties for the purpose of cultivating an “organized grassroots White mass movement.”
So, have these tea parties become a recruiting base for white supremacist groups? It is difficult to know how effective a recruiting base it has been for such groups, but there seems little doubt that there are potential recruits for these groups to reach out to – people who might be receptive to their messages of hate. These tea party protests have been diversity challenged and clearly appeal mostly to individuals on the far right of the political spectrum (since I certainly do not recall such protests during the administration of George W. Bush).
Anti-Defamation League:
http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/White_Supremacists_July_4_Tea_Parties.htm
Tags: Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semites, anti-tax, Ron Paul, tea party, white supremacist
