Dry Bones ZE 1.13040j
Opinion
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Editorial
Neo-Nazis In Our Midst
I is impact isn't likely to disrupt or threaten the
Detroit Jewish community. But that doesn't mean
we should ignore the fact that one of the most active
white supremacist groups dedicated to racist and anti-
Semitic activity is based in the Motor City.
What we know will help dictate how we react to the
presence of the National Socialist Movement (NSM)
headquarters in our midst since a December move by
Commander Jeff Schoep from the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area.
NSM, with 500 members and close associates nation-
wide, is the largest neo-Nazi group in the nation, accord-
ing to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Members are
relatively young and mostly male. The Midwest states of
Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota form its core
support area.
A Detroit Free Press story detailed the group's local
recruitment pitch, which is framed against southeast
Michigan's weak economy. ADL-Michigan Region
Executive Director Betsy Kellman scoffed at the notion
that NSM's move to Detroit was philosophically rooted.
She said it was more a matter of convenience for Schoep,
whose girlfriend lived here.
Nazi uniforms, Hitler-inspired chants and legal permits
are a hallmark of the NSM, according to the Free Press
account on May 12. The story mentioned a 2005 march
in a racially diverse Toledo neighborhood that ended in a
riot and an anti-immigration march on Washington, D.C.,
to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday (April 20, 1889).
The same story mentioned the rival American Nazi
Party (ANP), based in Westland since it came to the
area in the 1990s. It might have a few hundred mem-
bers.
The NSM and ANP have nothing to do with one
another. "I don't want to downplay their importance,
however," says Kellman."They are dangerous and
they do appeal to a lot of young people. They recruit
with music and Internet games and appeal to a lot of
disenfranchised youth."
It's not surprising to read in the Free Press that
Schoep concedes, "We do like Hitler and the way he
ran the government" but it's "a misconception that we
are bigoted!'
Talk about obscene logic.
NSM's growth spurt has positioned it to take
advantage of its three major rivals (National Alliance,
Aryan Nations and World Church of the Creator)
in the wake of the deaths or imprisonment of their
leaders.
Let's be clear: However marginal its effect, NSM is a
force to be reckoned with, notably in the member-rich
Midwest. In 2006, NSM hosted or participated in 22
known extremist events. In 2007, it hosted or participated
in 30 such events, a 36 percent increase. Most events were
small and localized, with fewer than a dozen members
participating.
A slight defection of members in the second half of
2007 rattled NSM leaders, the ADL reports, causing
Schoep to urge his troops to honor their oath in order to
"stand against the Zionist hordes and their beloved illegal
www.ctryberiesblog.corn
slave laborers!'
NSM sympathizers don't pass up a chance at rallies to
destroy Israeli flags as they wave the Stars and Stripes
and red swastika flags.
If we've learned anything as a people, we've learned to
be alert to evil speech and its potential, especially from
Jew-haters espousing Nazi ideals. America's freedoms
allow the NSM to march in safety while expressing hate.
But that doesn't mean its targets can't denounce the lies
and counter with the truth. It's the Nazi adage that if the
masses hear uncontested lies long enough, they begin to
accept them as true. 0
Reality Check
Legal Beagles
I
think that I am starting to understand the outline
of the brilliant defense being constructed by Kwame
Kilpatrick's swarm of lawyers.
It wasn't him. He didn't do it. After all, did anyone actu-
ally see his fingers? No, of course not. Somebody else sent
all those text messages and put together a secret plot to
have the Detroit policemen fired in the whistleblowers'
case.
But who could have pulled off
such a sinister act? Who had the
motive and the means? I have
some theories.
•A big, mean giant came burst-
ing into the Mayor's office as he
conferred on serious city business
with his chief of staff, Christine
Beatty, and grabbed their pagers.
"Gimme that:' barked the giant.
Then he locked both of them in
a closet while he sat down and
text messaged everyone he could
think of. Since the TV set was turned to General Hospital
at the time, he borrowed some of the dialogue from the
show to make it seem as if a torrid affair was being dis-
cussed. After the giant was finished, he released Kwame
and his friend but said that if they ever mentioned what
happened he would come back and squish the Mayor's
Escalade.
•Agents of L. Brooks Patterson stole one of the Mayor's
pagers and sent out these messages in an effort to embar-
rass the Lions into returning to Oakland County. The
plot was abandoned when it turned out Oakland County
didn't want them.
•The texts were sent by Monica Conyers, who was hav-
ing clandestine trysts with Shrek and several other car-
toon characters, including Bart Simpson, Thumper and
the Teakettle from Beauty and the Beast.
• They were all in fun, part of a harmless game that was
played at the nonexistent wild party at the Manoogian
Mansion. You send out the silliest text messages you could
think of and then everybody yells "Bonko" and falls down
laughing.
• The texts were sent by Richard, the Lion Hearted.
Admittedly, this is something of a stretch since he's been
dead for something like 800 years. But it makes as much
sense as anything else in this defense.
I really like the legal team the Mayor has assembled,
especially the guy who does a third-rate imitation of
Andy Griffith.
I'm sure he will throw enough dust into the air to
cloud the minds of any Wayne County jury, which does
not rank especially high on the list of difficult legal
tricks.
He went after Prosecutor Kym Worthy for being late
on some property tax payments, equating that with the
charges against his client. Let's see, which is the more
serious offense? Making a deal to pay back taxes or per-
jury? Yeah, sounds pretty much the same to me. Then
it turned this guy has the same tax problem back in
Alabama.
Look, I'm as willing to suspend disbelief as the next
guy; but really, counselors, you've got to give me some-
thing to work with. I understand the importance of the
chain of evidence, too, and the fact that all it takes is rea-
sonable doubt.
I think that key word in that sentence, however, is rea-
sonable.
The Mayor promised that when the entire truth came
out everyone would plainly see that he is a wronged man.
Maybe he should have checked with Sheriff Andy before
saying that.
Because it seems that the truth coming out is the very
last thing he wants. iii
George Cantor's e-mail address is gcantor614@aol.com.
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May 22 • 2008
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