Dry Bones ZE 1.13040j Opinion Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us . 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. - N May 22 • 2008 A35