paper on hate groups

Contrary to popular belief, hate groups do not always couch their views in fiery and defamatory rhetoric. Since many people have developed a cultural aversion to such speech, they often have to be much more cautious in they way in which they present their ideas. By examining revisionistic and hate websites, it is possible to identify some of the tactics such groups use to mask their ideas and make them more palatable to mainstream society. The websites of the NAAWP, the Historical Reveiw Press, MartinLutherKing.org, and Adolfthegreat.com share recognizably similar traits that might be useful in identifying other hate sites. 1

All four sites bear simplistic and outdated designs. The NAAWP website actually sports multiple mispellings and grammatical mistakes as well as extremely pixelated icons. It remains unclear whether this is a result of poor funding, technical ineptitude, or an attempt to disarm readers with a seemingly innocuous appearance, but it is most likely the later. The sites appear completely benign at first glance. They resemble any number of small personal websites that might be encountered anywhere on the web. The Historical Review Press homepage depicts a generic and inoffensive image of running horses. It is highly likely that a reader who stumbled across one of these pages might read through a large amount of material before he realized the site's true intentions. By using such an innocent looking site layout, the designers encourage readers to explore. They recognize that putting a large Confederate flag or a swastika at the top of the page would distance viewers and so they ease them into the message by not making it overly visually or verbally abrasive on the surface. 2

Three of the sites also have revisionist agendas in which they attempt to redifine key historical figures. In the case of Adolfthegreat.com, the designers attempt to vindicate the name of Adolf Hitler. This is done principally by providing quotes from other noted historic figures including Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy which seem to establish Hitler as a figure of singular importance and ability. No context or citation is provided for any of these quotes. The website also attempts to soften Hitler's image by providing examples of his paintings, or photographs of him with dogs and children. It associates him with a number of positive iniatives including breast cancer awareness, prevention of cruelty to animals, and the improvement of the German economy. While the site arguably begins its message subtley, it escalates rapidly from linking Hitler to general positive ideas to proclaiming that he was an unsurpassed economic and political genius. It also begins to defame other historical figures of the time including Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Much as the site Adolfthegreat.com attempts to validate Adolf Hitler, the website MartinLutherKing.org attempts to vilify the renowned Civil Rights activist mainly by categorizing him as a communist and a sexual deviant. It also provides created or out-of-context and uncited quotes as evidence.3

The revisionist agendas of the websites go beyond definitions of particular figures especially at the page of the Historical Review Press. The website presents a wide range of articles on topics ranging from hate crimes legislation to the Holocaust to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Much in the same way that the other webpages employ quotes, the Historical Review Press utilizes scientific studies and excerpts from journals, newspapers, and magazines as evidence for its revisionistic claims. Though it does at least provide minimal citation information for many of the sources it quotes, it still fails to properly consider them in context, or to provide any information about the credentials or characters of the people or organizations behind the studies and articles. In some ways, the Historical Review Press might actually be considered more insidious than the others webpages. It is not particularly difficult to shut one's mind to attempts to romanticize Adolf Hitler, no matter how disguised such attempts might be. Remaining guarded against scientific studies and the words of experts is much more difficult, however. This website also tries to vindicate Adolf Hitler, and it has articles which provide evidence for full-fledged Holocaust denial and Zionist conspiracies.4

After examining and categorizing some of the characteristics of hate websites and comparing them to the alleged hate site of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, it does not appear that this accusation is accurate. The website design is modern and up-to-date, though it could be argued that it is just as inoffensive and innocuous as the others. While it does not resemble a personal website, it could be mistaken for the bland website of a company or other organization. The most striking and telling difference lies in the fact that the website does not appear to employ faulty evidence for revisionistic purposes. It does provide examples of reports which quantify the supposed monetary damages inflicted on states in the United States by illegal immigrants, but it provides documention on the information's sources and often provides the entire report or study in pdf format. It can also be argued that the whole definition of the word "hate" in relation to defining hate groups and hate sites is hatred of a group based on their immutable characteristics such as nationality or race. However, the state of "immigrant" is not an immutable one but rather one in which a person arrived by choice. The FAIR website does not appear to use racist rhetoric targeting Hispanics or even inflammatory language targeting immigrants at large. It focuses mostly on illegal immigration.