American Nazis use the Internet
and misuse the BibleWashington, USA
August 14, 1999
Frankfurter Neue Presseby Holger Schmale
Washington. When the rightwing extremist American Nationalist Party called for a march on Washington two weeks ago, all of four, confused neo-Nazis appeared in the Capitol city. The many times stronger counter-demonstrators celebrated a victory but were greatly deceived. The shots of rightwing radical Buford Furrow directed at children in a Jewish community center in Los Angeles and at an Asiatic mail carrier showed, a few days later, that racists in the USA could strike hard anywhere at any time.
In doing that Furrow can be regarded as an example of a new, far more dangerous type of perpetrator than earlier generations of neo-Nazis who congregated together in tightly organized groups with martial rites and a strong hierarchy. The extremist "master human" of the late 1990s performs as an individual actor who maintains loose contact with comrades of the same mind over the internet and strikes exactly as it suits him. Classic surveillance and infiltration methods by the security agencies fail on these covert structures.
The followers of the "Phineas Priesthood" are an extreme form of these "lone wolves of Aryan resistance" who invoke an Old Testament legend of murder for the preservation of a pure race. This group of self-named "priests" have neither member lists nor gatherings. "They ordain themselves by committing an act of violence against members of minorities," sect expert Brian Levin described their rites. Their Holy Scripture is called "Guardians of Christianity" penned by rightwing extremist author Richard Hoskins. Another book by Hoskins was found in Buford Furrow's automobile.
It is also regarded as the chief ideology of the "Church of the Aryan Nations," which is organized more traditionally with about 5,000 members. The "church" maintains a strongly guarded camp in the State of Idaho in the northwest USA in which about 100 followers of founder Richard Butler constantly stay. German neo-Nazis also travel regularly to para-military summer camps. Furrow operated in the camp in 1995 as an armed, uniformed guard, as photographs in American newspapers prove.
This group also makes use of a Christian disguise, thereby claiming the guaranteed freedom of religion in the land of countless sects. David Harris of the American Jewish Committee called primarily for the major churches to take decisive action against the misuse of Christian concepts and rituals by rightwing extremist groups. "They need not be allowed this perversion of Christianity."
Swastika, Bible and internet are the tools of the modern neo-Nazis in the USA. "Ten thousand Americans follow this sub-culture," estimates Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. According to a study done by his center, in the USA alone there are 1,400 internet pages with rightwing radical objectives. Some openly call for violence and publish death lists containing the names of prominent Jews, blacks and homosexuals. "Terrorists are trained over the internet," said Rabbi Cooper.
Los Angeles (ag.) The night of August 9, 1969 turned into a nightmare for Hollywood. Sharon Tate, eight months pregnant and married to producer Roman Polanski, and four of her guests were murdered in the most brutal fashion in her villa near Los Angeles. Three months later the perpetrators were arrested: Charles Manson and four members of his sect. Although Manson had not raised a hand in violence himself, in 1971 he was sentenced to death for inciting to murder. The sentence was later commuted to life in prison. 30 years after the murders, Manson still has followers who send letters to the 65 year old in prison at Corcoran, California and keep the Manson cult alive via internet. The pop scene is inspired by him, and for rightwing extremists, Manson is a brother in spirit in their racist ideology. "Today almost every morally reprehensible group in America, from the Satanists to the neo-Nazi skinheads, assimilate Manson and the poison of his philosophy," said Vincent Bugliosi, the state attorney who conducted charges in 1970 against Manson. "He is their spiritual icon, the high priest of anti-establishment hate." Manson, illegitimate child of a 16 year old, spent the major portion of his youth in institutions of rehabilitation and detention. When he went to San Francisco in 1967, he became a leading figure in the drug and hippy scene.
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