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The Risk of The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America
06/05/2020
The Risk of The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America
At the same time as protests erupted across American cities and the world demanding racial equity, the cities have become dystopian scenes of military hold. Gen. James Mattis now warns of division from the very top as a threat to American democracy. Many protests began peacefully until the nefarious, often violent, opportunists arrived. Who are they and who is inciting the violence? Are they opportunists, provocateurs of different ideologies, white supremacists, anarchists? University of Chicago Professor Kathleen Belew has tracked the contemporary rise of the White Power Movement from the 1970s in her book "Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America and describes the people she studies as people interested in exploiting these moments to damage democracy and overthrow the country. Sowing discontent, attracting followers on Facebook and in the darker halls of 4chan and 8chan, haunting statehouses and showing up at George Floyd protests, she says it's time to be hyper-alert and aware of this threat: highly organized cadres made up of white supremacy, virulent anticommunism, and apocalyptic faith.
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