The White Aryan Resistance is a neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger. It is based in California, USA and incorporated as a business. They hold views which are self-described as racist, as seen in their website sections "Racist Jokes" and "Racist Videos," and in the tagline for their newspaper The Insurgent, as "the most racist newspaper on earth." The White Aryan Resistance uses the slogan White Revolution is the Only Solution.
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History
Founded in the early 1980s by Tom Metzger, the group quickly expanded offering racist literature and starting the Youth Aryan Resistance headed by Tom's son, John Metzger. The group was originally known as the White American Political Association or WAPA, but was changed briefly to the White American Resistance, and later American was changed to Aryan. By the late 1980s Tom began Race and Reason, a cable access show, airing WAR propaganda and interviewing other neo-Nazis.[1] The show caused much controversy and hosted anti-abortion speakers, Holocaust denialists, pro-segregation lawyers, and other members of the extreme right.[1] WAR members gained attention through appearances on talk shows throughout the 1980s.[2][3] On November 13, 1988 three white supremacists who were members of East Side White Pride and White Aryan Resistance violently beat Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian man who came to the United States to attend college, to death.[4] In October 1990 the Southern Poverty Law Center won a civil case on behalf of the deceased's family against WAR's operator Tom Metzger and Tom's son, John Metzger for a total of $12.5[5] million dollars.[6] The SPLC does not charge for their work, and Seraw did not share any money won with the SPLC because the Metzger's did not have millions, but rather the family only received assets from the Metzger's $125,000 house and a few thousand dollars.[7] The Metzger's declared bankrupcty, and WAR went out of business.[8] The cost of trial, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars [9] was absorbed by the SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League.[10] WAR has been associated with dangerous individuals throughout its existence.[11] WAR was mentioned in the press when it was revealed that a member threatened Rhode Island video stores who carried 'Jungle Fever'.[12] Whereas in 1994 Richard Campos, a WAR sympathizer, was convicted of racially motivated bombing plots.[13] However, while WAR has not produced any publications since the SPLC verdict, Metzger launched a website in 1997 and has an internet radio program.[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Extremist Finds Cable TV is Forum for Right-wing Views", New York Times, October 7, 1986. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Geraldo Rivera's Nose Broken In Scuffle on His Talk Show", New York Times, November 4, 1988. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Trash TV," Newsweek, November 14, 1988
- ^ "Lawyer makes racists pay", USA Today, October 24, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ Jury awarded the figure based on: Kyle Brewster- $500,000, Ken Mieske-$500,00, John Metzger-$1,000,000, WAR-$3,000,000, Tom Metzger-$5,000,000, and the jury awarded $2.5 million for Melegeta's unrealized future earnings, and pain and suffering.
- ^ "Sending a $12.5 Million Message to a Hate Group", New York Times, October 26, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Assets of White Supremacist Are Target of Legal Maneuver", New York Times, December 25, 1990. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Klan Chapters Held Liable in Church Fire; Jury Awards $37.8 Million in Damages," Washington Post July 25, 1998
- ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993. page 116
- ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993. page 277
- ^ "Authorities Cite Links of Plotters To Hate Groups", New York Times, July 17, 1993. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "'Jungle Fever' Brings Threats To Rhode Island Video Stores", New York Times, January 11, 1992. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Man Convicted Of 2 Bombings Tied to Racism", New York Times, August 31, 1994. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "HBO: 'Hate.com' Exposes Bigotry", Daily News (New York), October 13, 2000
Further reading
- Morris Dees. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard, (February 23, 1993) ISBN 067940614X (280 pages)
- Elinor Langer. A Hundred Little Hitlers: The Death of a Black Man, the Trial of a White Racist, and the Rise of the Neo-Nazi Movement in America. New York: Henry Holt, 2003. ISBN 0-8050-5098-1
External links
- WAR official website
- Nizkor page An anti-Nazi group.
- Tom Metzger and White Aryan Resistance (WAR) ADL page
