On my dresser has a little box, containing a Bronze Star medal my father received for fighting Nazi Germany in World War II.
It has recently been brought to my attention in a very visceral way that the threat of Naziism and associated “white supremacy” movements is still potent and possibly increasing. What can I do to combat this threat?
My father’s method is currently unavailable to me. So I need another route. For starters, is there a charity I can donate money to?
As much as I admire the ACLU, they are not a 501(c) (3) public charity, and they do not appear to be on the side of the angels on this issue, favoring free speech even when said speech advocates political policy that led to the killing of 65+ million people.
I’ve heard good things about the Southern Poverty Law Center. But I also hear complaints that it’s become more self-serving recently…hard to assess if those complaints are valid or just “fake news” spread by its notoriously truth-averse enemies.
Any other or better candidates? How can I do the most damage to the Nazi/white supremacy cause for my dollars?
I understand your personal reasons but consider Trump is on the side of Nazis and others so inclined. The ACLU protects everyone’s rights, rights that I’m sure Trump will try to eliminate if he had half a chance. He’s already threatened the press several times, he favors theocratic thinking and he’s expressed the thought that we don’t need the current justice system.
Even if you hate the use of some rights, if they’re not protected, they’ll be gone for us and the evil will rule.
That the ACLU fights for everyone’s speech is a good thing. Don’t let that hang you up. They also fight against the people who enable nazis, like Donald Trump. I suppose you’re never gonna eliminate nazis entirely, but you can cut the legs out from under their governmental supporters and enablers, like Donald Trump.
You might consider sending donations to the Anti-Defamation League. They work against all types of bigotry and probably have an institutional bias against naziism. Then there’s the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
There are a number of organizations that track far-right groups. SPLC is one, People for the American Way (Right Wing Watch) is another. Media Matters for America tracks Fox News and radio to a lesser extent.
SPLC was once criticized for building a substantial endowment for themselves: the ratio of liquid assets to costs was unusually high. This didn’t concern me too much: arguably it’s better to be able to deploy funds once your fringe groups start to balloon. Like, oh, right now. That said, I see they added to their endowment in 2016. I hope that wasn’t the case in 2017.
The ACLU is a fine organization, but those wishing to give to a leaner operation with a harder edge might consider the Center for Constitutional Rights. Center for Constitutional Rights - Wikipedia
For those with more time than money, an attack on Nazi sympathizing propaganda outfits might work. Here’s an expose of them:
[INDENT][INDENT] These new emails and documents, however, clearly show that Breitbart does more than tolerate the most hate-filled, racist voices of the alt-right. It thrives on them, fueling and being fueled by some of the most toxic beliefs on the political spectrum — and clearing the way for them to enter the American mainstream.
It’s a relationship illustrated most starkly by a previously unreleased April 2016 video in which Yiannopoulos sings “America the Beautiful” in a Dallas karaoke bar as admirers, including the white nationalist Richard Spencer, raise their arms in Nazi salutes.
Those wanting to stop Breitbart dead in their tracks should acqquire a twitter account and go visit Sleeping Giants. Lots of organizations advertise at Breitbart without knowing it - that’s how ad networks operate. Sleeping Giants shows the brand conscious how to avoid that. https://twitter.com/slpng_giants?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
Just so the OP doesn’t make the mistake of fighting Nar-zis instead of Nazis.
Churchill prolonged the war because he told everyone to defeat “the Nar-zis”. Result: the troops stopped fighting the Germans and started looking for Narzis.
I don’t know what you’ve heard about the Southern Poverty Law Center, but they have high scores in accountability & transparency and financial efficiency. SPLC is the leading organization for legal challenge to judicial and executive abuse of power and laws which discriminate against poor and minorities, and has taken the mantle of attacking white nationalism. The Alliance for Justice, The Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Anti-Defamation League also challenge ethnic and social injustice, albeit in somewhat more narrow areas. The mandate of the ACLU is protection of Constitutional freedoms regardless of claimant, and while it may be horrifying to see neo-Nazis and white nationalists being able to openly chant hateful slogans, it would be even worse if others did not have the right to speak out against them. And frankly, we’re better off with the open demonstration of what these people think and believe than letting it fester in online discussion boards. The events at Charlottesville, as horrifying as they were, have demonstrated to the public at large that it (fascism and organized violent racial aggression) can, in fact, happen here.
While they are not advocacy organizations per se, groups that perform good investigative journalism, such as The Washington Post or open source news ProPublica shine a light not only on the hate-filled bigots waving white nationalists/fascist sigils but those who are enabling them by suggesting that there are “very fine people…on both sides,” and the so-called “dog whistling” which so encourages these shitbirds to act out openly with the belief that they will be endorsed by public and government officials, and the agendas underlying those endorsements.
Who do you think were the communist countries in Europe before WWII who allied with the nazis? In facgt, in 1935 Germany re-armed in response to a defense pact between France and USSR, who were then anti-nazi allies…
This. Also the Soviets provided copious amounts of raw materials to Germany and allowed its country to be used to help the Nazis bypass weapons development bans.
Thanks everyone. I did check out the Charity Navigator links, and threw some money at the Southern Poverty Law Center after all.
Perhaps more importantly, one of my social groups had its annual meeting to pick which charity we will support this year. Everyone is encouraged to nominate a charity and then we vote. I made my case for the SPLC and won – the first time my nomination has prevailed! So a few more folks will be plunking down coin at Rick’s, figuratively speaking.