It's like The Producers, only, you know... real.

March 2, 2006 2:50 PM

It's lonely to be a Jewish neo-Nazi.
posted by huskerdont (43 comments total)

Well, I met a black neo-Nazi once. He wasn't lonely, though; everyone wanted to buy him a pint.
posted by baklavabaklava at 2:56 PM on March 2, 2006

The Believer
posted by sonofsamiam at 2:57 PM on March 2, 2006

insane--all of them.

... The attendees are united by a common belief in black intellectual inferiority, opposition to non-white immigration and ardor for maintaining America's white majority. By the end of this seventh biennial conference, however, the delicate state of his coalition seemed apparent.

Hart, who spoke at the 1996 conference about his plan for a racial partition of the United States, said that Taylor now had to face the fact that he must purge the Nazis or lose the Jews. "He can't expect Jews to come if there are Nazis here,' Hart said.

And therein lies Taylor's dilemma.

From the start, he has been trying to de-Nazify the movement and draw the white nationalist circle wider to include Jews of European descent. But to many on the far right, taking the Jew-hatred out of white nationalism is like taking the Christ out of Christmas — a sacrilege. Actually inviting Jews into the movement is an act of lunacy, or betrayal, to them. ...
posted by amberglow at 2:58 PM on March 2, 2006

Well, being a Jew and supporting Naziism actually has a long and stories tradition in Judaims. We call them "capos."
posted by Astro Zombie at 3:04 PM on March 2, 2006

"They don't exist. For me, they are like Eskimos."

Eskimos? Is there anything these neo-nazis won't deny?
posted by justkevin at 3:08 PM on March 2, 2006

Of course Eskimos don't exist. They're Inuit.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 3:18 PM on March 2, 2006

Of course Eskimos don't exist. They're imaginary.
posted by luriete at 3:37 PM on March 2, 2006

Vampires are make-believe, just like elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.
posted by Gator at 3:44 PM on March 2, 2006

I thought his point was that he isn't a Nazi
posted by thirteenkiller at 3:45 PM on March 2, 2006

MetaFilter: just like elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.
posted by antifreez_ at 3:52 PM on March 2, 2006

Gator: Vampyres, on the other hand, are state governor candidates (oops, forgot which state)
posted by qvantamon at 3:52 PM on March 2, 2006

You f...ing Nazi, you've disgraced this meeting

heh.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:53 PM on March 2, 2006

Minnesota. If we wins, our state motto should be changed to "Because Jesse Ventura wasn't humiliating enough."
posted by Astro Zombie at 3:54 PM on March 2, 2006

Bizarre.
posted by caddis at 3:54 PM on March 2, 2006

The Forward is a progressive Jewish publication, no? Then why the following line-- But Michael Hart, a squat, balding Jewish astrophysicist from Maryland. . . . That's pretty much how (a) Shylock is usually discribed. Strange.

And somehow this all reminded me of the Gay Communist Gun Club.
posted by bardic at 4:03 PM on March 2, 2006

(As in intelligent and in a position of power, but physically repulsive, desperate for his pound of flesh, etc.)
posted by bardic at 4:04 PM on March 2, 2006

I just like the idea of a Jewish dude going to an ultra right-wing white supremacist meeting and being surprised that maybe a bunch of them don't like Jews.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 4:09 PM on March 2, 2006

I am reasonably certain Shylock was never described as either an astrophycist or as being from Maryland, but I could be wrong.

Also, I'm officially kicking these jackasses out of the Jew club for consorting with a bunch of inbreds. NOT KOSHER.
posted by luriete at 4:18 PM on March 2, 2006

Fuck that. I'm buying a gun and large supply of bullets. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.
posted by black8 at 4:27 PM on March 2, 2006

i watched the "The Believer" a few years ago , i still don't under stand the "jewish neo-nazi" thing.

reading this leaves me even more confused. someone , some where , is not explaining something that needs explaining, is all i can figure.
posted by nola at 4:32 PM on March 2, 2006

And somehow this all reminded me of the Gay Communist Gun Club.

Oh, I don't know. If I were a gay communist in this country, I'd think owning a gun was a good idea...
posted by Amanojaku at 4:36 PM on March 2, 2006

It's lonely to be a Jewish neo-Nazi.

This is utterly false. Jews were disproportionately supporters of fascism:

. . . if the standard is to be the share in the population at large, then it must also be noted that Jews were disproportionately attracted also to fascism. "In Italy there were innumerable Fascist Jews," Zeev Sternhell observed in The Birth of Fascist Ideology. "Their percentage in the movement was much higher than in the population as a whole."

Jared Taylor has polled his "American Renaissance" subscribers in the past - they are about 15% Jewish. Something he has also ghoulishly boasted about in his past conference attendance estimates:

Our gatherings can therefore be a unique mix of which one guest once observed with a dazed smile, "I've never been to a conference before where 15 percent of the audience was Jews and 15 percent were Nazis."

So Jews are 5 times overrepresented among American Nazis. Even if the 5% number in your article is more correct, that's still overrepresented by 2x.

So now I ask you, is it OK to hate Jews for spreading anti-Semitism?

I keed. I keed.
posted by dgaicun at 4:40 PM on March 2, 2006

And who can forget the definitionally lovable Jewish spam Nazi?
posted by dgaicun at 4:46 PM on March 2, 2006

According to Eric Hobsbawm, Italian Fascism wasn't anti-semitic until about 1938, when Mussolini began adopting it as a favour to Hitler. On this issue, there's some value to drawing a distinction between Fascim and Nazism.
posted by pompomtom at 4:52 PM on March 2, 2006

I don't think a Jewish racial fascist is such a far-fetched idea. Whichever sections of humanity you deem to partition into 'better' and 'worse' categories, it's essentially arbitrary - so if you're going to believe in racial supremacy, why not include Jews as [part of] the master race?

Or maybe he's thinking: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
posted by Drexen at 4:58 PM on March 2, 2006

Um, not to be the voice of evil, but aren't (neo-)Nazism, Fascism, and Racial Separatism not the same thing? I mean - Nazi's may inherently be racists and fascists, but that doesn't make necessarily make rascists Nazis (or fascists).
posted by unmake at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2006

I actually find a little fascism goes a long way in the world of theater. Presumably film as well. At least, Jewish-born director Erich von Stroheim seemed to think so (sartorially speaking).
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2006

Better link for Jewish spam Nazi (rolls off the tongue it do).

there's some value to drawing a distinction between Fascim and Nazism

If we're going to start making technical distinctions, then it is probably incorrect to call the 15% Jewish AmRen crowd "neo-nazi" for the same reasons. But in terms of "making a point" a good case can be made for not working too hard to recognize distinctions too.
posted by dgaicun at 5:05 PM on March 2, 2006

Jon Safran attempts to join the KKK.

Episode 3 : 13th September 2004.
Can a Jew join the Ku Klux Klan? In Episode Three, John travels to Orange County, California to meet the KKK Grand Dragon - and puts forward a convincing case. Back in Melbourne, local Catholic priest Bob Maguire introduces John to the principals of Catholicism Father Bob style. Finally, John muses on his automatic right to Israeli citizenship and offers to share this citizenship with some of his Palestinian friends. But there's a catch...
posted by basicchannel at 5:08 PM on March 2, 2006

Oh, the white folks hate the black folks,
And the black folks hate the white folks.
To hate all but the right folks
Is an old established rule.

But during National Brotherhood Week, National Brotherhood Week,
Lena Horne and Sheriff Clarke are dancing cheek to cheek.
It's fun to eulogize
The people you despise,
As long as you don't let 'em in your school.

Oh, the poor folks hate the rich folks,
And the rich folks hate the poor folks.
All of my folks hate all of your folks,
It's American as apple pie.

But during National Brotherhood Week, National Brotherhood Week,
New Yorkers love the Puerto Ricans 'cause it's very chic.
Step up and shake the hand
Of someone you can't stand.
You can tolerate him if you try.

Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Moslems,
And everybody hates the Jews.

But during National Brotherhood Week, National Brotherhood Week,
It's National Everyone-smile-at-one-another-hood Week.
Be nice to people who
Are inferior to you.
It's only for a week, so have no fear.
Be grateful that it doesn't last all year!

Thank you, Tom Leher, for putting things in their proper perspective.
posted by mosk at 5:10 PM on March 2, 2006

Also, I think this post would have been better served if it was framed something like:

"It's lonely to be a Jewish neo-Nazi. Can you imagine Amberglow passing at leaflets at a David Duke campaign trail. How do you think Asparagirl would look in a pointy white hood? Would ParisParamus boycott Israel?"
posted by dgaicun at 5:19 PM on March 2, 2006

Once again Astro Zombie gets left off this list.
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:31 PM on March 2, 2006

But in terms of "making a point" a good case can be made for not working too hard to recognize distinctions too.

I don't really follow this.

I think there's a big difference between your recent neo-Nazi knobwarts, who generally seem to be tacking some politics on to their racism as a veneer of respectability, the original Nazis, who were largely shit-scared of Bolshevism and reacting to the downward trajectory of post-WWI Germany, and the Italian Fascists, which look to me more and more like the present US than the Nazis.
posted by pompomtom at 5:31 PM on March 2, 2006

A Haaretz article on an actual Israeli neo-nazi group.

I guess they think of themselves as Russian and not Jewish, though really, considering the history, that makes only slightly more sense than a proudly Jewish neo-nazi group would...
posted by a louis wain cat at 5:52 PM on March 2, 2006

See also The Jewish Con:

"Jewish chaplain Gary Friedman wasn't surprised when he learned that incarcerated neo-Nazi gang members were claiming to be Jews at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center on the Olympic Peninsula. In fact, the chairman of the Seattle-based Jewish Prisoner Services International had been expecting the news. Nationwide, "There is this amazing phenomenon of non-Jews claiming to be Jewish," says Friedman."
posted by donovan at 5:54 PM on March 2, 2006

Interesting post...

One would think that a basic understanding of history and the diabolical effects of racism would dissuade Jewish folks from joining an organization like this, but I guess the lesson of Passover and the value of freedom for all is lost on some people. (This is, after all, why so many Jewish people marched with Rev. King for equal rights.)

"It was so weird. We all got together to hate blacks and all of a sudden some guy was all like 'Oh yeah, we hate the Jews too!' and I was like totally offended."

I think that "Capo" (aka Nazi collaborator) is probably exactly the right term for a person like Michael Hart. If I ever see that guy at my synagogue I'll spit on him...
posted by ph00dz at 6:50 PM on March 2, 2006

Of course Eskimos don't exist. They're Inuit.

Our inution tells us so.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:12 PM on March 2, 2006

Better link for Jewish spam Nazi

I'm currently reading Spam Kings, in which Hawke is one of the lead characters.

Fascinating stuff.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:13 PM on March 2, 2006

That whole piece was brilliant. Everything in there.
posted by DoorFrame at 9:54 PM on March 2, 2006

Okay, between the links to the Love Chess game, the article on ritual flogging, and this article on Jewish neo-Nazis, MetaFilter has totally weirded out my Friday.

The world is a crazy, crazy place.
posted by Zinger at 6:49 AM on March 3, 2006

Best part, for those who missed it:

"Gordon Baum, the amiable, chain-smoking CEO of the Council of Conservative Citizens, said that his organization has good Jewish members, including a member of the board from St. Louis. "We're in Mensa together," Baum said.
posted by koeselitz at 8:30 AM on March 3, 2006

The magazine:
American Renaissance

This reminded of an earlier discussion on baby's names, and how reading the discussion on 'their' website made my stomach turn. So much hate, it makes me sad...
posted by fluffycreature at 9:42 AM on March 3, 2006

There've been Jewish racial fascists since before Mussolini was born: they're called "Zionists". One shining example, a rabbi who missed qualifying as a "Torah scholar" because he wasn't popular enough with liberal intellectuals, was Meir Kahane , who made his bones inciting Brooklyn Jews to hate and fear Blacks before making aliyah to rant against the "sand niggers."

It has been argued that the Shoah was a godsend for the Zionist movement: before WW2 most European Jews were non-Zionist if not actively opposed to colonizing Palestine. Were that not the case there would have been fewer European Jews for the Nazis to "solve" -- they'd've been busy re-colonizing Palestine already.

Now American Jewish racial fascists have a homeland to go to; must they join the goyish idiots fucking up this country?
posted by davy at 10:21 PM on March 3, 2006