National Socialist Movement
There's a huge neo-Nazi march through town today. Our school has told us to stay on campus and avoid downtown due to possible violence and vandalism.
I think we're all freaked out right now.
By JOE MEYER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Thursday, March 8, 2007
The National Socialist Movement, scheduled to march Saturday in Columbia, is a neo-Nazi group seeking to create an all-white America.
Countermoves
Events planned in response to a march downtown scheduled Saturday afternoon by the National Socialist Movement include:
● An open forum on neo-Nazism and hate groups in America at 7 p.m. today in Room 204, Memorial Union South, University of Missouri-Columbia.
● A rally starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Boone County Courthouse, sponsored by the Columbia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
● A celebration including food, games, music and an open-microphone session from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, at Douglass Park, 400 N. Providence Road.
● Two-for-one admission to Empire Roller Rink from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
● Reduced-price admission of $4.50 to Forum 8 Cinema from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
● A screening of the documentary “Not in Our Town” by the Columbia Human Rights Commission at 6 p.m. Monday in the Columbia Public Library Friends Room, 100 W. Broadway.
The group’s Web site says the organization is "dedicated to the preservation of our proud Aryan heritage and the creation of a National Socialist society in America and around the world."
The group also works with other white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Skinheads and Racial Nationalist Party of America.
Jeff Schoeb, commander of the Minneapolis-based group, said the organization is a "white people political party." The group plans on sponsoring 2008 presidential candidate John Taylor Bowles, who plans to attend this weekend’s event, according to a news release sent by the group.
Schoeb, who said he would not attend the march, said the march is intended to recruit new members and act as a political campaign. The parade permit says the group wants "to protest the promotion of Marxism by the University of Missouri."
The permit allows the group to march between noon and 5 p.m. Saturday near the University of Missouri-Columbia campus.
Columbia police have discouraged the public from attending the demonstration, and community leaders have organized alternative events.
In a news conference yesterday, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said he would like people to use Saturday afternoon as a time to reflect on positive ideas and activities. That should be "the first step" for better dialogues about diversity, he said.
Schoeb said his group, which traces its origin to the American Nazi Party, believes in nationalism first and that all non-Aryans should be evicted from the country.
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"America was a white country and these other people don’t belong here," Schoeb said. "When you force cultures together, it’s very difficult for them to get along."
The group’s other goals include affordable and accessible health care, higher education for poor students paid by the state, the nationalization of all corporations, and ensuring that all citizens of the all-white nation have equal rights and duties.
The Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, counted 82 National Socialism chapters in the country last year, including one in Columbia.
Mark Potok, director of the center’s intelligence project, said internal feuds and bickering have caused some members of the neo-Nazi group to leave during the past year. Potok predicted group members in Columbia would wear Nazi uniforms and shout racial slurs.
"What you’re likely to see is a dozen Nazis, surrounded by a hundred police officers, surrounded by 500 counterdemonstrators," he said. "The danger of these counterdemonstrations is the counterdemonstrators can’t get to the Nazis."
MU assistant geography Professor Larry Brown, who teaches a class about white nationalism, said the group wants to "create a scenario where they can justify their white supremacy."
"What they have been doing in recent years, they have a march and broadcast their propaganda verbally and try to get a violent reaction from the community," Brown said.
He also said the public should avoid downtown on Saturday. "Unfortunately, they are great verbal manipulators," he said. "Whether you think you can just listen, next thing you know you’re angry."
I think we're all freaked out right now.
By JOE MEYER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Thursday, March 8, 2007
The National Socialist Movement, scheduled to march Saturday in Columbia, is a neo-Nazi group seeking to create an all-white America.
Countermoves
Events planned in response to a march downtown scheduled Saturday afternoon by the National Socialist Movement include:
● An open forum on neo-Nazism and hate groups in America at 7 p.m. today in Room 204, Memorial Union South, University of Missouri-Columbia.
● A rally starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Boone County Courthouse, sponsored by the Columbia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
● A celebration including food, games, music and an open-microphone session from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, at Douglass Park, 400 N. Providence Road.
● Two-for-one admission to Empire Roller Rink from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
● Reduced-price admission of $4.50 to Forum 8 Cinema from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
● A screening of the documentary “Not in Our Town” by the Columbia Human Rights Commission at 6 p.m. Monday in the Columbia Public Library Friends Room, 100 W. Broadway.
The group’s Web site says the organization is "dedicated to the preservation of our proud Aryan heritage and the creation of a National Socialist society in America and around the world."
The group also works with other white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Skinheads and Racial Nationalist Party of America.
Jeff Schoeb, commander of the Minneapolis-based group, said the organization is a "white people political party." The group plans on sponsoring 2008 presidential candidate John Taylor Bowles, who plans to attend this weekend’s event, according to a news release sent by the group.
Schoeb, who said he would not attend the march, said the march is intended to recruit new members and act as a political campaign. The parade permit says the group wants "to protest the promotion of Marxism by the University of Missouri."
The permit allows the group to march between noon and 5 p.m. Saturday near the University of Missouri-Columbia campus.
Columbia police have discouraged the public from attending the demonstration, and community leaders have organized alternative events.
In a news conference yesterday, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said he would like people to use Saturday afternoon as a time to reflect on positive ideas and activities. That should be "the first step" for better dialogues about diversity, he said.
Schoeb said his group, which traces its origin to the American Nazi Party, believes in nationalism first and that all non-Aryans should be evicted from the country.
size=1 width="100%" noshade color="#aca899" align=center>
Related Story
•
IN COMMENTARY: Nazis’ rise to power provides lasting gift
"America was a white country and these other people don’t belong here," Schoeb said. "When you force cultures together, it’s very difficult for them to get along."
The group’s other goals include affordable and accessible health care, higher education for poor students paid by the state, the nationalization of all corporations, and ensuring that all citizens of the all-white nation have equal rights and duties.
The Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, counted 82 National Socialism chapters in the country last year, including one in Columbia.
Mark Potok, director of the center’s intelligence project, said internal feuds and bickering have caused some members of the neo-Nazi group to leave during the past year. Potok predicted group members in Columbia would wear Nazi uniforms and shout racial slurs.
"What you’re likely to see is a dozen Nazis, surrounded by a hundred police officers, surrounded by 500 counterdemonstrators," he said. "The danger of these counterdemonstrations is the counterdemonstrators can’t get to the Nazis."
MU assistant geography Professor Larry Brown, who teaches a class about white nationalism, said the group wants to "create a scenario where they can justify their white supremacy."
"What they have been doing in recent years, they have a march and broadcast their propaganda verbally and try to get a violent reaction from the community," Brown said.
He also said the public should avoid downtown on Saturday. "Unfortunately, they are great verbal manipulators," he said. "Whether you think you can just listen, next thing you know you’re angry."