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The White Nationalist Heir Who Rejected His Dad's Vile Bigotry

RavenSky

RavenSky

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At the end of the book, Derek says he wants to go public to warn people about an upcoming "critical point?" What do you think that is, if it wasn't the election of Trump?

I think Derek believes that, unfortunately, the 2016 election was an arbiter for more to come given the way the country is heading demographically and the fact that so many white people have the feelings they do about race and about prejudice against them. Basically, that the rise of explicitly white racial politics is only just beginning.
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https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...alist-heir-who-rejected-his-dads-vile-bigotry

Eli Saslow wrote a book "Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist" about Derek Black, heir-apparent to Stormfront. This is an interview with the author.

Interesting stuff.
 
Sounds interesting. That whole way of life is so full of rage and hate and fear. Amazing to see someone raised in it who is getting out.
 
Rhea said:
Sounds interesting. That whole way of life is so full of rage and hate and fear. Amazing to see someone raised in it who is getting out.
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Especially someone who was raised to be someone with prestige and position in the organizations.

Part of the interview touched on the combination of his high intelligence, and the persistence of the people he met at college... and the fact he went to college.
 
Oh, yeah, I remember reading about this guy.
 
I just finished that book a couple of days ago. It was heartening in some ways to see how Derek was willing to take in new information, but frustrating that even for a very bright guy, changing his mind took years.

I don't know what the "critical point" is, but I do think that white nationalists are feeling pretty hopeful these days, with so much support from the White House.
 
Julep said:
I just finished that book a couple of days ago. It was heartening in some ways to see how Derek was willing to take in new information, but frustrating that even for a very bright guy, changing his mind took years.

I don't know what the "critical point" is, but I do think that white nationalists are feeling pretty hopeful these days, with so much support from the White House.
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I haven't read it yet - looking forward to it. I did get a sense (in the article and in a television interview) of the years it took him, and the immense patience of his college friends who challenged and educated him.

It reminds me of the #March4OurLives activists who are reporting some success at changing hearts & minds on the gun reform issues using similar fact-based tactics and enormous patience.

I wonder if it is somewhat like people who are raised to be believers but become atheists.
 
I heard him interviewed on PBS yesterday and I also saw him on The Daily Show. At least that's where I think it was. He's been all over the place. It's sort of like deconverting from fundamentalist religions. It can take awhile before you are totally able to free yourself from the shit you were told as a child, if given the right influences.
 
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