In the wake of the Norway massacre right-wing hate groups on Facebook and other sites are seeing a surge in interest. New stars such as Breivik, and old ones such as Hitler and Mussolini are irresistible for many white supremacists, anti-Semites, and haters of Muslims. Muslims themselves are drawn to Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei. What's available out there? I went looking for hate on Facebook and found the English Defence League, Ali Khamenei, and two Hitler admirers, Dustin and Syed.
Let's start with the English Defence League that Anders Breivik admired. In Extremists flocking to Facebook for recruits the anti-Muslim EDL is given as one example of a group that has flourished online:
The [EDL] ... says its ranks have swollen to more than 10,000 people, a spectacular rise its leaders attribute to the immense global power of Facebook and other social networking sites."I knew that social networking sites were the way to go," EDL leader Stephen Lennon told The AP.
Who are the EDL? These guys:
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They aren't shy about what they stand for. From EDLNottingham09's Flickr page:
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Of course, that racist and anti-Muslim cartoon should look familiar to Americans since there are several groups right here in the U.S. with similar views. Like the EDL, they also like to portray normal (white) patriotic citizens as beset by violent blacks and Muslims.
The EDL does explicitly say they are not Nazi sympathizers. Whether that's true or not they at least realize that being pro-Hitler would not endear them to ordinary English people. In fact, you'd think that the man who led Germany to a crushing defeat while murdering millions would not have a fan club at all.
You'd be wrong. On Facebook, Hitler admirers congregate at the Adolf 'Fuhrer' Hitler page. Who are these people?
Let's look at a couple of them. Meet Syed A. H. Here's some of his commentary on the Hitler page:
"infortunatly hitler was on a right way against the jews and he fucked them very nicely. ... we the supporters of hitler ohhh germans y u not ? hitler was from germany so now proud on hitler dont give him abuse .......shame on u all germans who says hitler was wrong
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Syed, has an extensive set of likes on his Facebook page. He's inspired by Iranian leaders Ahmadi Nejad, and Ayatollah Khomeini, and Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei so perhaps it's not surprising he has a fondness for Hitler. Just the other day, Khamenei, who Syed admires, posted this:
We Hate AMERICA And ISRAEL
Khamenei's blunt message was accompanied on Facebook by the image at right. In case we had any doubt, Khamenei lets us know that he really, really hates us. Not exactly a subtle message.
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Syed and another Hitler fan, Dustin O., have that commonality between them but Dustin clearly hates pretty much everything else about Syed. Who is Dustin? That's Dustin's profile pic over on the right.
In addition to Hitler, Dustin also likes White is Right and Stop Islamisation, wake up Europe and several other radical right-wing causes on Facebook.
Stop Islamisation writes this on Facebook as their reason for being:
Muslims use democracy to destroy democracy. This is the message that we need to get out, to our fellow non-Muslim citizens.
Among the propaganda photos on the page is the one below depicting Muslims as pigs:
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Another Dustin favorite, "White is Right", gives their opinion of diversity on their Facebook info page:
White is Right! Only whites should be allowed top jobs education and opportunities
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Got that? Dustin believes Muslims are destroying democracy while at the same time advocating that only whites should get good schooling and the best jobs. Seems unfair and frankly, undemocratic. Both Syed, a Muslim, and Dustin, a Muslim-hater are Hitler fans but I don't imagine that they'll want to sit next to each other at the next 'Hitler Had It Right' convention.
Of course we have our own growing hate groups here in the United States. A popular Facebook page, titled Stop Islamization of America, has about 5,000 members. If you have any doubts that they are a group that espouses hatred against Muslims then take a look at the photos on their Facebook page. Here's an image that's representative of the tone on the page but this particular one is some very slick propaganda.
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Immediately after the Breivik attacks the Stop Islam In America page didn't waste any time putting out a "Jihad in Norway" note blaming Muslims but now they seem intent on defending Pamela Geller, who they like, and on making sure that the right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik is seen as a loony lone gunman disconnected from any right-wing influence.
Sadly, aside from being defended on the SIOA page Anders Behring Breivik now has several Facebook pages in his name. Most have been set up to mourn the victims but others have become a battleground between mourners and Breivik fans.
Into this flame war entered Dustin from the Hitler page. Anastasia E, a German who is inspired by Jeffrey Dahmer and The Zodiac Killer, wrote a post casting Breivik as:
"defending himself and his country".
Dustin commented in response:
I would have a lot more sympathy for the victims if they weren't at a socialist youth camp. Better dead than red.
He had no sympathy for the victims but don't mistake him for a fan of Breivik. Apparently he's there to defend Hitler.
Not that it makes Anders any less of a Zionist Freemasonic dick head. He's also a freemason, and a supporter of Israel. Hitler outlawed freemasonry and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be Israels #1 fan.
In another post, a fuzzy aerial photo shows Breivik, surrounded by bodies, about to shoot a cowering child. I found the photo heartbreaking, disturbing, and a document of the evil of Breivik. Dustin saw it differently. Under the photo he wrote:
"Better dead than red."
Better dead than red? That frame is at least twenty years out of date but is a phrase that Dustin seems to feel has deep meaning. The incomprehensible part to me is that Dustin really wants to feel no sympathy for the murdered children. To him they are just "reds". Let's pause from the hateful pictures for a moment and look again at the innocents that Breivik killed:
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No Dustin. Those "reds" are not better off dead and the world is the poorer because they are gone.
Should we worry about violence from Dustin, Syed, or Anastasia? Probably not. If they intended violence they most likely wouldn't be posting their views so openly on Facebook. It's the ones who say nothing that pose the greatest threat.
Germany's interior minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, told local media this week that he's more worried about extremists who go underground and "radicalize in secret." Most agree that the most violent criminals often give little to no clear warning of the deadly acts they are about to commit, and that sometimes it's difficult to know when a person is simply boasting or whether their online activity suggests they could become killers.
Chances are the people posting hateful speech on the web won't be the ones who actually commit the next deadly terrorist act. But there are countless thousands like them right now being warped by the propaganda of right-wing hate groups. Many of them accept that their enemies are loathsome, lesser humans, and a threat to their survival. Consequently, it's inevitable that one of them will decide to be another Breivik, Bin Laden, or McVeigh. It's just a matter of time.