Racial Extremists Discover Twitter
Racial extremists aren鈥檛 known for their brevity, but hate in 140 characters or less is starting to flourish thanks to Twitter, the social messaging service that allows users to provide constant updates for friends, family and just about everyone else.
Hatewatch has counted more than a dozen Twitter accounts associated with hate groups ranging from the League of the South to the Jewish Defense League to the Federation for American Immigration Reform. For those unfamiliar with the Twitter fad, it allows users to send very brief messages (known as 鈥渢weets鈥�) that others can opt to receive by cell phone, instant message or the Twitter website. According to its rules, Twitter does not censor users鈥� posts except in limited cases, such as when they include threats of violence or confidential information.
Here鈥檚 a sampling of tweets and partial tweets that Hatewatch found during a recent tour of Twitter:
鈥⒙犅犅� From Stormfront: 鈥淏reaking News: Whites are really getting screwed these days.鈥� (The tweet, which refers to affirmative action, also includes a link to a post on Stormfront, the world's leading white supremacist Web forum.)
鈥⒙犅犅� From the anti-immigrant group American Patrol: 鈥淲illiam Gheen (ALIPAC) is an idiot.鈥� (Glenn Spencer, the leader of American Patrol, is feuding with Gheen, head of another nativist group called Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, over accused double murderer Shawna Forde鈥檚 alleged links to Spencer鈥檚 group, which Spencer denies.)
鈥⒙犅犅� From the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim Jewish Defense League: 鈥淲e鈥檝e decided not to take any vacations to Islam-loving Hawaii. There are 49 other states to visit. And we love to travel in Israel too!鈥�
鈥⒙犅犅� From the Traditional Values Coalition, a聽 virulently anti-gay group federation of churches based in Washington, D.C.: 鈥淕ay Agenda on Fast-Track in Congress.鈥�
鈥⒙犅犅� 聽From 鈥淟ife_of_a_Nazi,鈥� also known as Kris Johnson, Wisconsin state leader for the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement: 鈥淒inner time鈥amily time鈥mportant time for a National Socialist.鈥�
Although white supremacists and other racial extremists haven鈥檛 yet rushed wholesale to use Twitter, they have been among the first to adopt all kinds of new technologies in recent years. They began using early computer bulletin boards long before the general population, and also were among the first to set up Web pages and interactive fora including dating pages. They also were early builders of video games, typically with a racist slant, that users can play via their computers.
