Dear HCN,
Todd Wilkinson’s article
on neo-Nazis and skinheads (HCN, 6/27/94) resonates in Idaho. This
past April, activists from the White Aryan Resistance (WAR)
surfaced in Idaho Falls, twice distributing racist leaflets in
residential areas of the city.
What is
interesting about these events is the response of the city,
population 45,000, which has tiny populations of minorities. Linda
Milam, the mayor of Idaho Falls, branded the fliers “appalling and
foolish,” and revived a sleeping and confused city Human Relations
Commission to organized activism in concert with over 500
people.
Because the WAR fliers targeted people of
color, the city’s Human Relations Commission used the annual Cinco
de Mayo celebration to gather signatures and contributions for a
full-page ad printed in the Idaho Falls Post-Register condemning
the fliers. Additionally, a nongovernmental group called Eastern
Idaho for Equality gathered signatures and contributions at the
city’s annual Earth Day celebration and also published a large ad
in the Post-Register with a message of tolerance of diversity in
culture and lifestyle.
It’s a good thing these
responses occurred, because the Aryan Resistance group has plenty
of help from the outside in the form of organizing manuals, glossy,
professional recruiting materials, a printing press, and a core
group of eight composed of two locals and six WAR activists
imported from San
Francisco.
Dan
Yurman
Idaho Falls,
Idaho
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Neo-Nazis surfaced in Idaho, too.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
