Page 4 of 4

The best way for communities to deal with hate groups is through education, Roy said. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Web site has several links that deal with teaching tolerance at home, in the community and especially at school.

Blazak, the professor at Portland State University, agreed education plays a vital role in fighting hate groups, but, he said, teaching tolerance is the wrong way of going about it.

“The best way for a community to handle a white supremacy group is by not tolerating the intolerant,” Blazak said.

These groups choose communities that do not put up much of a fight or give much response to their presence, Blazak said. He believed there are two important things to consider when dealing with the management of a hate group within a community.

“The first and most important thing is to respect other people’s Constitutional rights to be as stupid as they want to be,” Blazak said. “The second thing community members should do is speak up and let these groups know that their beliefs are not tolerated within your community. Because if you tolerate their presence, you are, in a sense, letting them think it’s accepted.”

Immediate condemnation is the best response, Blazak said. White supremacy groups need to see that the community doesn’t welcome them and the residents do not share their beliefs. If they don’t, white supremacists will feel they have found a viable recruiting ground.

“Teaching and educating anti-racism to the younger generation is the first step. The most important step is getting people to realize how much we celebrate diversity in everyday life.”

home