Kate Smith, for those who don't know, famously sang "God Bless America," but also some cute songs like "Pickaninny Heaven ("Pickaninny" is a derogatory term for small black children). The lyrics to that song include:
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AmIM used to be Identity Evropa. Identity Evropa was supposed to be the hipster nazi movement that would successfully mainstream radical white supremacism. Thanks to researchers documenting their extremism, they're depleted and pulling thirsty little two-person prop stunts.pic.twitter.com/oFp1zeCqwn
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"Haven’t you been told of the place where the good little pickaninnies go? I’ve just been there so I ought to know Great big watermelons roll around and get in your way In the pickaninny heaven." Kate dedicated her rendition to "a lot of little colored chillen listening in."
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Smith is a popular rallying point among geratric Fox viewers who don't see what the big deal is, and also radical white supremacist groups who see the controversy as a way to bring folks to the table with an argument around patriotism, then radicalize them around racist speech.
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The AmIM video teaches us a couple things. The first is always worth repeating: alt-right radical white supremacists are extremely attuned to conservative mainstream media, and alt-right outlets like Breitbart. They use those channels' outrages to recruit and radicalize.
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The flip side of this: Fox and Breitbart *deliberately* choose to create controversy around flashpoints using "respectable" outrage ("we just think God Bless America is an important song! Kate was anti-nazi!") but are primed for for explicitly racist outrage.
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The second thing the AmIM video teaches us is that researching and exposing and protesting radical white supremacists works. Since the IE leaks and exposés dropped, they've have to change their name and endured rapid membership loss.
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These guys are reduced to making fools of themselves in bookstores and dragging cardboard cutouts of dead racist around empty stadium parking lots.
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The vibe they're going for is sharply-dressed patriotic outrage, but all I could think watching this video was, somewhere on the east coast, an Interpol cover band is trying to figure out where their synth player went.
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That's not to say we shouldn't be watching them. The goal is to keep the sunlight on them. That's what keeps them isolated. That's how we show how sad and pathetic and full of resentful entitlement these radical alt-right white supremacists really are.
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The alt-right is trying to make radical white supremacy hip and alternative. For a while, it was working. Sunlight helps their targets see them for the losers they are. So let's keep shining it.
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End of conversation
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