White-nationalist group's poster turns up under West Seattle Bridge

Jenny December 6, 2016 (5:31 pm)

Disgusting. :(

JRR December 6, 2016 (5:49 pm)

So, can somebody head over there and rip it down? I’m stuck on the bus.

Double Dub Resident December 6, 2016 (6:01 pm)

Seriously, man these POS need to go away.

. Sorry white nationalists, being in an interracial marriage with an interracial daughter, a great grandmother who was full Cherokee, cousins who are part Filipino and Samoan, in laws who are black, a half sister who is part Italian and Portuguese, step sisters who are half Blackfoot Native American, Filipina aunt, etc. with friends of many different races, I as a white man must be a disappointment to you white nationalists. I sure hope so.

Why don’t you go and try and be better people rather than focus on trying to keep your “whiteness ” infect?

Double Dub Resident December 6, 2016 (6:24 pm)

Intact, not infect
HappyOnAlki December 6, 2016 (7:29 pm)

Yes, keeping whiteness intact? That ship has sailed, happily! (BTW, Double Dub, I can’t even imagine how fabulous the holiday menus must be in your family!)
prayforrain December 7, 2016 (2:37 pm)

Why sorry? Don’t apologize to them for anything.

Neighbor December 6, 2016 (6:07 pm)

Absolutely disgusting.

Real Americans aren’t afraid of one another, we believe our strength as a nation is in our diversity.

WestCake December 6, 2016 (6:26 pm)

Typical Alt Right propaganda. Not a surprise considering what’s going on in the country right now with that movement.

Peter December 6, 2016 (6:36 pm)

“Protect your heritage.” Indeed I will. I will protect my heritage as an American in a culture that has always been multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-national. I realize that doesn’t fit the conservative narrative of a white christian America, but it’s true.

cjboffoli December 6, 2016 (6:54 pm)

Abhorrent, disgusting message. But equally troubling is that people’s instinct is to tear it down. You cannot silence an opposing message because you disagree with it, even when it is morally wrong. You have a choice to ignore it, denounce it, to work against it, etc. But to silence it threatens a very important American ideal of the equality of free speech. You don’t have to give these people agency. But even the most fringe, unpopular opinion has to survive for the rest of us to have a right to speak.

dsa December 6, 2016 (7:21 pm)

I disagree, we are encouraged to cover racist symbols and other graffiti. I hope it’s been taken down or covered by now.
- phil December 7, 2016 (6:54 am)
  
  Don’t be silly. We simply need to deface these images : I recommend modifying it to a clown face (red nose, crazy hair, google eyes, etc.
ScubaFrog December 6, 2016 (7:25 pm)

Apparently you’re mistaken about what Free Speech is. I don’t believe it applies to posters illegally applied to government/private property. It doesn’t apply to twitter. I hope that you’d take the opportunity to understand the basic tenants of Free Speech.
- WSB December 6, 2016 (8:00 pm)
  
  City postering rules FWIW:
  
  http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/posteringrules.htm

JayDee December 6, 2016 (7:10 pm)

I call it graffiti. It it is still there when we get a dry spell when I am not working, I will cover it will slogans of Don’t deface public property…In broad illegible strokes.

sachijones December 6, 2016 (8:06 pm)

I’d like to see an end to sugar-coating, normalizing, and essentially validating these people with the use of terms like “white-nationalist” and “alt-right,” as if it’s some legitimate political platform. Call it exactly what it is: white-supremacy, racism, and hate.

WSB December 6, 2016 (8:21 pm)

S, we have not used and will not ever use “alt-right.” I did search for what terms were being used to describe this particular group, which is relatively new. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which as I’m sure you know keeps a national clearinghouse and is very active in fighting hate groups, was using “white nationalist,” fwiw: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/white-nationalist – and I sought out other discussions and references too. – TR
Double Dub Resident December 6, 2016 (8:30 pm)

I absolutely agree. I just wish people would also speak out against the new so called new Black Panther “leaders” on their call to kill “crackers” and their babies. If we’re really going to tackle hate and racism we as a people have to stop pretending that it only comes from white people.
- WSB December 6, 2016 (8:41 pm)
  
  The NBPP is also in the SPLC database. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/new-black-panther-party
- Seattlite December 7, 2016 (3:42 pm)
  
  Well said, DDR.

ScubaFrog December 6, 2016 (8:26 pm)

Sadly WSB’s right. The city’s own laws protect the poster under its definition of Free Speech.

The Orange Tumor’s rhetoric gave this white supremist filth a voice. And its victory gave them ‘vindication’.

We’ve got to show courage and resolve, and meet these racists in lawful counter-protests. We need Antifa now more than ever.

“There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes.” – For Whom the Bell Tolls

The 1st lets you change it December 7, 2016 (7:33 am)

The 1st Amendment also entitles me to cover it with a giant orange painted turd, too, I suppose?

JRR December 6, 2016 (8:38 pm)

Don’t the city’s own laws allow people to tear down racist bs?

Guthrie December 6, 2016 (9:19 pm)

Laws are made by people in response to events of their communities. People are sometimes wrong; laws are sometimes wrong. Even when laws aren’t wrong, ethics and morality doesn’t come from a legislature or city council.

So, to me, the question of whether it’s legal for a fascist to place a poster is irrelevant. If I find it in my neighbourhood , I rip the f—er down.
- WestCake December 6, 2016 (9:34 pm)
  
  If you don’t respect another person’s free speech, you become the problem.
  - Toby December 7, 2016 (7:44 am)
    
    Freedom of speech means that the government will not censure you or retaliate against you. Key word there: the government. Free speech doesn’t mean that a) anyone has to listen, or b) there are no repercussions for the things you say from other citizens.
- WS suzanne December 7, 2016 (5:27 am)
  
  Guthrie- I’m 100% with you. Will rip it to shreds then put in trash, where it belongs. As a first generation Jew after WW2, for me there’s nothing theoretical about the threat the White Nationalists pose to this country. It’s all too real and terrifying. I want them to crawl back under their rocks, where they belong.

E December 6, 2016 (8:43 pm)

I’m sickened to hear this is happening here in my own backyard. We have to stand against it as a community or no one will be safe. Hate speech and hate groups are not welcome here. They may have a right to free speech but not to the kind of intimidation they are obviously aiming at with this illegal posting.

Seaview December 6, 2016 (9:10 pm)

The poster breaks two of the city’s rules:

Posters over posters are not allowed
Don’t use glue … to hang posters

Perfectly reasonable grounds for complaint imo.

WestCake December 6, 2016 (9:33 pm)

So the term being commonly used to describe these groups, “alt right”, is not allowed to be used? Does that fall under free speech or not so much?

WSB December 6, 2016 (9:44 pm)

Free speech = “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

We’re not Congress.

That aside, what I said is, we’re not using that term in WSB stories. It’s a euphemism. – TR
- Billv34 December 7, 2016 (10:22 am)
  
  Euphemism for … ‘boogeyman?’
Æ December 16, 2016 (5:52 pm)

They use the term for themselves. Those who are not part of their group use other terms because they are seeking to cloak their real purpose (white supremacy) in a phrase that isn’t ‘neo-Nazi.’ But really — they’re neo-Nazis.

miws December 6, 2016 (9:33 pm)

It’s pretty pathetic that these cowards are so miserable in their own skin, that they feel the need to project their self-hatred upon people of other races.

Mike

Billv34 December 6, 2016 (10:32 pm)

I don’t know about the Southern Poverty Law Center. This article from Harper’s (hardly a right-wing source) might dissuade you from sourcing from them. http://www.americanpatrol.com/SPLC/ChurchofMorrisDees001100.html

CAM December 7, 2016 (1:06 am)

I don’t know if Harper’s is sufficient as a source for this link. The link sites it’s original source as coming from the Texas League of the South website which sounds fairly questionable in terms of bias (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_the_South). Ken Silverstein has also been discredited in terms of journalistic ethics on a few occasions. The SPLC is typically considered a reliable source for information regarding hate groups.

TheKing December 6, 2016 (10:36 pm)

Must be 2016, everyone’s offended and scared. It’s a poster. Who cares. I’ve still got to go to work and pay bills, things that matter. Being Native American, I realize this isn’t going away and never will. Bottom line is who cares.

Elle Nell December 6, 2016 (10:38 pm)

First off, why so much dang time explaining … This is not Google folks! And while the WSB is a wonderful place to ask information, it is NoT Google. If you are so inclined to either understand or overstand something, why waste this amazing space, and do your own research like the rest of us.. I enjoy reading comments almost more than the story itself (which I also deeply enjoy) but am getting tired of reading all these “explainations” to people who are trying to “figure it out”!

Brain power 🖖

PS- we know wtf this is .. Not the first and definitely won’t be the last.

STAND up

Canton December 7, 2016 (12:13 am)

In my own opinion, all people are of the same family, human. Skin tone is relative to family origins in relation to the equator. Our skin adapts to our environment. We are the same, let’s work together.

valvashon December 7, 2016 (6:42 am)

Drove by this morning and was surprised at how big the poster is. It’s not a “Supersuckers with the Mono Men at the Vogue” size flyer poster, it’s BIG like the posters you put up in your room as a kid.

It skirts the line of hate speech and I don’t believe that is protected under the constitution. Even if it is (I’m not a constitutional scholar) it doesn’t mean that any one of us can’t take it back down. Such posters and spray paint tags are feelers and markers put up by the people in this movement to help create a safe space for their views. While that sounds warm and fuzzy, it’s also to help recruit the unaffiliated- witness the website address on some of the posters shown in the online reporting site in the above story. Instead of letting a safe space be created for those who hate, let’s create a safe space for those who don’t by watching for these and other signs of the white nationalist movement and pulling them down or defacing them when you can,

Confidential to Tracy- why link to the hate group’s website? If somebody’s interest is piqued, unfortunately, by this poster making it easy to find their website isn’t necessarily the journalist’s job.

Your Mom December 7, 2016 (8:21 am)

A journalists job is to report the FACTS nothing more and nothing less. FACTS, not opinions, journalists job it to report the FACTS. Yes i said it twice. Journalism has become opinion, its tragic really, almost as tragic as people quoting google as fact. Point of story, I have been reading this blog for years and TR is one of the few remaining Journalist. TR reports the facts of our local community and I for one appreciate her continued unbiased reporting.

Thank you Tracy!!

p.s. if you continue to live your life refusing to acknowledge that others have views different than yours, you will never grow as a person.
- captainDave December 7, 2016 (10:25 am)
  
  I agree. Thank you WSB for posting just the facts along with a link to the group so that people could see what it’s about. Free speech and freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our society. It should always be up to individuals to make their own decisions.
Jon December 7, 2016 (8:52 pm)

Nobody needs a “Safe Space” or any other bizarre, politically correct, Orwellian ideologies in the name of speaking for other people to earn Good Boy / Good Girl Points. We’ve got enough of that nonsense in the Universities (which will take decades to undue the damage brought on by these irresponsible educators). There aren’t enough critical thinkers left in society, which is a huge problem.

And in regards to the Freedom of Speech: you either have it all or you have nothing; unsavory and “offensive” as it may be to you. People bringing up the term “fascist” may want to contemplate on the consequences of silencing those whom you disagree with and how that might potentially come back to bite you.

The solution is to simply ignore it and refuse to participate in the language or activities of your opponents; and if it ever came to it, to vote against any (extremely unlikely) legislation on their behalf.

Also, more often than not, public displays of so-called “Hate-Speech” are often hoaxes perpetrated by the political opponents of said group or institution (see: swastika hoaxes on campuses recently, et cetera). So before everyone panics about the sky falling, and running through the streets like a modern Paul Revere, screaming “The Natzees are coming!”, realize that: A) it could be a hoax; B) defacing it, if legitimately posted, could only embolden their claims; C) you live in probably the third-most “Liberal” city in the country and most of your neighbors probably aren’t white supremacists and aren’t likely going to become white supremacists.

But even if they were, they’re still allowed to be; and public actions are subject to the law, so — you’re protected in that regard as well. That’s the crust of the “Tolerance” sandwich you tend to ignore on your plates.

JoB December 7, 2016 (6:45 am)

the hypocrisy in this movement astounds me
with modern DNA heritage testing it isn’t so easy to falsify records..
and although they don’t seem to know it.. most of them wouldn’t pass

phil December 7, 2016 (6:56 am)

Leave the posters. We just need to modify the image to a clown face : big red nose, google eyes, crazy hair etc. Mission accomplished!

anonyme December 7, 2016 (6:57 am)

Hate is erupting everywhere as a result of Trump’s election. Unfortunately, these extremists are silencing moderate conservatives whose voices need to be heard.

ScubaFrog December 7, 2016 (4:37 pm)

lol “moderate conservative”. where are these “moderate conservatives” you speak of? DC? no. we’ve been waiting for “moderate conservatives” to emerge and speak out (for years). they either don’t exist… or they’re silent cowards.
- Jon December 7, 2016 (8:57 pm)
  
  It’s silly to say there are no “Moderate Conservatives”. To say that would be like saying “half of the country is racist!” And if you don’t know any “Moderate Conservatives”, you may not hang out with a very diverse group of people yourself. Also, simplifying the populace to “Liberal or Conservative”; i.e. “Good Guys v. Bad Hombres” is not going to help anyone.
  
  The math doesn’t work in your favor. And “hate groups” membership numbers (most easily referenced: the KKK) are at an all-time low in this country — especially in our region. It’s a non-issue being blown out of proportion.
  
  There is no pandemic of White Supremacy. Get off of Facebook for a few weeks and come back to the real world.

Fred December 7, 2016 (7:02 am)

All the outrage… Pushing supremacy of any race is simply put: Stupid…

I wish West Seattlites would have the same outrage for gang graffiti to…after all gang graffiti is a violent threat.

I hope if another person of another race puts up a ridiculous sign like this touting their supremacy over whites and any other race with the same ferver…It will receive the same scorn…

Admiral California December 7, 2016 (7:07 am)

I saw one of these posters in West Seattle and tore it down immediately, as I will every time I see one. There’s no room for this filth in my community.

Rick Cook December 7, 2016 (7:23 am)

A very smart lady from Slovenia I know feels the differences are more cultural than racial. I tend to agree with her. You can have a choice in the culture you choose to embrace.

Your Mom December 7, 2016 (7:29 am)

Sticks and stones…..

I understand that what this poster represents isn’t the best for the rest of humanity but they win when they ruin your day. For the people who lose their minds over a poster, please go live in 75% of the other countries in the world and then come back and tell us how good we have it here. The only way to “win” is to ignore the haters and lead by example. The reality of this city/state/country is most of us get along and don’t care what others skin tone is, who they sleep with, what religion they practice or what sex they identify with. The extremists that currently have the voice win if we start to believe their drool and start adjusting our lives because of it. The silent majority are good people who respect others, if this weren’t true we would be in total chaos, and we are not even tough that is what most media outlets would have you believe. Specific to this country 350 or so million people and you are bound to have some crazies, but remember this, most of the people who hate others actually hate themselves.

Seymour December 7, 2016 (7:50 am)

I’ll probably be banned for this post but here goes . . .

I’m not from West Seattle, but my gf is and I spend a lot of time there. Another friend from West Seattle sent me the link to this blog post because he frequently forwards to me links he finds unintentionally hilarious as exhibits of West Seattle style hysterics. He was certainly correct about this one.

I can honestly say that I’ve never become agitated and hysterical over the thought of a Greek (or is it Roman?) statue. I’m also literate enough to know that the immigration policies proposed by our new, much hated, incoming administration are more in line with those in place at the time the US fought the Nazis than any in between. Or, to put it another way, of the many hundreds of thousands of Americans who actually fought the Nazis, most were part of a generation that insisted on what were comparatively closed borders. And to their even greater shame, the president they elected was quite the lady’s man too. To put it in the vernacular of the social justice types, WWII was a war where insensitive proto-Nazi Americans (must be proto-Nazis right? They supported closed borders) fought the real life German Nazis not fake Nazis lurking in Seattle underpasses. Even died fighting them. Oh, the horror! You can also bet that most of those who actually fought the Nazis harbored no great fear of Western Civilization or felt multiculturalism or diversity a central tenant of the civilization they inherited.

I also remember whenever I see one of these moral panics in full flower (anyone remember the nuclear power moral panic?) of an old saying from a popular fiction writer of the 70s who always inserted a Nazi sub-theme ‘If I was writing Hamlet today I’d include Nazis. Nazis always sell.’

Buttercup December 7, 2016 (8:09 am)

Don’t have all the legalities and words to denounce this, straight up? What a bunch of crap.

colleen December 7, 2016 (12:38 pm)

I suspect this group will find greater cultural acceptance in the deep South.

Kimbee2 December 7, 2016 (8:46 am)

Join us on Jan 21st to march together for peace and unity in Seattle. Join us to make a statement that will tolerate this. Jan 21st is officially a nationwide march date. Save the date in your calendar and look out for more information in the new year.

Jon December 7, 2016 (9:02 pm)

No thank you. But if you do gather to march, please don’t block traffic and busses while doing so. Some of the brown people which marchers claim to speak for keep forgetting that they have to be at work or they lose their jobs / immigration status.

Thanks.

TheDodgyEnd December 7, 2016 (11:31 am)

Let’s remember that while free speech is protected, it’s still subject to consequences. If a poster in a public place says hateful sh-t, the hateful sh-t is going to get flushed.

Sheesh December 7, 2016 (12:19 pm)

The image on this poster looks like one that would come from an area
around where Greece and Italy are today, (Legionnaires /Spartans
etc?) This is a statue that is representative of their times idea
of the perfection of man. With this image the white racists
aren’t even
in their right ball park for their little “Protect your Heritage”
reindeer games…..sheesh
They are already trying to screwing up
Nordic culture, now through their own lack of knowledge are now
messing with Southern and Eastern Europe. Exhibit number one for
more and better school funding. (and Krampus is going to come around
and bite them on the butt)

Sheesh December 7, 2016 (12:22 pm)

Painting the poster as a clown is the best idea yet.

sc December 7, 2016 (2:22 pm)

As of 11:30 AM there were 3 Black Lives Matter signs posted over it with painters tape.

HappyOnAlki December 7, 2016 (4:23 pm)

Love it!

22blades December 7, 2016 (9:34 pm)

Is this “Free Speech”, “Art” or a threat to, or an attempt to marginalize a group of citizens?. I personally see it as a threat.

What a waste of ink & paper…

PS; Thank you TR your balanced moderating.

Nadine December 8, 2016 (6:13 pm)

A multicultural, multiracial society also includes White identity and the White race.

The society which embraces similar racial groups such as the NAACP, La Raza, Puente Project, Black Polictical caucus, etc. also must, based on EQUAL standards and treatment, also embrace Identity Evuropa.

The White race is beautiful, just like all other races, mixed or otherwise.