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READER REPORT: White-nationalist group resurfaces in West Seattle with mural vandalism

November 27, 2021 5:15 pm
|      61 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

The photo and report are from Simon:

Woke up this morning to see the beautiful portrait of Angela Davis done by Desmond Hansen [at 30th/Barton] papered over with Patriot Front-branded “Better Dead than Red” poster. Talked with our neighbor who commissioned the piece and he is going to make a police report. We are notifying Desmond as well.

We checked back with Simon, who reports, “It’s been cleaned off. Thankfully the poster was still wet and my neighbor was able to remove it with soapy water without damaging the art.”

If this looks familiar, it’s the same thing, attributed to the same group, that appeared on flyers placed in plastic bags with small rocks and strewn in West Seattle neighborhoods almost three years ago, sparking an SPD investigation. The Anti-Defamation League‘s annual report on white-supremacist propaganda nationwide says this group is by far the most prolific.

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61 Replies to "READER REPORT: White-nationalist group resurfaces in West Seattle with mural vandalism"

  • 2 Much Whine November 27, 2021 (5:28 pm)

    I’m pretty sure Moscow is laser-focused on taking over West Seattle.  To my way of thinking they would probably pick a place with a bridge that was open.  With that being said, white-nationalism is not accepted in any community I’d want to live in.  Just go away.

    • Jason C. November 28, 2021 (7:38 pm)

      I don’t believe just making them “go away” is going to be enough. It’s a really a shame that white nationalist groups didn’t get labeled as terrorist groups while Obama was in office. We are not remotely going far enough to address this problem and we are fairly short on time too. The rest of the country has heavily gerrymandered drawn districts where Democrats can somehow win 52% of the vote but only hold 36% of the elected seats, I’m looking at you Wisconsin. Not as rare as one may think either. Toss in the situation in the supreme courts and we’re looking at likely a flourishing fascist right wing uprising.  We need something closer to the nuremberg trials to hold people accountable for the actions of 1/6, democracy is directly on the line. Give them an inch and well, they will try take the whole thing for them selves.

  • Jim November 27, 2021 (6:16 pm)

    Have kids in the neighborhood make posters of Angela Davis and put up and down the neighborhood to show this person that put up the negative sign over her picture that people in this area prefer something that is positive versus hateful messages. 

  • StopCuttingDownTrees November 27, 2021 (6:31 pm)

    Well, after my family escaped the Khmer Rouge Communists in Cambodia in 1975, it’s basically “dead OR red”. So that white supremacist graffiti isn’t really accurate as the Communists killed almost everyone who didn’t comply. But I wouldn’t expect white nationalists to know that.

  • Rob November 27, 2021 (6:34 pm)

    Well let me tell them…I’m gay, Jewish, and use the pronoun They..  We “liberal commies” spin off variants faster than covid,  they can never stop us  lol!

    • D-Mom November 28, 2021 (8:44 am)

      Love your comment!  And much prefer a community with “liberal commies”, since I am one, vs this white nationalist crap. 

      • Rhonda November 28, 2021 (12:50 pm)

        In college we visited East Germany, Hungary, and Yugoslavia in 1982 when they were imprisoned by Communism. I doubt you’d be proud to call yourself a “Commie” if you saw the misery, basic civil rights abuses, and extreme poverty we experienced there.

        • Red November 29, 2021 (9:43 am)

          Huh.  Interesting.  Here in the US, those things happened under our ‘Red’ GOP government.  I’m with the other liberals above.  Call it what you will, but I for one, will fight white supremacy with everything I’ve got.  If you learned anything on your adventure, you’d know better and vow to fight it too, rather than focus on semantics.   The folks above used ‘Commie’ because that’s what we’re called when we refuse to tolerate hatred and things like this with a literal hammer and sickle pop up in our neighborhood, not because they literally are ‘Commies’.

  • Zipda November 27, 2021 (6:34 pm)

    Ironically these ignorant low information pin heads are neither patriots nor supreme.

  • Jort November 27, 2021 (7:35 pm)

    These must be the “very fine people” that our former president exalted. 

    • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (11:31 am)

      Jort:   This “very fine people” myth has been debunked numerous times, including during the last day of the impeachment trial.   This comment has been grossly taken out of context to serve political purposes, which both sides do ad nauseum. It was a fumbled moment, for sure, but clarity and facts first, and ideology later.   

      • Wut November 28, 2021 (2:45 pm)

        His statement is on video. It has not been debunked. Your comment is weird. He very much said there were “very fine people… on both sides.” That’s just facts and public record.

        • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (8:43 pm)

          Question Wut:  Why would the president say “fine people on both sides,” if he was referring to a protest of both Antifa and white supremacists, and not what was most likely the case, a crowd that he thought was simply at odds over the removal of Confederate monument?  Do you think he was also calling Antifa “fine people?”  You see the logical contradiction here?   As I said, there is no question he badly fumbled a crucial moment, but this distortion has been repeated and repeated over and over until it has become “fact.”  No, video doesn’t lie, go back and watch the entire transcript. He forcibly and unambiguously denounced hate and white supremacists.  

          • Cmon November 29, 2021 (1:52 am)

            Nothing Trump says is logical…..

          • Jort November 29, 2021 (5:26 pm)

            I truly love it when die-hard Republicans who dress their right-wing beliefs in the word-salad dressing of libertarianism can’t help themselves but show their true feelings in defense of their ultimate lib-owning hero. I’m sure the former president will give them a little tiny-fingered high-five for their courageous efforts to defend him. “But, but … akshually what he said wasn’t what he obviously said! Common misconception! AKSHUALLY ….” 

        • Fauntleroy Fairy November 28, 2021 (10:51 pm)

          Not trying to defend the president, but Pessoa is correct. While Trump did indeed say the words “very fine people on both sides”, when you listen to what he said, in its entirety, he was clearly talking about both side of the issue of whether or not to take down the statues. There were just as many academics and historians (good people) that felt the statues should stay.  That is who he was referring to when he said it.   

      • CAM November 28, 2021 (3:31 pm)

        Ha. No it hasn’t. But nice way to try to rewrite the history that everyone watched happen live and unedited on TV with their own eyes. Might want to wait another couple decades before you attempt that. 

        • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (8:01 pm)

          No, this is not rewriting history, I am trying to elucidate rather simple concepts like “context” and “intentionality” and “entirety” for those who are more interested in grinding their political axes.   You can start by reading the entire transcript of his remarks, confrontational and defensive as they  – unfortunately – were.   I give every president that consideration, including president Biden.  

  • Peter November 27, 2021 (7:54 pm)

    So proud of our fellow West Seattleites who know that hate has no home here. We welcome and embrace diversity! 

  • dhg November 27, 2021 (8:30 pm)

    I’m happy happy happy to hear the painting was undamaged.  People who post over public art should face mandatory jail time.

    • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (11:32 am)

      Defacing art is so philistine and loathsome, I will agree.  

  • Gina November 27, 2021 (8:38 pm)

    I’ve  noticed the White Rose stickers on poles up and down California Ave. Doubt that is a gardening club.

  • bolo November 27, 2021 (9:04 pm)

    I am not understanding the symbology. Blue arrow piercing a red hammer and sickle.
    The hammer and sickle is a symbol on the Russian flag? Red used to be a symbol for communism. Now seems to denote more republican party? Is Angela Davis considered a communist? Even if so, is Russia today considered a communist country? Thought it was capitalist authoritarian oligarchy/plutocracy?

  • Wsresident November 28, 2021 (7:31 am)

    That website is so incredibly disturbing. 🤮

  • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (9:03 am)

    Political designations such as Republican or Democrat will become increasingly irrelevant in the future. There will be those who willingly surrender their personal autonomy – and demand you do the same-  and those who resist.  

    • Walker November 28, 2021 (12:43 pm)

      If all the non-conformists are doing the same thing to resist conformity, what are they actually accomplishing? I’m not sure you are exercising your personal autonomy in the way you think you are by doing whatever the counter-culture group of the moment tells you to.

      • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (8:32 pm)

        The principle of personal autonomy is a different principle than the principle of non-conformity.   Personal autonomy is the principle that you get to decide what is right for you; non-conformity is a subjective term that is dependent on the situation. 

  • anonyme November 28, 2021 (11:39 am)

    I suggest that followers of the White Rose gather in large, unmasked numbers in enclosed spaces, and hug and kiss and drool on one another.  Coughing is also strongly encouraged.  Invite some Proud Boys while you’re at it.

  • ws resident November 28, 2021 (11:49 am)

    The poster is gone, but your photo is spreading their info wider than any poster could.  Groups like this know that when they take provocative action, the media will do the hard work of spreading their word for them.

    I get that this is a newsworthy event, and of interest to the local residents, and that’s the focus of this news site.  But there is a difference between being useful and being used.

    • WSB November 28, 2021 (12:07 pm)

      Yes, we always discuss whether to show vandalism or not, political or otherwise. In this case, we feel it’s important that people know what is out there – too much “oh, it couldn’t happen here” still going on.

      • Pessoa November 28, 2021 (12:31 pm)

        I, for one, commend your decision not to engage in selective coverage and/or censorship.  It is absurd to insinuate that you could be “used” by a certain organization to spread their message, just as it would be absurd to accuse you of promoting communism by covering a fine portrait of Angela Davis, a two-time Communist Party vice-presidential candidate (1980, 1984) .  ALL ideas and opinions need to be subjected to merciless examination in public, not shunted off to the dark alleyways.  

        • tom November 29, 2021 (4:07 pm)

          ALL ideas and opinions need to be subjected to merciless examination in public, not shunted off to the dark alleyways……………………..THIS!!!!

      • yup November 28, 2021 (7:29 pm)

        I think posting it was the right thing to do. I would never have known of it otherwise, and being ignorant of these incidents just perpetuates my personal bubble. As for the free press, I’ve already forgotten the name of the group. Storm front? Patriot something.

      • AFA November 29, 2021 (3:22 pm)

        The website should of been obscured.

  • Scott Dolfay November 28, 2021 (3:04 pm)

    I guess I missed something; so this was placed over a
    painting, of what/who? Also no race is mentioned, just communism; an ideology
    that killed millions of all races continuing to this day. Most of the
    commentary appears to conflate anti- communism with racism. Some groups were
    mentioned that I’ve never heard of so I have no opinion regarding them. I do
    think this type of antic should be condemned. I have heard of “The Proud Boys”
    and read a bit about them. I know they’ve been labeled racist yet I’ve never
    seen an example. So far the label looks like hyperbole. If “racist” is thrown around
    imprecisely it loses its meaning.

    I do second the statement of PESSOA.  All one has to do is read a full transcript
    of Trumps speech.  

     

    • AMD November 28, 2021 (6:36 pm)

      If you click the link WSB provided above, you’d see that the painting this covered was that of a Black woman, and was painted in celebration of Black history month.  In addition, the group who put up the poster touts racist beliefs in their own manifesto.  It’s a FAR bigger stretch to say this wasn’t an act of racism than it is to say it was.

    • beware the illiterati November 28, 2021 (7:07 pm)

      “I guess I missed something; so this was placed over apainting, of what/who? ”

      Yeah, you would have to have read at least the first 20 words of this news article to learn that.  No, really, that information you guess you missed was in the absolute beginning of this post you are now commenting on.

       “I have heard of “The Proud Boys” and read a bit about them. I know they’ve been labeled racist yet I’ve never seen an example.”

      You read about them and didn’t get the sickening stench of insecure masculinity and rampant racism and sexism?  That’s weird, and that actually says a fair bit about you, Scott.

      • Thank you November 28, 2021 (8:17 pm)

        I came for the information but I’m staying for the comments. 

      • Fauntleroy Fairy November 28, 2021 (11:12 pm)

        Scott asked questions and gave his opinion, that’s all. It’s obvious you hate men, but the fact that you feel the need to judge and attack him personally says “a fair bit about you.” 

  • LiouxLioux November 28, 2021 (4:34 pm)

    Funny how the Patriotic “Front” needs to hide behind the dead of night to try to get their message out. Have some pride fellas, show your doughy faces and get out there yourselves in the light of day so we can see who you really are!

  • I. Cole November 28, 2021 (6:15 pm)

    I have not felt safe in west Seattle for a long time. 

  • Good Neighbor November 28, 2021 (6:32 pm)

    Scott Dolfay, let me google that for you:https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/patriot-fronthttps://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys

  • Istvan November 28, 2021 (7:33 pm)

    I don’t see this as “white supremacist ” so much as “anti-communism”.  Perhaps the delivery could have been more tasteful, but I don’t think any of us would prefer communism over our current system.  

    • miws November 28, 2021 (8:28 pm)

      Istvan, see “Good Neighbor’s” post above yours. Also, see the last sentence in WSB’s story. —Mike

    • StopCuttingDownTrees November 28, 2021 (8:48 pm)

      Best comment on here.

    • Sam McCready November 29, 2021 (3:42 pm)

      Patriot Front is absolutely a white supremacist org.  A quick google search would tell you this.

  • Scott Dolfay November 28, 2021 (9:15 pm)

    Perhaps against my better judgment I get drawn into a story
    like this. I want to post my immediate impression but then do further research.
     BTW, kudos to the blog for their researched
    links and commentary.

    At first race wasn’t an obvious issue here, communism was;
    an ideology that to this day has killed millions regardless of race. Most of
    the commentary seemed to conflate anti- communism with racism. Previously the group,
    “Patriot Front” I’d never heard of. Thanks to the link provided to their own manifesto
    I agree, they’re racists. This type of antic should be condemned from whatever
    side.

    The “Proud Boys” is another obscure group that’s been labeled
    racist yet unlike this group I’ve never seen an example given. So for them I
    reserve judgment; the label looks like hyperbole. If “racist” is thrown around imprecisely
    it loses its meaning.

    I second the statement of PESSOA.  All one has to do is read a full transcript
    of Trumps speech regarding Charlottesville. Also see:

    https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/trump-has-condemned-white-supremacists/

    As for “comrade Angela” she’s an odd choice to recognize as
    a heroic figure. Those in the gulags would beg to differ:

    https://www.thebulwark.com/the-real-stain-on-angela-davis-legacy-is-her-support-for-tyranny/

     

     

     

    • wssz November 29, 2021 (3:21 am)

      Scott, There’s no question that the Proud Boys are racist.  Contrary to your cautious approach, they’re not carefully parsing who they target for hate. They paint with a very broad brush.  The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) looks at their history and where they are now — https://www.adl.org/proudboys. 

      • Scott Dolfay November 29, 2021 (1:49 pm)

        I tried your link but it didn’t work. I searched another way but only found generic condemnations with no specifics. 

  • James R White November 29, 2021 (10:49 am)

    Found a poster at 35th and Myrtle this morning. Also Patriot Front. Anti Semitic hate group putting up flyers on Hanukkah is so trashy. I wasn’t able to get it all the way off this morning but scrubbing it this evening if it is still there. 

  • dnf November 29, 2021 (3:49 pm)

    Scott, you sound like you’ve got your mind made up, and no evidence to the contrary will have an impact, but:
    https://ctc.usma.edu/pride-prejudice-the-violent-evolution-of-the-proud-boys/
    https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys
    https://www.npr.org/2018/11/20/669761157/fbi-categorizes-proud-boys-as-extremist-group-with-ties-to-white-nationalism
    https://www.adl.org/proudboys

  • Pessoa November 29, 2021 (5:14 pm)

    I like to think of the WSB comment thread as a one of those rare forums where we can not only express our opinions, but can also construct arguments, speculate, extrapolate, rebut in real time.  I find hurling a passel of internet links at someone to circumvent all of this mental work and to substitute for an argument, to be tedious, pedestrian and intellectually unrewarding. 

    • CAM November 29, 2021 (9:18 pm)

      Yes. Why should the comment section and the participants in it be beholden to reality. They should have the ability to create their own free from the specter of others suddenly barraging them with evidence that would rebut the wholly inaccurate assertions they are making. That’s clearly cheating and behavior that is unsupportive of the community dynamic we are building here which should be supportive of an academic debate about whether or not someone does or does not think that a terrorist organization that ATTEMPTED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT  qualifies as racist without having to bring facts into it. 

Sorry, comment time is over.