Hate groups don’t do much to boost the Ozarks’ image
I’ve tried approaching the topic of hate groups and extreme bigotry in
several ways while writing this, looking for a kinder and gentler approach, but
none have worked for me. That leaves taking a simply direct approach, a blunter
one.
So, let me just say hate groups are filled with deluded, ignorant people spreading irrational and illogical fertilizer in a repulsive attempt to feel better about themselves.
I’m not talking about liberals and conservatives, or believers and atheists, right Twix fans or left Twix fans. I’m talking about folks who hate people because of their color, where they’re from, who their ancestors were, even what language they speak. And when they flock together, reinforcing each other’s warped perspectives, it gets even worse.
We’ve got 22 identified hate groups in the Ozarks, which some people think is just a hotbed of ignorance that attracts haters. Nine of the groups — the largest concentration of them — are in the Harrison area alone, which must please Harrison’s chamber of commerce to no end.
Yet, in a way I’m not shocked to find so many in our part of the country. You’d be surprised how many people say they came here because of the lack of minorities. At one time, a Twin Lakes Area real estate company even boasted about the region being free of mosquitoes and minorities.
Sure, they like the fishing and the lakes and rivers, they enjoy the beauty of the Ozarks, and to them that beauty includes the lack of faces of color. For some, the lack of Jewish folks is a plus, too. People will give you all the positive reasons of why they moved to the Ozarks, but listen to some of them long enough and eventually they’ll whisper they also came here because there aren’t many of “those ______” here — you can fill in the blank.
They’re not necessarily part of a hate group, and they don’t wear sheets or Swastikas. They’re not particularly hateful or unlikeable, either. They’re just polite drawing-room racists.
I’ve never had much respect or use for the KKK, or the Christian Identity folks, or any of the “we’re better than them” groups, and I’ve never really shied away from saying how disgusting I think they are. They twist religious ideals into their own warped, Bizarro World version of religion to justify themselves and make them feel superior because that’s the way God meant it to be. These folks use pseudo science and outdated, discredited theories as “scientific” proof their beliefs are correct.
It’s bad enough adults believe this crud, but then they indoctrinate their children with it and try to convince others of how superior they are to anyone of color. Or anyone who isn’t American, or Christian, or of Aryan descent (the Hitler version of Aryan, not the anthropological, Southwestern Asian version of Aryan).
Basically, anyone different from them. They teach and preach that it’s because of “those people” that they’re not as well off as they should be, that “those people” are dragging down the “superior” race and the nation. “Those people” are the scapegoats for all that’s lacking in the lives of these bigots.
It truly gets scary when they start talking about violence, and even worse when some actually turn to violence as at Kansas City.
What they don’t understand is that “those people” are just like everyone else no matter their race, religion or heritage. We all face the same daily issues of life — providing for our families, working for a better chance for our children, dealing with day-to-day existence and striving to improve our lot. The truth is, all of us have more in common than we think. No matter how much hate the hate groups preach, that’s not going to change.
How anyone can put any stock into the hate and bigotry these groups teach is beyond me. How individuals still can believe such tripe is amazing. Is it embarrassing so many of these hate groups call the Ozarks home? Yes, it is, but sadder still are the people living here who share those misguided beliefs in this day and age and see nothing wrong with it.
So, let me just say hate groups are filled with deluded, ignorant people spreading irrational and illogical fertilizer in a repulsive attempt to feel better about themselves.
I’m not talking about liberals and conservatives, or believers and atheists, right Twix fans or left Twix fans. I’m talking about folks who hate people because of their color, where they’re from, who their ancestors were, even what language they speak. And when they flock together, reinforcing each other’s warped perspectives, it gets even worse.
We’ve got 22 identified hate groups in the Ozarks, which some people think is just a hotbed of ignorance that attracts haters. Nine of the groups — the largest concentration of them — are in the Harrison area alone, which must please Harrison’s chamber of commerce to no end.
Yet, in a way I’m not shocked to find so many in our part of the country. You’d be surprised how many people say they came here because of the lack of minorities. At one time, a Twin Lakes Area real estate company even boasted about the region being free of mosquitoes and minorities.
Sure, they like the fishing and the lakes and rivers, they enjoy the beauty of the Ozarks, and to them that beauty includes the lack of faces of color. For some, the lack of Jewish folks is a plus, too. People will give you all the positive reasons of why they moved to the Ozarks, but listen to some of them long enough and eventually they’ll whisper they also came here because there aren’t many of “those ______” here — you can fill in the blank.
They’re not necessarily part of a hate group, and they don’t wear sheets or Swastikas. They’re not particularly hateful or unlikeable, either. They’re just polite drawing-room racists.
I’ve never had much respect or use for the KKK, or the Christian Identity folks, or any of the “we’re better than them” groups, and I’ve never really shied away from saying how disgusting I think they are. They twist religious ideals into their own warped, Bizarro World version of religion to justify themselves and make them feel superior because that’s the way God meant it to be. These folks use pseudo science and outdated, discredited theories as “scientific” proof their beliefs are correct.
It’s bad enough adults believe this crud, but then they indoctrinate their children with it and try to convince others of how superior they are to anyone of color. Or anyone who isn’t American, or Christian, or of Aryan descent (the Hitler version of Aryan, not the anthropological, Southwestern Asian version of Aryan).
Basically, anyone different from them. They teach and preach that it’s because of “those people” that they’re not as well off as they should be, that “those people” are dragging down the “superior” race and the nation. “Those people” are the scapegoats for all that’s lacking in the lives of these bigots.
It truly gets scary when they start talking about violence, and even worse when some actually turn to violence as at Kansas City.
What they don’t understand is that “those people” are just like everyone else no matter their race, religion or heritage. We all face the same daily issues of life — providing for our families, working for a better chance for our children, dealing with day-to-day existence and striving to improve our lot. The truth is, all of us have more in common than we think. No matter how much hate the hate groups preach, that’s not going to change.
How anyone can put any stock into the hate and bigotry these groups teach is beyond me. How individuals still can believe such tripe is amazing. Is it embarrassing so many of these hate groups call the Ozarks home? Yes, it is, but sadder still are the people living here who share those misguided beliefs in this day and age and see nothing wrong with it.
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