[Vision2020] Taking On Racism in North Idaho

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (June 29, 2009) Spokesman review.

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Tony Stewart

With a recent spate of racist activity in North Idaho, a longtime human
rights activist says speaking up makes all the difference

White-supremacist fliers have been distributed in several Coeur
d’Alene-area neighborhoods over the past three months. The Aryan Nations,
which was bankrupted in 2000 by a $6.3 million court verdict, has claimed
responsibility. Law enforcement and human rights activists are monitoring
the situation, and longtime North Idaho activist Tony Stewart shared his
thoughts.

Q: Is this a resurgence of the Aryan Nations or something else?

A: I definitely think it’s something else. It’s not something to ignore,
but for (those of us) who have been observing this for almost 30 years,
there is no comparison. Richard Butler came here and created the compound
and had all the buildings, and had both a political organization and a
so-called religious organization, and had services there every Sunday.
That is a major difference between what seems to be two men who have no
facilities, and who 
 operate out of a post office box, who are trying to
suggest that they’re somehow significant compared with (Butler). There is
no evidence they have any followers.

Q: What do you think people who get the fliers should do?

A: It’s very productive when they publicly denounce it, just like our
organization does. That really sends a message 
 that we’re not going to
accept the hate. Every time one of the neighbors speaks out 
 those are
very powerful statements – that we’re not that kind of community, we’re
not going to be recruited. That’s the best thing you can do, because
legally, there’s not anything you can do.

Q: How does what’s going on here fit in with what you’re seeing on a
national scale?

A: There are two factors explaining the escalation of hate crimes on a
national level. Hate groups are desperate in the sense that the culture is
changing, and they see that. We are becoming such an incredibly diverse
society, with the great growth of the minority population. They don’t want
this cultural change. And secondly, to give an exclamation mark to that 

they just can’t comprehend that a man of color 
 would be elected
president of the United States.

Q: Why did Butler’s organization attract so much attention?

A: In the imprint of peoples’ minds, what sticks 
 is the crimes and the
cross burnings. It’s much harder for them to remember the human rights
banquets or the children’s programs. Once that imprint is there, it is so
hard for the news to come forward that there have been changes. There is
progress, but the stain is so deep.

Q: What can this region do to shake that reputation?

A: All citizens 
 wherever they go (should) share the message of what we
really are like. Every individual can play a role in that. The grapevine
is wonderful. When people come here visiting us, tell the story. Don’t
ignore it. Be proud not only of the victories and the trials, but be proud
of the laws that have been passed, be proud of the children’s programs.
How many communities have a human rights banquet every year?

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Human rights activist Tony Stewart stands at the site of the former Aryan
Nations compound near Hayden, which is now a peace park.

http://tinyurl.com/kq6yhg

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown