Why Big Bad Racists Feel The Need to Hide Their Identity

Ifwhite supremacists are confident that their worldview is justifiable, why do so many mask their identity? While it’s true that some White people are loud and proud about their disdain for Black people, many refrain from expressing racist beliefs publically, in fear such rhetoric would tarnish their otherwise pearly, blemish-free reputations. If Americans have any hope of challenging racist beliefs, they must do more than point out the loud and proud examples. They must also confront those who carefully curate their public personally, hiding their affiliation with white supremacist organizations. For instance, while “Blood Tribe” leader Christopher Pohlhaus, a former Marine who goes by the nickname “Hammer,” revealed his identity to the public, most members covered their faces with black masks at the “<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/nazis-marching-florida-chants-1824219" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Red Shirts March</a>” in Orlando, Florida, last weekend. According to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/contributor/mack-lamoureux" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Mack Lamoureux</a>’s reporting, the Blood Tribe will appear again later this month at an unknown location in Florida, along with another white nationalist organization “that <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/neo-nazis-repeatedly-targeted-jacksonville-before-mass-shooting" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">previously harassed residents of Jacksonville</a>, a city still reeling from a different white supremacist’s mass shooting at a Dollar General in August.” In unison, the group of White men chanted hateful rhetoric, diminishing Black and Jewish people. The phrases “white power” and “we <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/nazis-marching-florida-chants-1824219" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">are everywhere</a>” were an ominous threat. One Black man driving a truck pulled over, interrupted their chants, and asked, “Why ya’ll got your masks on?” Of course, they responded by yelling racial slurs at him, but the question obviously stumped the big bad racists, who sought to hide their identities. <a href="https://allyfromnola.medium.com/why-big-bad-racists-feel-the-need-to-hide-their-identity-f39c32e51aff">Read More</a>