A neo-Nazi group scattered fliers across lawns and doorsteps in three Waterloo, Iowa, neighborhoods just before Veterans Day. The handouts offered a chilling assessment of the group’s proximity, in capital letters: “We are your neighbors! We are the random stranger holding the door open for you!” it read. “We are everywhere.”
About a week later, about a dozen people marched through a part of Columbus, Ohio, that is known for arts and culture, carrying Nazi flags and using a bullhorn to shout racial slurs against Jews and people of color. A similar scene unfolded in downtown Nashville over the summer.
Flash displays of hate and white power are happening more frequently in the United States, a trend that experts say is a reaction to changing demographics, political turmoil and social catalysts. More than 750 such incidents have taken place since 2020, according to the Anti-Defamation League, with more than half of them occurring in the last 18 months.
I think it’s been about three years… But I remember some dude casually throwing up a white power sign to some random other driver. I don’t know what prompted it, but the lady threw it back to him but like sheepishly. This was downtown in our metropolis. My ethnic father told me I should play a victim when I merely stated what happened online. Nothing surprises me anymore…