In 1963 Hannah Arendt published “Eichmann in Jerusalem”, in which she introduced the concept of the banality of evil. She argued that Adolph Eichmann, a senior Nazi and one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, was neither sociopathic nor a particularly fanatical anti-Semite. Instead, she concluded, that he was a rather ordinary, if capable,…
A white nationalist “Nazi sympathizing” husband and wife in Ohio reportedly lost their jobs after a New York Times profile broadcast their story worldwide. Now the two are soliciting money on an “alt-right” website called “Goy Fund Me” and have raised more than $5,000. The couple in the NYT Nazi article apparently have gotten fired…
On November 25, the New York Times published an incredible piece of journalism, a profile of a Nazi sympathizer in mainstream rural America. The piece, A Voice of Hate in America’s Heartland, describes how a Midwestern guy-next-door came to develop pro-Nazi and white nationalist sympathies. What was shocking was not that Tony Hovater held the…
Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! Richard Fausset’s weekend story in The New York Times about a neo-Nazi’s “normal” life in the Ohio heartland drew a barrage of complaints for soft-pedaling his odious beliefs. The Forward writes about neo-Nazis,…
There were many white nationalist chants heard at the torch-lit Unite the Right rally in Virginia this summer. Some of them — like the Nazi-reference “blood and soil” or “Jews will not replace us” — clearly evoke racism or anti-Semitism. But one was much stranger: “White sharia now.” A new Southern Poverty Law Center post…
Richard Fausset’s weekend story in The New York Times about a neo-Nazi’s “normal” life in the Ohio heartland drew a barrage of complaints for soft-pedaling his odious beliefs. The Forward writes about neo-Nazis, too. So the critique echoed challenges that hit close to home. How do we cover a loose ideological movement that is tiny…
Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. Comment below or on Facebook and let us know what you think about the question posed in the headline.
The New York Times’s Saturday profile of white nationalist Tony Hovater garnered criticism for focusing on his video game habits and pasta recipe as well as his hatred of Jews. Some took issue with the idea of pointing out “normal” aspects of racist anti-Semites: Pssst, German Jews were also normal Germans before their fellow citizens…
100% of profits support our journalism
