Our Mates of Hate

When we think of extremist groups we tend to think things like Ku Klux Klan, Al Qaeda and Skinheads. These groups spread messages of hate and intolerance. Members of these groups are unified by their ignorant principles towards certain factions they deem to be ‘unworthy’ of the same basic rights all humans deserve. The Australian political party, Australia First could and should be viewed as an extremist body. However, after looking at their website (Australia First) their views do not seem extreme at all. No, Australia First, and the like minded people present their information in a completely rational and matter-of-fact way, making their ignorant messages of hate appear justified and correct.

Aryan Nations, an American white supremacist group has utilized the internet and produced a website of extreme prejudice. The anti-Semitic and racist group talks of a New World Order run by the Jews, who are ‘in-fact’, taking over the world.

The site has a dedicated page full of pictures of various world leaders (all white) with Jewish officials, apparently verifying their claims of a NWO. These pictures, as convincing as they may be to some, are in fact taken completely out of context. These are people of extreme importance and influence who meet with many ethnically diverse people everyday as part of their work. None of these photographs are dated and could have been taken at anytime in the last decade. Aryan Nations is a disgusting and intolerant website with links to like-minded sites. After following one of the links myself, I came across a survey that ‘can’: "construct an instrument that would yield an estimate of fascist receptivity at the personality level". This intrigued me and after completing it I received an average of 2.1, effectively making me a ‘liberal airhead’. Those two examples are alarmingly some of the softer content contained on the website which gives you activist tips.

Those are examples of extreme e-Extremists, with radical views and with little censorship concern. The Australia First party however, is slightly more tactful and politically correct in their execution of the task. This group is still no better than that of Aryan Nations. Australia First has links to all sorts of erroneous claims such as Housing Crisis Directly linked To (Asian) Immigration. A link is also made available to their eight core policies which include ‘abolish multiculturalism’ and ‘reduce and limit immigration’.

These websites exist in a landscape where the laws are vague and censors are impossible to put in place. This is the perfect platform for anybody to express their views with little public backlash. The information contained on these sites are presented in a creative way, making the hatred appear justified. This information is available to hundreds of millions of people around the world. For an impressionable mind this information can be extremely convincing and ultimately operate as a recruitment tool for a cause of intolerance and hate.