Silver Rights


News, thoughts and comments on civil rights and related issues.


Friday, October 21, 2005  

Opinion: Prussian Blue, children of hate

ABC has discovered Prussian Blue, something those of us who follow the activities of hate groups have been aware of for some time. So, why haven't I mentioned them before? There are quite a few names in the white supremacy movement I haven't referred to in the blogosphere because I do not want to give them the publicity they seek. But, once a television magazine airs a segment about the topic, it has gone, well, prime time.

Prussian Blue is a teenaged duo formed by the twin daughters of white supremacist April Gaede. She has long been a groupie who pursued men in 'white nationalist' circles. When the National Alliance lost much of its membership to dissidents this Spring, Gaede sided with the splinter group, the National Vanguard. Both organizations disseminate the gospel of hate, including the claim that whites are a superior race. They've been most prominent lately in the fight for legislation that would limit immigration to the United States. However, the National Alliance's membership fell significantly during the last year because of infighting among the would-be heirs of founder William Pierce. You may recall that Pierce is the author of the infamous racist novel, The Turner Diaries.

Prussian Blue is considered one of the bright lights of the movement. Their label, white power music's Resistance Records, hopes to use the girls to attract children and youths to white nationalism. April Gaede planned the 'career' of her children, steeping them in the lore of racism and writing songs for them that reflect that 'education.'

Prime Time observed the family both at home and on tour.

Oct. 20, 2005 — Thirteen-year-old twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede have one album out, another on the way, a music video, and lots of fans.

They may remind you [of] another famous pair of singers, the Olsen Twins, and the girls say they like that. But unlike the Olsens, who built a media empire on their fun-loving, squeaky-clean image, Lamb and Lynx are cultivating a much darker personna. They are white nationalists and use their talents to preach a message of hate.

Known as "Prussian Blue" — a nod to their German heritage and bright blue eyes — the girls from Bakersfield, Calif., have been performing songs about white nationalism before all-white crowds since they were nine.

"We're proud of being white, we want to keep being white," said Lynx. "We want our people to stay white … we don't want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race."

Lynx and Lamb have been nurtured on racist beliefs since birth by their mother April. "They need to have the background to understand why certain things are happening," said April, a stay-at-home mom who no longer lives with the twins' father. "I'm going to give them, give them my opinion just like any, any parent would."

To achieve her goal, April Gaede has isolated the girls, homeschooling them and allowing contact only with other members of hate groups. The twins show no evidence of realizing just how unusual the fixation on race that they take for granted is. Their mother has said that she intends to prostitute them further, using their sex appeal as a selling point for white supremacy when they become older. An argument could be made that rearing children to be hardcore racists in a multiracial society is a form of child abuse.

Perhaps Gaede's own harsh personal history explains her bizarre child rearing practices. She was reportedly a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of the twins' father and at least one other companion. In subsequent years, Gaede competed unsuccessfully for the attentions of leaders in the white supremacy movement, ultimately becoming a woman scorned by them. The whereabouts of her most recent spouse, who fathered her youngest child, are unclear. Any mention of him was mysteriously missing from the Prime Time piece. Gaede's anger seems to be displaced. The people who have harmed her have not been minorities, but white, and usually male.

Lamb and Lynx have mediocre voices, and their fiddling and guitar playing are so-so at best. Compared to successful ingenue vocalists such as Joss Stone and Fantasia, they barely rate at all. They lack both pipes and presence. I predict that Prussian Blue will remain a novelty act playing to a limited audience of white supremacists for the next few years. Later? It will be interesting to see whether April Gaede can continue to control the twins into their adulthood.

Reasonably related

I'm not the only blogger who observes the antics of April Gaede and her offspring with a raised brow and pursed lips. Visit the Prussian Blue Blog for dish by ppblogger and Amethyst.

posted by J. | 5:45 PM


Wednesday, October 19, 2005  

News: Poll says Americans back interracial dating

A recent opinion poll reveals that most Americans no longer oppose interracial dating. The issue goes to the gist of the concerns of white supremacists. If one believes one's race is superior is to other races, then maintaining the 'purity' of that race may be paramount. Achieving that goal, is, of course, problematic since it is difficult to control other people's behavior. Anti-miscegenation laws were enacted during segregation to try to control the behavior of Americans who would choose to date or marry regardless of race. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia (1967).

Editor & Publisher published a summary of the poll.

NEW YORK -- Americans of a certain age recall vividly when interracial dating was widely frowned on, and even led to the lynching of many black men. Those days have seemingly passed, however, according to a new Gallup Poll.

The results find that Americans of all races accept interracial dating by wide margins, with 95% of younger people (18-29) approving.

Putting these views into action, almost half of all Americans say they have personally dated a person of a different racial/ethnic group, again with younger people in the lead.

Somewhat fewer whites than blacks accept interracial dating, but their acceptance is still strong. By age, the breakdown ranges from the 95% in the younger group to about 45% of those 65 and over.

There is no longer even a double standard on the gender involved, with 71% of the entire sample approving a black man dating a white woman and 75% backing a white man dating a black woman.

In all, 69% of Hispanics say they have dated someone of a different racial or ethnic group, 52% of blacks say this and 45% of whites. There is some gender difference among blacks, with 64% of African-American men saying they have dated a non-black and 42% of black women saying this.

Among whites, 29% said they had dated a Hispanic, 24% an African-Amercian, and 18% an Asian.

I disagree with the myth repeated in the E&P lede. Claims that black men had made overtures toward white women were common pretexts for lynchings. However, historians who have examined the more than 5,000 lynchings that occurred between Reconstruction and the 1960s have determined that a more accurate reason was the perception of the non-white person killed as being financially successful or 'uppity.'

I rarely link to white supremacist sites, but be assured that the persons most ensnared by racism are not pleased with the poll. The typical responses are to either claim the poll is not accurate, or to say the results are false based on personal experiences of participants. The poll meets the standards of statistical sampling. The personal experiences of white supremacists are hardly a reliable measure of the beliefs and practices of the general public.

posted by J. | 11:45 PM
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