The New York Times (USA): the voice of hatred in the American heartland

Huber heights, Oh – Tony and Maria Hovatter married this fall. They are registered in trade network Target. In the list of their preferred wedding gifts came in the form for baking cupcakes, a four-door wardrobe and a juicer.

The 25-year Hovater worried that the ceremony will ruin the anti-fascists. The wedding is very difficult to plan and organise when your fiance is a staunch white nationalist.

However, Tony Hovater before the wedding is not very worried. Yes, there are times when Ohio was dangerous to openly call myself far-right extremist. But not always. According to him, the election of a President Donald trump gave new opportunities to people like him. These elections have shown that when the attacks are such fanatics as it is, it’s not the end of the world. “You can always say: “so what” and go about my business,” he says.

It was a weekend a few weeks before the wedding in a suburb of Dayton, Huber heights. This couple, living in neighboring new Carlisle, was sitting at the table. They were young and in love. Tony was wearing a plain t-shirt, and Maria denim sleeveless jacket. She ordered the boneless chicken wings. According to the woman, her parents met with Tony and endorsed their marriage. At the wedding they invited few guests, only some of the best friends. “In fact, many of my girlfriend is not interested in politics,” she said.

In Ohio, surrounded by vast fields and low hills, the presence of Hovater do not make any noise. Yes, he’s sympathetic to the Nazis, but he is polite and calm person, which is very unusual for modern times, when old boundaries of acceptable political activities begin to move and disappear, which is of great concern. Most Americans would be outraged and puzzled because his approving remarks about Hitler, contempt for democracy and confidence in the fact that different races are better off living separately. However, tattoo Tony are quite harmless and are evidence of his commitment to pop culture. On one hand he had a piece of cherry pie that is a tribute to the TV series “twin Peaks”. According to him, he prefers to promote white nationalism by using satire. And he’s a big fan of the TV series “Seinfeld.”

“I guess when talking about such things is very strange impression, — he said. You know, I approached this case in the manner of the ’90s, new York city, with Jewish humor, as an outside observer”.

Hovater 29 years. By profession he is a welder. It is hardly a star among reinforcing their positions of right-wing American radicals. Rather, he is a loyal soldier of this army. Hovater organizes events and periodically visits a website called “Aryan radio.” He calls himself “savage social networking”, although the manners of this young man would have loved any mother. In 2015, he participated in the creation of the Traditionalist labour party, which became one of the right-wing extremist groups, held in August, March through Charlottesville, and then took part in a rally in Tennessee, which was held under the slogan “the white Life matters.” The new party has set itself the task “to fight for the interests of white Americans”.

Its leaders claim that they are against racism, although the anti-defamation League said that the group participates in the activities of the supporters of white supremacy across the country. On its website for $ 20 sale with a swastika armband.

The rally in Charlottesville shocked because hundreds of white Americans went on the March in support of the ideology, which many have long considered too vicious, dangerous, stupid and have no chance to win the political mainstream. However, this shock hides the fact that some members of the small movements alternative right hope to attract “normal” people, which the supporters of these movements tend to make fun of online. But to go from ridiculing to the wooing of normal people, these movements need people like Goatery with all their external manifestations of normal life, such as love for National public radio, four domestic cats-pet and a list of wedding gifts.

“We need more families. We need to be just normal, said during his online conversations with Howatherm Matthew Heimbach (Matthew Heimbach), head of the Traditionalist labour party. Why, he asked the ironic question, many of our followers are “abnormal”?

Hovater replied: “to be honest, at first on the way up people with a rather strange Outlook on life. You know, most people are fairly easy to soothe and calm. Well, here’s money, here’s a good TV, watch your sports and everything.”

He added: “the Fact that in our movement there are more and more normal people caused by life itself, which is becoming worse and worse. But if it gets worse, then our party will get more and more normal people.”


Smoothing out the rough edges

Hovater narrow face, on which stand the high eyebrows, like a pair of quotation marks. His favorite word is “sharp”, and he says with extreme sarcasm. It’s kind of implied assertion that the sharp edge of permissible political discourse in America, created by previous generations such as those that fought with the Nazis is laughable.

“I don’t want you to think of me as some sharp Republican,” he says, completely rejecting the idea of democracy. Hovater argues that “the world of Finance and media is ruled by Jews who are first and foremost defending their own interests, and then — foreign”.

Hovater has passed through several stages of political evolution, from a rock musician left until a passionate libertarian, and then he became a fascist activist. This change of views was facilitated mainly discontent that will seem exotic to most American conservatives. He believes that the Federal government is too big, that the media is too biased, and that the programme of action for the protection of minorities is basically unfair.

Ask him why he went so far to the right, and Hovater say, “Public debate has become so disgusting that today, in fact it is impossible to defend the interests of white people”. In conversation, he casually mentions architects anarcho-capitalism of Murray Rothbard (Murray Rothbard) and Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Hans-Hermann Hoppe), who argued that the free market regulates better than the government. In addition, Tony recalls the 2013 fantasy action film “Pacific rim,” in which a society is attacked by huge monsters that appear from the bottom of the Pacific ocean.

“These people, they do not ask for the monsters to stop, he says. — They build a giant robot in an attempt to stop the monsters. In essence, this is fascism. This is our own version of Central enterprises in an attempt to prevent another centralized power.”

Hovater grew up on U.S. military bases and went to a mostly white school in Ohio. He needed, he had no memories of the racial conflict that would leave scars in his soul. According to Tony, his parents always believed that everything in life is bad. But they don’t always know why.

He confidently says that different races it is best to live separately from each other. However, Hovater insists he is not racist. He’s a white nationalist, not a proponent of white supremacy. At his wedding there were mixed couples. According to Hovater, he was totally against it.

“They do what I want,” he said.

Life online is much uglier. On his page in Facebook Hovater posted a picture showing what would life on our planet, if Germany won the Second World war. It depicts a street full of happy white people, cafes, American style, and swastikas everywhere.

“What’s unattractive?” — he wrote.

Hovater prepared essay in which he deplores the left drift of libertarianism. He wrote: “If things continue this way, I’m sure after a few cycles, they nominated for the presidency obese, black, lame and masculine woman, suffering from dyslexia”.

After a rally in Charlottesville, where one white nationalist crashed his car into a group of protesters left-wing and killed one of the demonstrators, Hovater wrote that he was proud of those comrades who joined him. “We made history. Hail victory!” he said.

In German “hail victory” sounds like “Sieg Heil”.

The movement is gaining momentum

Before coming to white nationalism Hovater was in love with heavy metal. He played drums in two bands, and his love of fascism at first sight has something to do with hipster culture under the slogan “I’m cooler” in one of the most extreme musical genres. On the Internet, he and his supporters gives the impression that their movement is just a big joke, trolling a huge scale, which involved making fun of itself, and politically incorrect young people playing in a pile of historical ashes.

On the party’s website an armband with a swastika armband call for a live role play of the NSDAP (National socialist German workers party). Live roleplay is a game in which fantasy fans dressed in wizards and witches.

But the movement itself is no laughing matter. According to Hovater in the ranks of his party at present about 1,000 persons, He said that traditionalists carry packages with food and school Lunches in Appalachia helping the poor. “There are people establishment do not care,” says Hovatter.

According to estimates Marilyn Mayo (Marilyn Mayo), who is a senior research fellow at the Center on extremism at the anti-defamation League, in the ranks of the Traditionalist labour party currently consists of a maximum of several hundred members, while the number of Americans who call themselves right-wing alternative, up to several tens of thousands.

“By and large it’s a small party. However, this is only one of the segments of the movement of supporters of the supremacy of the white race, which in the last two years actively growing”, she said.

At noon we sat in a cafe, and Tony talked about his political awakening for a Turkey sandwich. He mentioned the books of Charles Murray (Charles Murray) and Pat Buchanan (Pat Buchanan). He talked about the fact that taking part in the online Bulletin Board called 4chan, which became the incubator of right-wing alternative (“That’s where those dreaded memes,” — said Hovater). This person flatly talked about the injustice of the initiative of equal rights, about the threat of white people in popular media, and also that the Comedy animated series “king of the hill” was the last TV show in which a heterosexual white male and the head of the family is depicted in a positive light.

Hovater called exaggeration of the common opinion that the Holocaust killed six million Jews. According to him, while the leader of the Nazis, Himmler wanted to exterminate the Slavs, and homosexuals, Hitler himself much more favorably treated those of his subjects.

“It seems to me that this man truly believed in his job, he said about Hitler. — He sincerely believed that fighting for his people, and he did what he thought was right.”

Hovater wants the United States has become a truly just society, where man is valued according to his merits. In the absence of such companies he is prepared to agree to a white ethnic state, where there is justice, because there is no demographic competition and the struggle for state power and resources. According to Hovater, his fascist ideal is reminiscent of the early days of the United States, when the power belonged to the landowners, and when “you know, ordinary people had nothing to complain about”.

His faith in traditional solutions faded when he traveled around the country with one of the music groups. “I saw people who were really difficult, he said. We played from coast to coast, but especially in places like Appalachia, and I can say that a significant part of living on the East coast really suffering.”

Friends new and pre

In 2012, Hovater caused a great disturbance reports in the media about the murder of Trayvon Martin (Trayvon Martin). He felt that this story was distorted in order to make a villain of the white male George Zimmerman (George Zimmerman) who shot a black teenager. By the time he met with Mary for two years. She was from a small town and moved away from the Catholic Church. (“It was very boring.”) At one time she considered herself a liberal, but after the assassination of Martin Maria Hovatter began to question the official version of social networks. She sided with Zimmerman and found that some of her online friends do not want to communicate with her. According to her, today she and her husband largely the same political views.

These views they do not hide and lay out quite openly what they have disappear old friends and new.

“It looks horrible, disgusting and filled with hate,” said Ethan Reynolds (Ethan Reynolds), working as a member of the city Council in new Carlisle and a member of the Republican party. According to him, he made friends with Novaterm, not knowing about his extremist views. “I regret that I met him,” says Reynolds.

Guitarist Jake Nolan, playing in the same group with Howatherm befriended him. “There are people who like to go and yell “Sieg Heil” — he said, — and there are people who want to be proud of their heritage.” These people act “against an America that is increasingly opposed to the white population”.

Hovater made friends with Heimbach in February 2015 at the Conference of conservative political action. Two years before that, Heimbach founded the “white students Union” at Towson University in Maryland. They met at the organized during the conference a protest rally, where participants praised Vladimir Putin. In the spring of this couple established the Traditionalist labour party.

Soon Hovater started to say that he will fight for a place in the city Council of his hometown of new Carlisle with a population of 5 600 people. His statements did not go unnoticed. They drew the attention of the South centre for the legal protection of the poor and the press is heavy metal. But documents Hovater never filed.

In one recent weekend, I met with Howatherm evening at his home, where he stewed garlic with pepper and waited until the pasta is cooked. According to their neat little house loitering cats. On the shelves next to games Nintendo held books about Mussolini and Hitler. The day before, a neighbor of Hovater, which he almost did not sign, posted at the door of his house the Confederate flag.

“You know, it’s not very pleasant territory, — said Hovater. — Many people believe that Cincinnati is the most Northern southern city.”

The pasta was ready. Hovater said that he’s scared this summer, watching as the rally in Charlottesville was out of control. According to him, he was very glad that their movement is growing. Hovater talked about his future, about what we need to move to a bigger house, about your honeymoon, about how to have children.

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