How to Tell If You're a Neo-Nazi
Internet personalities Baked Alaska and Millennial Matt had a lot of fun at this past weekend's white supremacist rallies. Well, until Baked Alaska was maced, I guess. They used tools like Twitter and YouTube to bring their online followers into the heart of the racist action. But curiously, the two still insist that they're not neo-Nazis. So what the hell is a neo-Nazi?
The rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia were the largest collection of white supremacists in the United States in at least two decades. It left one woman, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, dead and dozens more injured. So it's curious to see both Baked Alaska (real name Tim Gionet) and Millennial Matt (real name Matthew Colligan) insist that they're not neo-Nazis and that they've never advocated violence. I'm starting to think that maybe they don't know what words mean.
If you're in the same boat, and don't know if you're a neo-Nazi, I've made a helpful guide to determine if you are. To be clear, the "neo" in neo-Nazi is simply meant to differentiate between Nazis who were around in the 1940s versus those who subscribe to Nazi beliefs today but weren't alive during Hitler's time. Sadly, there are still old school Nazis around, like 98-year-old Michael Karkoc who massacred women and children and currently lives in Minnesota.
If you answer "yes" to any of the questions below, you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you regularly tweet the 14 Words?
The so-called 14 Words were coined by the late white supremacist David Lane and became a slogan for neo-Nazis around the world. The 14 Words read, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." It's not exactly subtle as far as Nazi slogans go.
In 1984, David Lane helped plot to kill Alan Berg, a Jewish radio talk show host, and acted as the getaway driver when he and his fellow neo-Nazi scum shot and killed Berg in his driveway. Lane was sentenced to 190 years and died in prison in 2007.
Baked Alaska loves to tweet the 14 Words. He sends it to President Trump and he makes videos of it. Lots of videos of it.
Yesterday, Baked Alaska tweeted his defense of the 14 Words, saying that there's "nothing wrong" with the slogan and that "just because others have used them doesn't change the meaning." It's unclear if he understands the origin of the phrase, but he certainly understands that it means "white advocacy."
But even if he has no idea that it was coined by a murderous white supremacist thug, it's still a poisonous idea that has no place in society.
If you tweet the 14 Words you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you say "Hitler did nothing wrong"?
Some people insist that Baked Alaska and Millennial Matt can't be neo-Nazis because they're simply saying outrageous things to get a rise out of people. One of those things is that "Hitler did nothing wrong." But at some point you're no longer "trolling" and you're simply stating what you believe.
Millennial Matt has said "Hitler did nothing wrong" so many times that it's become his catchphrase. He says it on radio, in tweets, and in videos.
But what the hell does such a phrase mean? Adolf Hitler systematically killed millions of Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Saying he did nothing wrong is an endorsement of those deaths.
Amazingly, Millennial Matt says that he's never advocated for violence against anyone. In a weepy YouTube post he whined that people were now threatening his life after he attended the rallies in Virginia. "There's nothing funny about threatening people's lives," he said.
But when you say that Hitler did nothing wrong you are explicitly advocating for violence against nonwhite people. That's explicitly what Hitler did. It's kind of what he's known for. When you say Hitler did nothing wrong, and you say it so many times that people start to riff on it with jokes about other people who "did nothing wrong" you're advocating for violence. That's kind of how this works.
If you say Hitler did nothing wrong, you're a neo-Nazi.
Have you attended a rally with people giving Hitler salutes?
The salute goes by a lot of names: The Roman salute, the Hitler salute, and the Bellamy salute. But it only has one meaning since it was adopted by the Nazis in the 1930s. It means you're a neo-Nazi.
Baked Alaska documented his trip from his home in Los Angeles to Virginia on Twitter and YouTube for all the world to see. And one of his most frightening videos came from Friday during the infamous tiki torchlight riot. Baked Alaska shot video as his fellow marchers viciously assaulted non-violent counter protesters. They can be seen in the video beating people with their torches. The counter protestors later described fearing for their lives.
And when Baked Alaska pans around in the crowd, you can clearly see people giving Nazi salutes as they chant "white lives matter."
If you attend a rally with people giving Hitler salutes, you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you shout "hail victory" while carrying a torch in public?
Did you see footage of people shouting "hail victory" at the rallies this weekend? It's the English translation of "sieg heil," the notorious Nazi slogan. Baked Alaska shot video of himself saying just that.
"They thought we weren't going to stand up," Baked Alaska shouts into the camera. "Guess what, we're standing up for our rights! We're proud to be white!"
"We're proud to be white, brother," he continued while shaking hands with another white supremacist. "Hail victory! Hell yeah! Thank you, love you guys."
If you shout "hail victory" while carrying a torch in public, you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you deny that the Holocaust happened?
Holocaust denial is pretty much textbook neo-Nazism. And Millennial Matt peddles in it constantly. At the 52-minute mark during the livestream from Virginia, Millennial Matt encourages viewers to "look into revisionist history." Revisionist history often hinges on the belief that historians are lying about the fact that Nazi Germany executed millions of people.
"The history that they taught you in middle school is not factually accurate," Millennial Matt tells his viewers. "The reason that they teach you the civil rights movement and slavery in middle school is because you haven't fully developed your brain yet."
"If you wonder why people emotionally react when you talk about slavery, when you talk about the Holocaust, the reason people emotionally reaction is because they taught this to you before you were even old enough to realize what it is they were teaching you," he continued.
"The history that they teach you about the Holocaust is not factually accurate whatsoever," he says.
"The truth is, the Holocaust is one of the biggest hoaxes in world history," he said. "It's one of the biggest lies ever perpetrated against the human race."
If you deny the Holocaust you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you believe America's treatment of Nazis was worse than the Holocaust?
Aside from believing that the history of the Holocaust isn't accurate, Millennial Matt also believes that Nazi soldiers were treated more poorly than Jews during World War II. He goes so far as to compare Auschwitz, where an estimated 1.1 million people were systematically tortured and murdered, to a 5-star resort.
If you believe America's treatment of Nazis was worse than the Holocaust you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you publish photos of Jewish people you disagree with in gas chambers?
Baked Alaska also enjoys publishing photoshopped photos of Jewish people he doesn't like in gas chambers. President Trump is often depicted as the one administering the gas, dressed in Nazi regalia. Baked Alaska was even temporarily banned for doing it, but insists he'd do it all over again.
If you publish photos of Jewish people you disagree with in gas chambers you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you have a photo of Joseph Goebbels in your Twitter header?
You're never going to guess what WWII-figure Millennial Matt has in his Twitter header. Yes, that's Joseph Goebbels, easily one of the most evil men in history and responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews.
Oh, and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke is also in there. "Ironically," no doubt.
If you have a photo of Joseph Goebbels in your Twitter header you're a neo-Nazi.
Have you marched with people who physically assault others because of their race?
New footage has emerged overnight of the vicious assault endured by 20-year-old Deandre Harris at the hands of white supremacists in a parking garage. It's brutal to watch.
"Me and about five of my friends were out protesting. We thought [the racists] left, but at one point they came back. Everyone was exchanging words with the group, but then the KKK and white supremacists just rushed us," Harris told The Root.
Harris is lucky to be alive. Judging by the video, it doesn't appear like Baked Alaska or Millennial Matt were anywhere in sight and had nothing to do with the beating. But if you're marching with these people, this is what you're marching for.
If you march with people who physically assault others because of their race you're a neo-Nazi.
Do you want to hear the good news? You don't have to be a neo-Nazi forever. What you've done in the past doesn't have to define your future if you'd like to live a happier life. How do you stop being a neo-Nazi? Just stop doing all of the things above. You don't even have to join a new organization or donate to a nonprofit. Just stop being filled with irrational hate for people that are slightly different than you.
It's really as simple as that. Members of the alt-right have tried to rebrand their particular flavor of hate as new and stylish. But it's the same old Nazi shit. If you do the thing above you're a neo-Nazi. If you stop doing the things above you can stop being a neo-Nazi.
So give it a try! I promise it won't hurt. In fact, it might give you time to pursue things that are more fun. Do you enjoy making memes? Try making anti-Nazi memes. Or you can forget about Nazism altogether. Watch a movie, or build a tree fort, or go jerk off. I promise that they're all more fun than spreading the hatred of Nazism.