Modern hate groups run ‘silent and deep’
Dutton, who has watched the sinister antics of neo-fascist organizations seeking to become lightning rods for Canada’s cruel undercurrent of racist, antiimmigrant, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim sentiment, says rightwing extremism’s new strategy is keeping a low public profile while recruiting among angry, marginalized and disaffected youth online.
Assuming the extreme right is in retreat is a big error.
“You underplay probably the central tenet of modern hate groups,” he says. “Many groups have learned that it is important to ‘run silent and run deep’.”
Canada’s human rights law has hurt high-profile hate-mongers, particularly here in B.C. where one recently fled to the U.S., Dutton says, but rightwing extremists are learning to avoid publicity while recruiting clandestinely.
“This is not to say that all groups espouse or have adopted a stealth approach,” Dutton says. “Aryan Guard in Calgary, for example, threw caution to the wind and attracted many, many new young adherents and some of the older leaders … but other groups like Blood and Honour, etc., have gone more or less underground. In fact, a number of former leaders of hate groups based in B.C moved to Alberta to seek anonymity.
“As a result, hate group activity is not as readily visible as it once was. This does not mean that hate groups don’t exist, or aren’t recruiting. Online recruiting is now, more than ever, part of the ‘run silent, run deep’ strategy,” Dutton says.