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Letter from Laramie
By Lily Burana
A transplanted New Yorker struggles to understand what the Matthew Shepard killing says about her new home state

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T A B L E+T A L K
What should be done about the ongoing crises in the former Yugoslavia? Share your proposal in Table Talk's International Issues area

R E C E N T L Y
The $50 million question
By Kristi Coale
Can UC-Berkeley keep its independence from corporate pressures and accept a huge new biotech research grant?
(10/15/98)
Fighting the wrong war
By Erik Marcus
The government could cut cancer deaths by a third by educating Americans to eat right. But dollars for diet education are scarce, while the cancer research budget fattens up
(10/14/98)
"Don't tamper with this jury, Mr. President"
By Murray Waas
Robert Byrd's warning to back off on anti-impeachment lobbying sends the White House spin machine into gear, denying Clinton's role in the controversy
(10/13/98)
Letter from Fayetteville
By Rebecca Bryant
A local hate crime brings the campaign for gay rights to Fayetteville, Ark.
(10/12/98)
A thousand (dysfunctional) clowns
By David Corn
The kids in the House get to make their mess, secure in the knowledge that the "adults" in the Senate will have to clean it up
(10/09/98)
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----------Web of hate
--------------Are Internet hate sites "the main culprit"
---------------------behind the epidemic of hate crimes?
Don Black

BY ROS DAVIDSON | The savage killing of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., is focusing national attention on the rising incidence of hate crimes, and the groups and institutions who may be encouraging them. Experts say the Internet is playing a central role, allowing hate groups to recruit, network and plan events more easily than in pre-Web America. Consider the following:

Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., is using his Web site, www.godhatesfags.com, to organize a picket of Shepard's funeral Friday in Casper. "Fags preach tolerance but practice intimidation," the site proclaims, with a graphic combining a pink triangle with a swastika. Other features include Fag Facts, an encyclopedic list of purported gay sex practices; Fag Churches, a list of which denominations allow gay members, ordain gay clergy and bless gay marriages; and a rundown of the church's media appearances. The church claims more than 300,000 people have visited its site.
The same day as Shepard's beating, several newspapers reported an innovative hoax perpetrated by Internet-savvy white supremacists: They purchased 10 Internet domains with addresses that sounded like mainstream newspapers -- www.philadelphiainquirer.com, for instance -- but that actually led unsuspecting readers to the nation's oldest white hate site, Stormfront: The White Nationalist Resource Page. Run by Don Black, an ex-Ku Klux Klan official who married David Duke's ex-wife, Stormfront is probably the most sophisticated hate site, featuring sound, graphics, a White Singles page, a regular column by Duke and multiple links to other hate sites. Black denied responsibility for the hoax.
Stormfront recently launched itself as the server for multiple hate sites, including the White Nationalist News Agency, a 2-month-old site that is running stories on Shepard's killing and the reaction to it, as well as regular features on crimes by blacks and Latinos and the progress of hate-crimes legislation around the country. The Agency relies heavily on reprinting news stories from the Associated Press and other mainstream news outlets -- stories that, at least in the case of AP, it is using without authorization. Editor Vincent Breeding says his news site gets about 1,700 hits a day.

"It's a complete change of the battlefield as far as the lunatic fringe is concerned," says Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which monitors hate groups. "We spend about 70 percent of our manpower now monitoring online hate."
To understand the rise in hate crimes, and Internet hate sites, Salon turned to Mark Potok, who edits the Southern Poverty Law Center's annual report tracking the world of hate groups and their Web sites. The SPLC estimates there were 400-plus hate groups operating nationwide last year, up 20 percent from a year earlier, and well over 200 Internet hate sites, up from just one -- Don Black's Stormfront site -- in 1995. There were 8,759 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 1996, compared to 7,947 in 1995 and 5,932 in 1994. And the SPLC says there were 21 gay hate murders in 1996 -- men and women slain, like Matthew Shepard, because of their sexual orientation.
Potok calls Internet hate sites "the main culprit" in the rise of hate groups and hate crimes in America.
How do hate sites contribute to hate crimes?
The Internet does a couple of things for hate groups. First of all, it raises the impact that a single hate-monger can have. Not too many years ago, a single Klansman would have to go to a great deal of effort and spend quite a bit of money and find a sympathetic printer in order to produce a pamphlet that might reach 100 people.
Now the same Klansman, for almost no money, is able to very quickly put up a Web site that has the potential to reach millions. The other thing the Internet does is let haters network easily. Many of these people are on listserv programs, so if something of interest happens in one part of the country, very soon people all over know about it. Or very often sympathizers just see information posted in announcements on other people's Web pages.
How much is homophobia a part of hate Web sites?
It's very much part of them. Anti-homosexuality has spread out from a small number of core hate sites to the point where it's on most neo-Nazi, Christian Identity and even some militia sites. Like abortion, homophobia has become a mainstream issue for the extremist right. There are now people who think that homosexuality is a capital offense, that practicing homosexuals should be punished with death.
Are these hate Web sites sophisticated in technical terms?
There's no question that many of them are spiffy, very slickly presented. Don Black, for instance, is very good with computers. He learned his skills courtesy of American taxpayers, when he was in jail for a planned invasion of Dominica by white supremacists. Then he got out of prison and became a computer consultant in addition to running his Stormfront Web page. He's trying to teach computer skills to the movement.
And some of the sites are very deep: 70 or 80 pages, with all kinds of links. Many of them have very good-looking graphics, and some have video graphics. Many have a lot of memory, which allows you to play white supremacist rock 'n' roll music, for instance.
N E X T+P A G E+| "Aryan Love Song" and Sesame Street for haters

A L S O__T O D A Y Letter from Laramie By Lily Burana A transplanted New Yorker struggles to understand what the Matthew Shepard killing says about her new home state - - - - - - - T A B L E+T A L K What should be done about the ongoing crises in the former Yugoslavia? Share your proposal in Table Talk's International Issues area R E C E N T L Y The $50 million question By Kristi Coale Can UC-Berkeley keep its independence from corporate pressures and accept a huge new biotech research grant? (10/15/98) Fighting the wrong war By Erik Marcus The government could cut cancer deaths by a third by educating Americans to eat right. But dollars for diet education are scarce, while the cancer research budget fattens up (10/14/98) "Don't tamper with this jury, Mr. President" By Murray Waas Robert Byrd's warning to back off on anti-impeachment lobbying sends the White House spin machine into gear, denying Clinton's role in the controversy (10/13/98) Letter from Fayetteville By Rebecca Bryant A local hate crime brings the campaign for gay rights to Fayetteville, Ark. (10/12/98) A thousand (dysfunctional) clowns By David Corn The kids in the House get to make their mess, secure in the knowledge that the "adults" in the Senate will have to clean it up (10/09/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - S A L O N E M P O R I U M FREE! 12-ounce bag of Salon Blend with a purchase of $30 or more. While supplies last.
		----------Web of hate --------------Are Internet hate sites "the main culprit" ---------------------behind the epidemic of hate crimes? BY ROS DAVIDSON \| The savage killing of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., is focusing national attention on the rising incidence of hate crimes, and the groups and institutions who may be encouraging them. Experts say the Internet is playing a central role, allowing hate groups to recruit, network and plan events more easily than in pre-Web America. Consider the following: Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., is using his Web site, www.godhatesfags.com, to organize a picket of Shepard's funeral Friday in Casper. "Fags preach tolerance but practice intimidation," the site proclaims, with a graphic combining a pink triangle with a swastika. Other features include Fag Facts, an encyclopedic list of purported gay sex practices; Fag Churches, a list of which denominations allow gay members, ordain gay clergy and bless gay marriages; and a rundown of the church's media appearances. The church claims more than 300,000 people have visited its site. The same day as Shepard's beating, several newspapers reported an innovative hoax perpetrated by Internet-savvy white supremacists: They purchased 10 Internet domains with addresses that sounded like mainstream newspapers -- www.philadelphiainquirer.com, for instance -- but that actually led unsuspecting readers to the nation's oldest white hate site, Stormfront: The White Nationalist Resource Page. Run by Don Black, an ex-Ku Klux Klan official who married David Duke's ex-wife, Stormfront is probably the most sophisticated hate site, featuring sound, graphics, a White Singles page, a regular column by Duke and multiple links to other hate sites. Black denied responsibility for the hoax. Stormfront recently launched itself as the server for multiple hate sites, including the White Nationalist News Agency, a 2-month-old site that is running stories on Shepard's killing and the reaction to it, as well as regular features on crimes by blacks and Latinos and the progress of hate-crimes legislation around the country. The Agency relies heavily on reprinting news stories from the Associated Press and other mainstream news outlets -- stories that, at least in the case of AP, it is using without authorization. Editor Vincent Breeding says his news site gets about 1,700 hits a day. "It's a complete change of the battlefield as far as the lunatic fringe is concerned," says Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which monitors hate groups. "We spend about 70 percent of our manpower now monitoring online hate." To understand the rise in hate crimes, and Internet hate sites, Salon turned to Mark Potok, who edits the Southern Poverty Law Center's annual report tracking the world of hate groups and their Web sites. The SPLC estimates there were 400-plus hate groups operating nationwide last year, up 20 percent from a year earlier, and well over 200 Internet hate sites, up from just one -- Don Black's Stormfront site -- in 1995. There were 8,759 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 1996, compared to 7,947 in 1995 and 5,932 in 1994. And the SPLC says there were 21 gay hate murders in 1996 -- men and women slain, like Matthew Shepard, because of their sexual orientation. Potok calls Internet hate sites "the main culprit" in the rise of hate groups and hate crimes in America. How do hate sites contribute to hate crimes? The Internet does a couple of things for hate groups. First of all, it raises the impact that a single hate-monger can have. Not too many years ago, a single Klansman would have to go to a great deal of effort and spend quite a bit of money and find a sympathetic printer in order to produce a pamphlet that might reach 100 people. Now the same Klansman, for almost no money, is able to very quickly put up a Web site that has the potential to reach millions. The other thing the Internet does is let haters network easily. Many of these people are on listserv programs, so if something of interest happens in one part of the country, very soon people all over know about it. Or very often sympathizers just see information posted in announcements on other people's Web pages. How much is homophobia a part of hate Web sites? It's very much part of them. Anti-homosexuality has spread out from a small number of core hate sites to the point where it's on most neo-Nazi, Christian Identity and even some militia sites. Like abortion, homophobia has become a mainstream issue for the extremist right. There are now people who think that homosexuality is a capital offense, that practicing homosexuals should be punished with death. Are these hate Web sites sophisticated in technical terms? There's no question that many of them are spiffy, very slickly presented. Don Black, for instance, is very good with computers. He learned his skills courtesy of American taxpayers, when he was in jail for a planned invasion of Dominica by white supremacists. Then he got out of prison and became a computer consultant in addition to running his Stormfront Web page. He's trying to teach computer skills to the movement. And some of the sites are very deep: 70 or 80 pages, with all kinds of links. Many of them have very good-looking graphics, and some have video graphics. Many have a lot of memory, which allows you to play white supremacist rock 'n' roll music, for instance. N E X T+P A G E+\| "Aryan Love Song" and Sesame Street for haters