The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen [Hardcover]

Raphael S. Ezekiel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1995

The author offers his first-hand accounts of rallies and meetings of white supremacists across the United States, interviews white militants and neo-Nazis, and reveals the self-centered motives behind the hate-mongering.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite his somewhat diffuse fieldwork, University of Michigan psychology professor Ezekiel offers some solid sociological and psychological insights into the character of contemporary American hate groups and their members. First, he describes the hostility?especially toward him, a Jew?and the chilling illogic he observed at a Klan rally and an Aryan Nations gathering. He then portrays three national leaders?Tom Metzger, of the White Aryan Resistance; Dave Holland, of Southern White Knights; and Richard Butler, Aryan Nations?observing that they and their groups have less to do with action than with venting feelings of victimization. Men like Metzger, argues Ezekiel, are charismatic loners manipulating their "small world." He then offers extensive profiles of the angry, sad and often pathetic members of a Detroit neo-Nazi group?poor whites in a majority-black city whose racial fears differentiate them from national groups that mainly demonize "the Jew." Most of these men, Ezekiel notes, lost a parent when they were young, and they grew up vulnerable and disconnected. The author doesn't divorce such racism from the country's troubled racial climate, but he suggests that teens can be diverted from such militancy via "mentorship and constructive alternatives."
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Fodder for exploitative talk shows and worst-case civil liberties debates, organized racists get more press than their actual influence probably deserves. Ezekiel's entry into a crowded field is an outstanding study of those who join and lead American hate groups. The approach is straightforward and surprisingly novel. Mostly, Ezekiel simply lets Klansmen and neo-Nazis talk about their lives and how they came to have their views. Jewish psychology professor Ezekiel clearly abhors those views but portrays their speakers in engrossing depth. The most powerful chapters trace how the ignorance common to the members of a small-time neo-Nazi group stems from their own poverty, poor education, dysfunctional families, and, in some cases, medical disabilities. Although the rhetoric of one man in particular should infuriate any reader of conscience, his matter-of-fact discussion of being abused as a child and the removal of half his liver ultimately evokes more pity than outrage. "Effective action to combat racism requires honest inquiry," Ezekiel says, and it's about time somebody completed a study in this direction. Aaron Cohen

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670839582
• ISBN-13: 978-0670839582
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #632,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Subjective, March 14, 2007

By 

King of New England (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen (Paperback)

When I first picked up this book, I was hoping for more of an objective look, via interviews, at what kind of person the far-right "white power" movement attracts, and also why they are attracted to the movement. Unfortunately, while Ezekiel does provide some of that insight, it is too often tainted by his own opinions. He goes to great lengths to disparage these people and the movement. While I don't condone the movement at all, I was hoping for more of an objective look at it.

Various techniques used by Ezekiel include responding to the arguments and comments of the interviewee within the context of the book. For instance, they will make some remark about Jews always feeling sorry for themselves. Rather than respond in the interview, Ezekiel will add his rebuttal into the book itself, after the interview, thereby denying the chance for the person to respond. Also, using the same example, Ezekiel will criticize a member for their stereotypical remarks, and then include a line in the book to the effect of, "I don't think Jews feel sorry for themselves. I think we actually are very empathetic." In both his use of the word, "we", and attributing empathy to all Jewish people, he is doing exactly what the interviewee did---namely, attributing one characteristic to an entire group of people. But because it's a compliment and Ezekiel is Jewish, he feels that it's alright that he speak for an entire people.

I felt some of the book was worthwhile, especially his look at the background of the people that he interviewed, allowing for a better look at what may be the draw for these people to the movement. But due to the various flaws I mentioned above, I don't feel that the book wasn't so much a portrait of the racist mind, but a subjective look at people who I couldn't help but feel Ezekiel set up in order to arrive at his preconceived notions.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis of what makes a racist., April 16, 2011

By 

Lauren B. Davis (Princeton, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen (Paperback)

I read this book when it first came out in 1996 and I've never forgotten it. (Apparently it riled up a few folks, because some of the reviews here on Amazon have obviously been written by Aryan. . . ahem . . . sympathizers, poor dears.)

One of the things I found most interesting about the work was Ezekiel's conclusion that many of the young people (almost exclusively men) involved in these groups felt marginalized in one way or another. They were frightened by the changing world. They had few, if any, positive male role models. Many had been bullied and/or felt powerless and were seduced by images of Nazis wielding extreme and savage power. Better, they felt, to be on the side of the one holding the whip, the one wearing the intimidating uniform, than to be on the victim's side. They were recruited at an age when they were looking for excitement -- as all young men do at a certain age. (Ezekiel felt that if any other slightly dangerous, radical group had come along -- eco-warriors for example -- they would have become part of that group instead.) I couldn't help but recall his work when I asked an African-American inmate in the prison where I was teaching why he had become involved in the Bloods gang. "It's the adrenaline, you know?" he said. "For rich white kids it's stuff like extreme sports. This is our extreme sports." Sigh. But I digress.

Ezekiel also concluded that the vast majority of people in these sorts of groups leave the groups by the time they're in their mid-twenties. Partly they leave because they want to have families and get on with life, and partly because eventually all the vitriolic rhetoric begins to fray. Partly they leave because emotional and psychologically healthy men, once they get a bit older, are less and less interested in violence.

While we can't tolerate hate groups, this does put things into perspective. Although the propaganda they spew would lead us to believe such movements are growing, in fact their membership stays pretty much static. New young people come in one door as the grown ups leave through the other.

So many people are afraid of what they perceive as The Other -- such a shame, and so unnecessary. This is a thought-provoking and important book.

19 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Waste of Time, December 27, 2000

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen (Paperback)

Raphael "Rafe" Ezekiel wrote this book as a result of his numerous field studies on hate groups and their members. What promises to be an interesting look inside the so-called "far right" ends up being a pretty dull look at a group of punks that try and pass themselves as Nazis.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section is Ezekiel's reactions to his attending several high profile meetings of racial organizations. The first meeting is a KKK rally at Stone Mountain, Georgia. The other meeting is one of the congregations held by the now defunct Aryan Nations in Idaho. He also attended the sedition trial at Fort Smith, Arkansas. All we get from these events is a bunch of psycho babble from "Rafe" about how he feels about interviewing a bunch of racists. He makes sure to talk to the wackiest people he can find, and then make blanket statements about everybody involved as a whole. The second part of the book consists of interviews with national leaders in the Movement, such as Tom Metzger of WAR, and Richard Butler of Aryan Nations. The last part of the book, and by far the largest part, deals with a gang of whites that have taken the name "Death's Head Strike Group", who are located in Detroit. Rafe (I'm not being snide when I refer to him as Rafe. Several people in the book refer to him by this nickname) makes much of his Jewish heritage and how it is constantly insulted by these people. They're racists! Of course a Jew would be offended! I would be too if I were a Jew. You'd think someone of Jewish background would be aware of this before they started. But the point of writing a work like this is to try and present an unbiased account of the subject matter. This topic is by its very nature heated, and strong words have been written on both sides of the fence. This reader wasn't looking for another polemic. I was hoping for some real insights. Instead I get hurt feelings and some really wacked out testimony by sixteen year old high school dropouts on what it means to be a Nazi. At least the interviews of the leaders were worth reading. Especially Tom Metzger, who comes off as pretty intelligent, although somewhat cynical.

Ezekiel should be careful about passing off everyone in the National Socialist Movement as some idiot that can't even spell his name. With the advent of the Internet, there are young, wealthy and intelligent people that are quickly becoming adherents. I remember seeing a news program about Matt Hale, the head of the World Church of the Creator (and a law school graduate) working with another young college grad in his office. They were both listening to Mozart while they prepared flyers. This is the new face of the Movement, not what is presented here by Mr. Ezekiel.

Read this book for the three interviews with the national leaders and skip the rest. This book could have been a lot better. Instead, all we get is pap.