By Dan Murphy
It was sad to read that flyers for a Neo-Nazi hate group had popped up in Croton last week. These same flyers, from the same group Identity Evropa, appeared on the campuses of SUNY Purchase and Westchester Community College last year.
Some residents of Croton were ashamed that the flyers had appeared in their village. “This is not the Croton that I know,” said one woman. “Croton is really known to be a very liberal and open-minded community.”
Some media outlets did not print the name of the organization. We disagree with that philosophy and believe that the only way to combat these right-wing freaks is to inform our readership about them in any way we can.
According to their website, Identity Evropa is “a fraternal organization for people of European heritage located in the United States that participates in community building and civic engagement.
“Identity Evropa is an Identitarian organization focused on issues that uniquely affect European Americans – in particular, the ongoing demographic transformation in America that will result in a White minority by 2045,” the website reads. “We participate in lawful, non-violent activism to raise awareness of these issues. Our activists are instructed to avoid flyering on or near elementary, middle and high schools; as such, any proximity of our materials to such places is coincidental rather than intentional.”
The flyers, found in Croton, and also found on the campus of SUNY Purchase and Westchester Community College last year, depict two white men holding a microphone, and state, “One generation, one future, one last chance.”
The organization was also involved in the deadly Charlottesville white supremacist rally last summer that led to the death of one woman and hurt more than a dozen others. According to Identity Evropa, they are “an American Identitarian organization. As such, our main objective is to create a better world for people of European heritage – particularly in America – by peacefully effecting cultural change. Identity Evropa is thus an explicitly non-violent organization.
“As Identitarians, we believe that identity matters, inequality is a fact of life, and ethnic diversity, as demonstrated by substantial historical and sociological evidence, is an impediment to societal harmony. Academia, employment, and countries overall – is accepted as a moral imperative. We categorically reject this ‘progressive’ morality and instead demand that we, people of European heritage, retain demographic supermajorities in our homelands,” states the hate group from its website.
The Croton School District referenced groups that identify Identity Evropa as a white supremacist organization by the Anti-Defamation League, and as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group was also tied to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., last year that ended in violence, the district said.
“We urge parents to speak to their children about these organizations and to watch for any noticeable changes in the behavior of your impressionable teens,” the district said. “We are proud of Croton’s diversity and harmony, and we know you are as well.”
What we also found curious and beyond comprehension is that after the Croton School District issued a warning to parents about the flyers and about discussing this hate group with its children in an intelligent and preemptive way, the Croton Police Department informed the school district that it could not remove the flyers. “We have been advised by the Croton Police Department that on the advice of legal counsel, they cannot remove the posters,” said Dr. Deborah O’Connell, Croton-Harmon schools superintendent.
Initially, the Croton police told the school district they would remove the flyers, but reversed course.
We understand the protections offered by the First Amendment, and we could see the insanity taken to another level if in fact the Croton Police did remove the flyer and were sued by Identity Evropa for violating their rights to free speech.
However, this is unabridged freedom gone way too far, in our view, and we applaud the person or persons who did remove the flyers. Thank you for doing the right thing, regardless of whether it was technically or even legally acceptable.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan set the limits on free speech in the xxxxxxx decision when he wrote the protections of the First Amendment do not extend to “screaming fire in a crowded movie theater.”
A new flyer replaced Identity Evropa. That flyer reads, “Love Croton has no room for hate.”
Some members of the Neo-Nazi group wrote on their website that they attended CPAC 2018, the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was attended by President Donald Trump and European Nationalists, including Nigel Farage and Marion Le Pen.
“We spent the day meeting people, handing out Identity Evropa business cards, and discussing Identitarianism with conservatives. Thanks largely to the Left’s Anti-White rhetoric and blatant unwillingness to tolerate any restrictions on immigration, CPAC attendees were quite interested in what we had to say. While some did, of course, reject Identitarianism due to it being ‘collectivist,’ these disagreements were civil and infrequent. And those who objected to our ideas were unable to tell me when minorities were going to begin flocking to conservatism, or if right-wing politics would be electorally viable with a non-White majority.
“Some of the speakers, most notably Marion Le Pen, did focus on issues like immigration and national identity. However, CPAC was defined predominantly by concerns over economic issues – taxes. Thankfully, younger attendees disliked this, and instead wanted to hear about more Trumpian things, like immigration and the wall. This is a good sign, because while these issues are not exclusively Identitarian, mulling over them for long enough will surely lead one to Identitarian conclusions.
“Although Identity Evropa is not a political organization, I strongly encourage our members to become active in politics. This can take many forms, including joining the college Republicans or running for local office. Trump has given us an opportunity to transform the GOP from a vehicle for Conservatism Inc. to one for Nationalism, and it’s up to us to seize the opportunity.
“While it’s unlikely that the GOP will become an explicitly Identitarian party anytime soon, there is hope for it to become non-interventionist, protectionist, immigration restrictionist, etc. – all good things for Americans of European heritage, even if they’re not explicitly marketed as such,” states the website.
The presence of Identity Evropa in Westchester, and in the Republican Party, on any level is a cancer that needs to be removed. We will happily stand opposed to their activities if they ever come to Westchester and show their faces to the public.
Identitarian is a supporter or advocate of the political interests of a racial, ethnic, or national group, typically one composed of Europeans or white people.
“Since the beginning of the migrant crisis, the Identitarians in France, Austria, and Germany have staged elaborate, controversial protests” according to oxforddictionaries.com
