The Racist Mind

Jewish Book World

This study of white racism includes portraits of neo-Nazis who espouse the doctrines of Hitler and are clandestinely organizing militant goups in many cities in America.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's 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.'' (June)

Aaron Cohen

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.