Compassionate racism.

First, let me start this post by saying: HOW BOUT DEM PHILS?

Okay, that felt good. I don't have time to do a lot of writing tonight. But I am going to leave you with a little cut and paste job from my hometown paper. It's an excellent article, and it was written by Dana Difillippo, and Steohania Farr. It's about our kinder gentler racist in the age of Obama.

"IN THE GAZEBO on Fairmount Park's Lemon Hill, they gathered to celebrate their whiteness.

But the 75 skinheads - most of whom were male, bald and tattooed - didn't torch crosses, incite fights, burn houses or wear white hoods like the race-haters of the past.

Instead, they drank vitamin water and green tea, and chatted about plumbing, television and how to tell who's "shady" just by looking at them. They then paraded to the riverside statue of Icelandic explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni - among the first Europeans to set foot on North America, around 1010 - to lay a wreath in honor of their heritage.
Welcome to hate in 2008. Supremacists who used to express their loathing for blacks, gays, Jews and other minorities with fists and fire now post fliers, blog online, ramble on talk radio, commune at invitation-only white-power concerts and gather for subdued ceremonies with subtle messages, like the Oct. 11 wreath-laying organized by the Keystone State Skinheads (KSS).

But not all white supremacists share KSS' subtle-minded message.

On Monday, federal authorities announced the arrest of two neo-Nazis, Daniel Cowart, 20, of Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of Arkansas, who were allegedly plotting a cross-country killing rampage of African-Americans, which they planned to culminate with their assassination of presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Steve Smith, director of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre chapter of the KSS, said that it was the type of plan that "makes us look like we're a bunch of loonies."
"They're a couple of loony bins that give our movement a bad name," Smith said. "I don't know anybody who would even think that killing Barack Obama would solve anything.
'Anyone who tries to kill Barack Obama does a lot more harm to the white movement than anything,' he said.

While Smith doesn't condone the assassination plot on Obama's life, he also doesn't support his candidacy for president - or John McCain's, for that matter, citing what he called McCain's support of "amnesty for illegal aliens.'

Immigration policy always has been a sticking point for white-supremacy organizations, especially those trying to reach white, mainstream Americans who fear marginalization.
As the immigrant debate raged in recent years, hate crimes against Latinos nationally rose 35 percent from 2003 to 2006, according to FBI statistics. Most recently, Luis Ramirez, a Mexican immigrant, was beaten to death last July in Shenandoah, Pa., allegedly by four white high-schoolers shouting racial slurs. And even as KSS tries to soften its image, many members have criminal records riddled with violent offenses, from bar brawls to racially motivated stabbings and beatings.

But many white extremists are trying to reinvent themselves to broaden their appeal and smash the hater stereotype that keeps potential recruits at bay. Locally, the KSS, the most active white-supremacy group in Pennsylvania with nine chapters statewide, now uses the name Keystone United to attract prospective members turned off by the skinhead connection. Members also now prefer the term "white nationalist" instead of "white supremacist," Smith said.

'The definition of a white supremacist is someone who wants to rule over other races,' Smith said. 'We don't wish to rule over others. We just want equal opportunities'"

More here.

Poor white supremacist, all they want is a little equality. Oh well, if your friend Sarah gets into power, you just might get it, boys.

And just for a little balance, my local paper featured this article about the New Black Panther Party, as well. Sorry fellows, we are in the age of Obama now; we don't need your services anymore.