Editor’s note: This story by Bob Audette was published in the Brattleboro Reformer on July 28.
[B]RATTLEBORO — Several weeks after an unidentified person chalked “Toten Die Juden” on a sidewalk in Brattleboro, another unidentified person posted recruitment posters for a domestic terrorist group around town.
The posters, stating in all block letters, “The Atomwaffen Division is organizing near you,” also stated “Black Lives Don’t Matter.”
“Toten Die Juden” is a German term that roughly translates to “Kill the Jews.”
“Town staff are removing these posters when we spot them in the Town’s public spaces,” wrote Town Manager Peter Elwell, in an email to the media. While town employees are not going on private property to remove the posters, he wrote, “It is my understanding that private citizens are removing the posters as they are spotted on both public and private property. This is a proper response to such broadside hateful messages — to show that the offensive expressions of an individual (or a few individuals) are contrary to the compassionate and welcoming values of our community.”
While the person, or persons, who put up the posters could be cited with a misdemeanor, such as trespassing, there is no criminal statute that prevents the activity based on the posters’ content.
“Generalized messages of this type are not a crime,” wrote Elwell. “Such speech is constitutionally protected in the United States by the First Amendment. That is not true of a specifically directed message which can constitute a hate crime and be prosecuted. The Police Department’s investigation of such matters has to distinguish between criminal acts and those acts that are not criminal but still may pose a potential threat to the overall safety of our community.”
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which classifies and tracks hate groups, the Atomwaffen Division is “a terroristic national socialist organization” formed in Texas in 2015. “AWD’s greatest success appears to be attracting young men who are entranced by its fetishizing of death, Nazism, violence and mass murder — behind which they have compiled and are promoting a lineage of terrorists and white supremacist thinkers that they hope will inspire and recruit others to their siege,” states the SPLC’s website.
Alan Blackwell, owner of Arkham in Harmony Place, sparked one online conversation on the Brattleboro Vermont Facebook page. All of the comments decried the posters, though several commenters stated they weren’t surprised.
“I know this type of hate exists in Brattleboro specifically from when we were heckled during a Black Lives Matter march down Main Street … so this is not surprising to me …” wrote one commenter.
“[T]his is not an anomaly,” wrote another. “Racism runs deep in our communities. All people of conscience — not just those directly impacted by racism — must confront hate, prejudice, and injustice. And that includes looking deeply within ourselves.”
“While many Brattleboro residents rightly credit the town with being inclusive,” wrote another commenter, “this does not make either Brattleboro, or any other part of Vermont, immune from its prevailing white hegemony. Therefore, the onus is on white people to talk to white people about racism: and white people comprise nearly 95 percent of the population of Brattleboro. This isn’t an issue for People of Color in Brattleboro to resolve,” he wrote. “This is an issue for the white majority of Brattleboro, Vermont to resolve: not to disconnect themselves from the white perpetrator with statements varying on the theme, ‘This does not represent Brattleboro,’ when in fact, this is the face of racism in Brattleboro. … It is us. It’s white. It’s Brattleboro. It’s Vermont.”
According to the last census, conducted in 2010, Brattleboro is 91.3 percent white and 8.7 percent minority.
In response to the posters, Brattleboro’s Community Equity Collaborative is developing its own poster, for distribution throughout the community next week. The poster will say “Resist Racist Hatred — Brattleboro Stands for Love” in several languages.
The CEC is a group of community leaders and concerned citizens who work to promote racial equity and inclusion in and beyond Brattleboro. Past initiatives have included creation of the Vermont Vision for a Multi-Cultural Future conference, Diversity Day in Brattleboro, a Diverse Workforce Development Committee of major local employers, and support for state legislation intended to reduce racism and to promote inclusion and equity.
