ustxtxb_obs_1992_01_17_50_00003-00000_000.pdf

January 17 & 31, 1992 Volume 84, Nos. 1 & 2 Introduction By Ronnie Dugger 2 Acknowledgements and Sources 5 Duke and the Texas Primary 5 Part I: David Duke: In His Own Words 6 His Case for Apartheid 6 On Nazism, Nazi-related Ideas, and Hitler 9 Denying the Holocaust 15 Duke’s Stances Since 1989 16 “Like Hitler”: Duke on “The Right Package” in 1986 17 Part IL Duke’s Life; an Interview 20 Young Duke on a Race War 20 Ghetto Countries for U.S. Minorities 21 Duke’s Eerie Life and Work 22 An Interview with David Duke 24 Beth Rickey Replies to Duke 32 Part HI: Analysis and Opinion 34 By James Cullen: Giving the Devil His Due: the Challenge to Populists 34 Louisiana’s Lesson 36 The White Supremacist Movement lives 38 A Primer on thesFar Right 39 The Klan in Texas 41 By Deborah Lutterbeck: Duke and Economic Discontent 42 By Lanny Keller: How to Cover the Dukester 43 By Jim Presley: The Positioning of David Duke 44 Observations By Ronnie Dugger: David Duke’s Astounding Record 45 b ill TEXAS server over without comment or silently agrees with the branding of the Jews with stars, the rounding up of farhilies under guns, forced marches under guns, slave labor under guns, forced deportation under guns in long trains of locked killer freightcars. Are we free citizens of the United States dutybound or fairness-bound .to believe a manlike David Duke when, after his more than three decades of proselytizing for racism, anti-Semitism, and a brace of other Nazi ideologies, he goes to telling us, as he steps up to the threshold of running for the U.S. Senate, that he has reformed and matured? Of course we are not. Since that transparently cynical switch just two short years ago, the allegedly new Duke has said that he used to be intolerant, he’s sorry, he is not a racist, he is not a Nazi. If we are sharply attentive to every strictly logical possibility, we must and therefore we do concede that there is a faint theoretical possibility that in these reversals Duke is telling the truth. We invite you to study this man’s record, which he has made himself, to study what he said in the Observer’s interview with him and to listen to him in person for yourself, if you have the opportunityand decide for yourself. We do not believe him. We belieye that he is still the racist anti-Semitic promoter of Nazism that he has been since the late 1960’s and has continued to prove himself to be through : out the past two years as the record shows. We regret the certain fact that our copious reprinting here of Duke’s statements and programs will horrify and offend not only the Jewish Americans and African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Airiericans and members of other races and faiths against Whom they are deliberately directed, but will also horrify and offend everyone else of whateyer color or faith who has respect for their fellow human beings. Nor would we even try to deny the feasonable likelihood that our airing so much malodorous hate in the sunlight will leave some of its spores festering in the brains of some of those who pass by here. But we cannot and we shall not apologize for presenting Duke’s opinions and his prograins in full. When a dedicated vendor of Nazism has the effrontery to run for President of the United States in sheep’s clothing and gets 44 percent of the vote in Louisiana for senator and 39 percent for governor, the only thing worse than falling for his audacious con game would be silence, or indifference, or averted eyes, acting as if his Menacing candidacy does not exist, trying to divert people’s attention away from the stench of it. For if we learned anything from learned that either tolerance of or indifference about anti-Semitic and racist hatred is an unforgivable sinthat a person who tolerates or ignores and fails to, confront Anti-Semitic and racist hatred can and may become, in due course, irreversibly and forever complicitous in the persecution and murder of, innocent men women and children en masse. People at the Captain’s table on our fellow Texan :Katherine Anne Porter’s Ship of Fools joined in the prejudice and themeniment when anti-Semitic remarks were made and antiSemitic jokes were told because they did not want to make a fuss, attract attention to themselves, be thought ill-mannered, or lose favor with their shipboard companions whom they wished to please. The consequence of their forebearance, or silence, or evasion, or complicity, or indifference and the consequence of the forebearance, silence, evasion, complicity, and indifference of hundreds. of millions of others was the gas chambers at Auschwitz. When a malevolent bigot like buke gets up steam when he iwice, wins majorities of the votes of whites in our neighboring statepoliteness, what is acceptable in decent company, a wish not to offend, the ordinarily logical concern not to, give any currency.to repulsive ideasall such norms lose their sway. After the Holocaust, no decent and knowledgeable person may ever risk becoming personally responsible for or comPliCit in pogroms or racist murders to any de-. gree, whatever the cost of refusing that risk might be or might become. What counts now in, this testing time for each American citizen is the truth and dealing with the truth and nothing but the truth. So brace yourselves, readers, grit A, Notice to. Our Readers This double-sized issue of the Observer carries the cover dateS January 17 and 31 and constitutes our issues for both those dateS. The next regular issue, in, which we will play catch-up on redistricting and other ongoing events,. as well as Dialbgue and other regular features, will be dated February 14. We thank our ‘readers for their indulgence on this score. Reprints of this special issue are on hand. for immediate shipment or for mailing to the persons you designate ‘at the following rates, postage ‘included: 1-4copies $3.00 each 25-49 copies $2.00 each 5-9 copies $2.50 each. 50-99copies $1.75 each 10-24 copies…$2.25 each 100-249-copies…:$1.50 each Send your order and prepayment to: Texas Observer Reprints, 307 West 7th St., Austin, Texas 78701. THE TEXAS OBSERVER 3