Sometimes, I Get Tired From Confronting Hate... Then You Lift Me Up
Sometimes, I get tired.
Tired of confronting a hate in America that seems more emboldened than ever to roar back in my face with all the venom it can muster.
Sometimes, I get demoralized.
Demoralized about the increasing number of Americans—people who probably consider themselves good Bible-believing Christians—who eagerly join with white supremacists and neo-Nazis in the online lynch mobs spewing their hate.
Sometimes, I question whether I’m really making a difference.
After all, my Hate Comes to Main Street publication is no match for the ferocious army of haters that America’s richest man, Elon Musk, can deploy with a tap of his finger to rile up the worst human beings among us.
As I written before, there have been tough weeks in this battle against hate that I have chosen for myself—for example, weeks when neo-Nazis have threatened my family and myself. But, in some ways, this past week seemed worse—because at times the amount of hate seemed almost overwhelming.
Watching the right-wing mobs terrorize parts of Belfast, I was horrified—as a human being and, yes, as a Christian—by the violent attacks on innocent immigrants who had committed no crime. Yes, the knife attack by the 30-year-old Sudanese immigrant was horrific, but that was a singular act of violence perpetrated by one (probably mentally ill) man with no help from anyone.
What I saw in videos posted online—White mobs chasing down immigrants in the streets, vandalizing immigrant-owned businesses, setting fire to homes believed to be inhabited by immigrants—reminded me of what I knew of Kristallnacht when Nazi thugs turned on Germany’s Jewish communities.
Surely, Americans could almost all agree that such acts of mob violence have no place in Europe, America, or any other civilized country. Surely, Christians would not argue with such a premise—after all, what would Jesus do? Surely, Jesus would stand between the innocent and the violent mobs, right?
As it would turn out, I was wrong.
‘We’re winning!’
On Thursday, I published a post headlined: “A Warning for America: White Nationalists ‘Taking Notes’ on Belfast Race Riots.” I was proud of the reporting because, as far as I know, I was the first journalist to reveal that white nationalist groups here in America were celebrating the violent attacks on immigrants and “taking notes” about what they could learn from the tactics.
It was—I believed then and I still believe now—an important story about the threat that America faces from far-right extremist violence.
Unfortunately, the reaction from Nashville talk radio show host Chris Hand—he’s so Christian, he even has a cross in his bio—was typical. He responded to the link that I posted on X with an image of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson displaying the universal “fuck you” gesture.
Another account that I track on X belonging to Tennessee Christian nationalist C.Jay Engel—an “Anglo-Protestant Christian,” according to this bio—seemingly embraced the mob violence and echoed a celebration of the group’s Operational Security (OpSec) plan in being able to avoid identification and arrest.
“Reminder to keep planning, organizing, tactical planning, communication planning, networking, stockpiling, training and developing contingencies,” Engel wrote in a social media post. “Decades of struggle ahead.”
And on Facebook, my post triggered some sort of algorithmic frenzy or bot attack, best exemplified by the more than 6,000 laughing emojis that it received.
And some of the responses were truly disheartening.
“Everyone is rooting for the Irish Phil. You are literally surrounded,” said one person in a reply that received 732 likes.
“Are White Nationalists in the room with you now?” asked another who racked up 2,200 votes of approval.
One account posted, “The reaction emojis are like a score board. We’re winning.”
“This needs to be done all across Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada,” another account posted.
Yet another account added, “Its [sic] not a race riot. Its [sic] a national movement to remove the invading terrorists from their own country.”
What we now know is that the attacks were perpetrated by a neo-Nazi hate group—part of the so-called Active Club network that I have been investigating for several years now—and were not part of some spontaneous uprising.
Still, the onslaught of vicious replies to my post—now slowing down to just under 9,000 total comments—made the wave of hate seem almost overwhelming.
‘They are so happy with you’
Yet, as often happens in such situations, morning brought a new perspective and hope that together we can make a stand against hate. That hope came in the form of a direct message from an Irish follower on X.
“I told all my Irish people that you are correcting the record, and they are so happy with you,” Mary informed me.
And she sent along photos from a march against fascism and hate that drew thousands of Irish residents to the city’s center.
“I really hope you know how people in my circle talk about your reporting!!” Mary added as she continued to send along photos from the Belfast event.
“It is really impactful,” she continued. “Too many journalists do not do it straight and you do. You are courageous—especially in this hyper partisan environment.”
Mary added, “Belfast doesn’t want to go backwards Thank you for taking an interest.”
And she expressed her gratitude in the true spirit of Ireland.
To Mary and all the others like her who lift my spirits during this difficult struggle against hate that we face in this country, to all who have chosen to support this independent project of mine, THANK YOU!!!
Together, we are never alone.
It is overwhelming. the Irish behavior tells us, that as a human species, we have a bit of turning to do. The notion that we are separated, and to view the world in a sense of duality, you vs me notion, is just simply, going away. They are fighting and clawing to cling to these notions. If we remain here, however, we all, as a human species, are headed for the cliff. Evolve or perish, it seems. Doesn't appear to be a short cut through this. We all are on the correct side of this equation. Just keep your nose to the grindstone. We have to keep exposing this. You are doing the heavy lifting. Stay with the truth. At the end, the truth must prevail. You are not alone, even though, their voices are quite loud these days. The quiet, prevailing voice in the room, will hopefully turn on the light. When the soil gets cleansed and turned over, often there is a terrible stink. We thank you for what you are doing. I remain a subscriber to support you.
Dede