ME AND THE NAZIS

I used to feel sorry for Nazis. "Nobody likes them, nobody understands them, nobody wants to be their friend." I decided to befriend them back in the '80s, and I came to understand them. Now I don't like them either.

Since I was pastoring a church in Mississippi, I had the opportunity to see these folks in their natural habitat. To be sure, most Nazi and Klan activity occurs in the North, not in the South. But down here we change really gradually, so I wound up meeting some leftovers from the Civil Rights days.

One day an intelligent, articulate lawyer called me at my office, introduced himself, and invited me to a big, patriotic banquet which he held every year for selected high school athletes. This lawyer and I became friends. I'll call him "Ben" rather than his real name, because these people cannot survive without publicity.

"Ben" had written a book about himself and his plan for saving the world. As I read it, I understood it to be advocating national socialism and I began arguing with "Ben." By my estimate, he and I spent 100 hours over the years discussing the problems of society and the possible solutions. I contended for limited government and Christian activism. He argued for total government and eugenics, including abortion for non-whites.

I have a high tolerance for disagreeable ideas. It comes from having studied apostate theology through four degree programs. So I was able to remain friends with "Ben," laugh with him, argue with him, and work with him on various projects such as opposing the sale of pornography in the community. He always knew that I disagreed with his "nationalism," but he tolerated me. Truth is, I'm not aware of any other actual friend the guy had.

Hanging around "Ben" could be dangerous for one's reputation, though. I recall accompanying him to a press conference where he was to comment on the South African Communist Party's latest activities. While speaking to a black newslady, he motioned to me and another pastor and said "We want to see a return to the segregation of the old South." I took him to task for that, and he agreed to do better next time. It was probably years before I let myself work publicly with him again. At the same press conference, he commented on welfare programs by saying, "When the dog is dead, who will feed the fleas?" The newslady smiled nicely and said, "You know, I never thought of it that way." They were used to him. Luckily, they didn't know who I was.

I moved away eventually, but still kept in contact with "Ben" from time to time. I began to notice him becoming more shrill, less friendly. It seemed that the frustration of a lifetime's activity that accomplished *nothing* was beginning to wear on him. The best he was ever able to do was to pretend that he had a following, an organization, and a list of accomplishments. I associated closely with him and I know for a fact that it's all a sham. He has a mailing list, a collection of newpaper clippings, and great skill at getting attention from the news media.

In April of 2000, I wrote a letter to my son at college about the history of Christian race relations in the South. I had a question about a legal decision I had cited, so I sent the letter to "Ben" to ask about the definition of a word. He replied with the requested information and explained how he was responsible for the court decisions which changed history concerning this subject. Then he edited my letter (changing nearly every sentence in it) until it looked like a Nazi tract and sent it out to his e-mail list under MY NAME.

When I say he edited it, I'm understating the case. He rewrote it! He filled it with his nationalist lingo, he excised all the sentences and paragraphs where I told my son about my efforts toward racial integration. He added lines I never wrote and never *would* have written. The finished product expressed his views precisely: Naziism.

Then he sent me a copy and said, "Well, how do you like it?" The guy is a hopeless optimist.

I gently wrote back and said that, although he had written well and clearly, I had not meant for him to use my letter. But what was done was done, no hard feelings, but please don't put my name on your stuff in the future; you know I don't agree with you. I gladly put my name on the things I write, but I don't want my name on the things you write.

My unwillingness to be associated with him must have infuriated him, because he wrote back in perfect legal language and said that his organization would edit and publish everything it chose in accordance with the laws of free press, editorial policy, blah blah blah. Then he put his Nazified version of my letter on his web site. My name was still on it.

Repeated requests by me were denied. I never bothered threatening him, since all such threats would be phony. He's a lawyer; he could squash me like a bug.

Having read reams and reams of literature from black and white racists, I knew that their disavowals of being "hateful" were mostly empty. The hate literally spews from most of these folks. But this was not the case with "Ben" in the early years. Although he had a long-term goal of separating the races, he never acted as though he hated anyone of any race. He never talked in terms of destroying someone whom he opposed. But I can't think of any other motive for his latest actions toward me.

These people just don't make good friends.

(Reluctantly, I have posted my original letter here so that anyone who really wants to know if I favor exterminating non-Aryans can research it for himself.)