White Nationalists To March In Jackson, Mich.

by Todd A. Heywood · 2010-03-20 12:57:00 UTC
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A screen shot of the Battalion 14 recruitment video from YouTube.com showing the Michigan area group. Ah, yes, spring in Michigan. Robins, warm weather, white nationalists ...

Yep, white nationalists. The folks who claim they are not racist, they just believe in white pride. Because, they say, straight white men are the only group in America who it is OK to discriminate against.

Forget that whole Constitutional amendment here in Michigan which enshrined discrimination against same-sex couples by barring marriage equality. Or the fact that in Michigan, unless you live in one of less than two dozen municipalities, you can be fired based on your sexual orientation. Or that being fag bashed is not more of a crime than a simple assault.

Those straight white men have it much worse. Just ask Battalion 14. The group is planning a march in downtown Jackson, Michigan this Sunday at 1p.m. They say they are not racists, just proud to be white. But I think their recruitment video says something quite different.

Most disconcerting, however, is a report from Lansing CBS affiliate WLNS that some at the march might be carrying guns. In our state, so long as your gun is legally licensed, you can carry it, openly, where you like.

That has open carry activists upset, as displayed on their bulletin board.

But what is more troubling is that the route they plan to walk is literally the racial fault line in the city. On one side, mostly white residents. On the other, African American and Latino residents, says a former city council member.

So we have white nationalism, guns, a racial fault line and a march. Um, color me worried.

Photo credit: Batallion 14

Todd A. Heywood is an investigative reporter based in Lansing, Michigan. He works for the American Independent News Network. He is HIV-positive and openly gay.
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