The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen

by Raphael S. Ezekiel

The author offers his first-hand accounts of rallies and meetings of white supremacists across the United States, interviews white militants and neo-Nazis, and reveals the self-centered motives behind the hate-mongering.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Politics, Race, History, Terrorism, Biography

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jared Della Rocca · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first picked up this book, I was hoping for more of an objective look, via interviews, at what kind of person the far-right "white power" movement attracts, and also why they are attracted to the movement. Unfortunately, while Ezekiel does provide some of that insight, it is too often tainted by his own opinions. He goes to great lengths to disparage these people and the movement. While I don't condone the movement at all, I was hoping for more of an objective look at it.

Various techniques used by Ezekiel include responding to the arguments and comments of the interviewee within the context of the book. For instance, they will make some remark about Jews always feeling sorry for themselves. Rather than respond in the interview, Ezekiel will add his rebuttal into the book itself, after the interview, thereby denying the chance for the person to respond. Also, using the same example, Ezekiel will criticize a member for their stereotypical remarks, and then include a line in the book to the effect of, "I don't think Jews feel sorry for themselves. I think we actually are very empathetic." In both his use of the word, "we", and attributing empathy to all Jewish people, he is doing exactly what the interviewee did---namely, attributing one characteristic to an entire group of people. But because it's a compliment and Ezekiel is Jewish, he feels that it's alright that he speak for an entire people.

I felt some of the book was worthwhile, especially his look at the background of the people that he interviewed, allowing for a better look at what may be the draw for these people to the movement. But due to the various flaws I mentioned above, I don't feel that the book wasn't so much a portrait of the racist mind, but a subjective look at people who I couldn't help but feel Ezekiel set up in order to arrive at his preconceived notions.

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I constantly run across books like these written by Jewish egghead academics who interview and/or hang out with "extremists" here and there for a year or so and then write a book about it. There are very few that aren't written with a huge bias and I believe that a certain percentage are written as propaganda to build these people into strawmen in order to raise funds for groups like the SPLC and ADL.

In The Racist Minds intro he says he is going to portray the subjects of this book in a fair, realistic, human way but right off the bat in the profiles of various leadership figures he goes out of his way to mock things the interview subjects say in a smart alecky juvenile way after the fact, not engaging them face to face. In the profiles of the rank and file member types he portrays them as being overly pathetic losers, psychoanalyzing them in a typically weird Jewish way. In all fairness to the author though just letting 85% of the people he profiles in this book speak for themselves would be enough to make them come off as idiots and losers. But overall as pathetic as some of the people in this book are the guy who put it together is worse.

[Laura]

The introduction was promising. The author writes: "To present white racists as humans is not to approve their ideas or their actions. But to picture them only in stereotype is to foolishly deny ourselves knowledge. Effective action to combat racism requires honest inquiry." Yet what follows seems to be highly anecdotal and based on presumptions resulting from fairly superficial contact, colored by the author's need to repeatedly state his belief that people on the left are more loyal, deeper thinkers, etc. There seems to be a significant amount of glee taken in exposing the ignorance of those from a more deprived socio-economic background - while these chasms of inequity could well be some of what is fueling the subjects of this study in the first place. I was hoping for something quite different from a Harvard scholar.

[Venus · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, this is an interesting (if slightly dated now) read on white nationalists in America. It gives pretty poignant insight into the mindset of white supremacists. This is an extremely important work, especially with the country's backslide into fundamentalist, nationalist thinking. With a rise in fascism across the Western world, this is also extremely important to look at how these groups are forming, who they are being lead by, and the possibility of how to prevent it. While I think that the data is now a bit, well, out of date with the wide spread usage of the internet, it's still important from a historical perspective.

I have a lot of questions about the previous reviews of this book (specifically on goodreads) and wonder (I'm being facetious here, I definitely know) why these reviews seem to be so highly critical and focus primarily on how the people are being depicted. I would make a guess that many of them haven't read this book in its entirety and skimmed. Those looking for an unbiased perspective on the foundations of white supremacy in the current day and age would be hard pressed to find something better than this.

I was shocked by the amount of kindness and understanding that the author depicted the Detroit neo nazis. Often times, I felt that he was being *too* fair to their lived experiences. Throughout this book, I found that Ezekiel oftentimes gave interesting perspectives and had a keen intuition on the motivations and psychology of these, oftentimes, young men. I felt that his perspectives were far more valuable than the word for word interviews as anyone who is even semi-familiar with the rhetoric of white supremacy knows the talking points enough to be tired of them.

[Lewis Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a mixed bag; I really quite enjoyed the interviews with each of the extremists, especially the group of mostly teenage members towards the end of the book. Their reasons for joining along with their backstories comprised of their childhood and upbringing was rather fascinating. It’s just a shame the book was often bogged down by the author’s know-it-all approach to giving “context” and “reason” as to why the interviewees would answer in such manners. The author clearly approached the book from a very distinct political position, and this position clearly influences how he describes much of the context within the book. I would perhaps award this book another star if he (the author) didn’t feel the need to showcase how intelligent he is by occasionally forcing in his very basic and uninteresting political takes that often don’t have much to do with what’s being discussed/explored in the specific interview at the time.

Overall very interesting but not entirely sure I would recommend for casual reading. Sometimes the repeated interviews can feel a bit dry, one after the other.

[Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jewish author goes to neo-nazi/klan rallies, interviews white supremacist leaders, and members or a neo-nazi group to get a better understanding of why racists believe what they do. This book could be the base of 1998's American History X. From Cameron Alexander recruiting uneducated and abandoned kids into his group while avoiding being involved in anything that could get himself in trouble with the law to Derek's contempt of being compared to "unorganized rednecks like the KKK" and even Danny saying "Some of the are alright" before a member of the group tells him none of them are alright, these interviews mimic details in the movie so closely.

[renae · Rating 2 out of 5]

i finished this a while ago for soci 101 but forgot to update it. anyway, it was okay? basically a docubook and i dont like those that much anyway so yeah.

[B Haze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Besides being self-conscious about reading this book on the bus because of the images it sported on its cover, it was a very enlightening book.
This is such a unique portrayal of the "face" of racism in America. It is a book put together by Raphael Ezekiel, a Jewish man who grew up in a segregated Texas. Ezekiel faced his fears and constructed interviews/attended rallies of major racist organizations (i.e. KKK and Neo-Nazi groups) in order to put together/make sense of racism in somebody else's life. Ezekiel's results are interesting and do not bubble down to the typical "male blinded by hate" explanation for racism we see every day. This book mainly shows the demographics of these wretched people and how ignorance is the root of racism.
Overall seeing Ezekiel's reactions to these people and these people's reactions to him are worth the read.
The book never offers a solution to solving the problem of racism, but it presents situations and shows the experiences that lead to racism that help you figure it out yourself.

[Brent Ranalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was depressing.

A valuable book, and courageous of the author to take the steps necessary to research it.

I was going to leave it at that, but having read some of the other reviews, I’ll add that I too found the author's narrative power disconcerting at times, wondering how his decisions to share exact words or paraphrase or omit statements, etc., might have made particular individuals come off in a better or worse light than they might have. On the other hand, the fact that the author has and expresses a point of view and opinions of his own doesn't bother me. It's his story, and if he feels the need to set the record straight on points where he didn't confront his interviewees directly, I'm ok with that.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a self-described leftist Jew, Ezekiel undertakes an incredibly risky project in profiling contemporary right-wing hate groups. His book is a chilling depiction of the very phenomenon that keeps him relatively safe -- what Arendt called "the banality of evil". The men, women and children he portrays are not screaming rednecks in hooded robes or blackshirted Teutons; they are frighteningly normal, even nice, people, unremarkable except for occasional rallies and the persistent, fervent belief that their race is superior. Ezekiel does not provide much in the way of a solution, but his confrontation with this hideous subculture is invaluable.

[Jean Darroch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really thought this book had potential but it turned out not to be very good. I don't recommend at all.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting I must say, I bought this book at the holocaust musem when I went to Washington D.C.