Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

10-22-90 . . . Tom Metzger, a white supremacist from southern California, has been held liable in an Oregon court for violating the civil rights of a black man. I’ve seen Metzger on television shows like Crossfire, mouthing his racist trash. He claims to be defending the rights of white people, but in actuality he’s driven by hatred and distrust of nonwhites. He thinks they’re inferior to whites intellectually, morally, and in every other way. Apparently Metzger recruited several “skinheads” to move to Portland, Oregon, to form a white-supremacist organization. This was done. Shortly after arriving, the skinheads beat an Ethiopian to death. At least one of them was convicted of murder. Since Metzger wasn’t involved in the killing, he wasn’t prosecuted criminally; but he did incite the skinheads, so he was sued by the family of the dead man. An Oregon jury held him liable to the tune of $12.5 million. Whether Metzger has this kind of money remains to be seen, but even if he doesn’t, the verdict is significant. What it does is send a message to every white supremacist in this country, including members of the Ku Klux Klan: If you organize hate groups or incite crime against members of minority groups, you will be made to pay. Metzger, I’m sure, will play the martyr. He’ll claim that he sacrificed himself for the good of a legitimate movement. In fact, he’s an evil person.