If there's no audience, then there is no play

I am trying to look at the recent events with understanding. If a card-carrying KKK member runs for sheriff, then this is an event that should and does receive national coverage with the press? Realistically, we all know, including the candidate, that there is no way that he will ever be elected and this is a stunt to get attention. And now his campaign continues to receive national press, which in turn makes Idaho appear to be a center of Aryan and white supremacist activity.

In reflecting on the recent events that have been nationally publicized, I feel compelled to share one of the most relevant and compelling quotes I have ever heard regarding this type of extreme activity. Tony Stewart, Kootenai County Human Rights Task Force, recently commented, “If you have a group of actors who are getting ready for a play and those actors rehearse each day and on opening day when the curtain opens they have no audience, then they don’t have a play.”

Stewart went on to explain how this analogy is effective for dealing with people like Shaun Winkler.

When the Aryan Nations and the KKK joined together to travel to Pulaski, Tennessee to host a rally claiming it as the birth place of the KKK, Stewart convinced the townspeople to not support hate in any form. The Aryan Nations and KKK held a public rally but it did not receive opposition from Stewart or the townspeople. During their rally, they marched downtown, around the city hall once and then stopped because there was not an audience or opposition that they could use to fill their fuel cells with hate. Under the guidance of Stewart and the Kootenai County Human Rights Task Force, the town hosted their own peace rally out of town during this time, choosing dignity and respect over hate and conflict.

Now the same should hold true here in North Idaho. Winkler, a former member of Richard Butler’s white supremacist Aryan Nations organization, is now running for sheriff of Bonner County. Is he a candidate that the public takes seriously? No! Yet, he receives national press coverage, which fuels his activities. Now he invites the press to a cross burning and espouses it as a Christian celebration. Why? He thrives on receiving more coverage and more attention. Negative as it may be, I have known people who choose any type of attention, negative or positive, as long as it is attention.

The Human Rights Education Institute is a nonprofit organization that was created from the demise of the Aryan Nation headquarters in Hayden. It teaches human rights, respect for one another and dignity for all. This involves hosting free community events, visiting local schools, supporting local teachers and creating an environment that supports diversity and human rights. As the executive director of HREI, I find it sad that the nation is so eager to publicize the controversial acts of one man without recognizing the incredible community of North Idaho, which has time and time again united to oppose hate, racism and violations of human rights. I am proud to be a part of this community, and while burning a cross may get more attention, I encourage our community to continue to work together to fight hate, to encourage diversity and respect, and to remind each and every person that mentions Winkler, his activities or the Aryan Nations, that we do not tolerate, support or encourage publicity or recognition for any person or organization which promotes hate.

Thomas E. Carter is executive director of the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene.