This week’s Holocaust museum shooting has brought James Von Braun and an obsolete set of beliefs to the forefront of the news. Though white supremacy is rarely discussed today, a brief investigation via Facebook reveals that modern youth are not immune to hateful speech and bigotry that has led to recent incidents of domestic terrorism.

Mike Greco, a 31 year old man who grew up in Toronto, Ontario, has worked with various white pride groups throughout his life. Though white pride is different from white supremacy, Greco has encountered many racist young Americans through his work with such groups.

Greco was most involved with Heritage Front, a group based in Toronto that he said began as a white pride group. Greco left when the group changed leaders and, he said, began using anger toward nonwhites to recruit youth.

On his experience with young racists, Greco said, “I find with a lot of it it’s an excuse. It’s somewhere to point a finger because their life isn’t [going so well],” he said.

Greco said he did not try to change the minds of the racist youth with whom he worked, but left it to them to make their own decisions.

There is no shortage of Facebook groups dedicated to white supremacy, white power, and hating particular races. Some of these groups are started by young people who may be too young to fully understand the implications of their statements.

Robert, a 20-year-old male from Wayne Country, New York, wrote,“ I joined the group ‘I hate black people’ due to my feelings towards blacks and people of color.” He did not choose to elaborate when asked.

This Facebook group and others like it include both racist slurs, hateful messages toward members of certain races, and both angry and sarcastic responses from members of the groups being targeted.

Though online confrontations sometimes don’t surpass a handful of wall posts, these groups provide a forum for cruelty in which participants are not held accountable.

One group, entitled “white supremacy handicapped bowling,” was created by a 13 year old boy named Alex in Surrey, England. Though he said he created the group as a joke, Alex wrote, “I do believe that white people are better than other races.”

When asked how other people react to his views online, he wrote “Most blacks hate me, so I only know one,” and added, “every one else doesn’t care or likes it!”

However, the discussions in Alex’s Facebook group do not include racist comments. One girl who was part of the group said she did not remember joining, and was not racist.

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