In the column “The Deplorable basket spills its wretch” published Aug. 16 in The Signal, Mr. Horton broadly disparages self-proclaimed white supremacists as lazy, stupid, uneducated or undereducated, pathetic, and cowardly.
Of course, many would-be fascists may in fact meet this description; however, it’s a dangerous underestimation to declare these things of all white supremacists.
Many in that camp are in fact intelligent (I do not say wise), crafty, shrewd, well-educated, strategically-minded, well-spoken, and respectable in appearance (though I don’t say one word of this in their praise, because such qualities are only as good or bad as the ends towards which they’re directed). Armed with such qualities, they are all the more dangerous.
The theme of this letter is “know thine enemy.” In this fight, it’s dangerously deceptive to paint the opposition as any less competent than they actually are.
Nathan Paul
Newhall