What is it about Idaho in particular that appeals so much to neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists that they all keep moving out there?
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I grew up in boise and this is hyperbole. At best, the panhandle (where nobody lives) has a nazi problem, not the whole state. People harping on this sound just like the conservatives who think Chicago is a lawless hell hole.
Ruby Ridge was a huge national story that popularized the ‘anti government’ movement.
Yea, but the Weavers moved to Idaho because of the right-wing Christian culture of the region. They were ‘end of the world’ type conspiracy people and moved to Ruby Ridge to live like settlers away from the Government.
It’s ironic that the Government was waiting for them in Idaho.
IDK but unfun fact: Anytime anyone wants to talk shit about Chicago, you can point to Boise as one of the dozens of American cities with a higher violent crime rate.
The right will just blame the Democratic mayor, and completely ignore the role of their state’s GOP governor and legislature.
I actually hate Chicago suburbs because of the regressive property tax in Illinois. All schools are funded by local property taxes. That means that people in lower wage areas have to pay a much higher percentage of their income in taxes overall. It also means that rich suburbs get well funded schools while avoiding their own fair share. Illinois also has a regressive flat income tax, also benefiting rich people.
Back in the 80s and 90s North Idaho was home to the Aryan Nations (which lost their compound in a very satisfying way, well worth the google)
That attracted a shit load of mouth breathing fucknutz to North Idaho, when they lost their compound most of said fucknutz stayed. Which also sucks because North Idaho may be the most beautiful area in all of the USA.
Fast forward to now and a concentrated effort from the 90s on to turn Idaho Red, you have MAGA ass-hat conservatives moving here because they are giant snowflakes and think that Idaho is the greatest place on earth. Which is also funny because the only thing the racists here hate more than minorities and accepting the trust about their sexuality are people from out of state.
Boise is usually quite nice though
Aryan Nations (which lost their compound in a very satisfying way, well worth the google)
That was a wild read. Except for the circumstances that led up to it, it was very gratifying how they lost it and who they lost it to.
Butler, who was an admirer of Adolf Hitler and Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy
It’s always nice when you don’t have to feel mixed emotions about someone
I have loved watching the shithead conservative Californians moving to the Boonies and getting pissed nobody wants them there, because they’re from California lol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Nations
Aryan Nations was a North American neo-Nazi[1] and white supremacist[2] hate group that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake.
Probably some lasting effect from that.
Starting in 1981, Butler organized yearly gatherings of white supremacists at his compound in Idaho which he termed the “Aryan Nations World Congress.” At his first conference, Butler called for the division of the United States into racial mini-states, including a white ethnostate in the Pacific Northwest. He said that he had a black ally in the plan, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam.[3] At the 1983 Aryan Nations World Congress, Louis Beam and other leaders in the white power movement declared war on the U.S. government.[4]
This is my simple history as some who never lived there but has a degree in history.
In the 1800s, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were part of the Oregon territory. In the middle of that century, white settlers began to move in and they hated slavery and didn’t want it but they hated free black people even more than slaves. They eventually passed a few laws that banned “negroes” and “mullatos”. The area also had a large influx of religious fundamentalist and separatists in its early history.Those laws were eventually repealed but created the majority white population of that area.
The early/mid 20th century saw other issues like the KKK but those were minor compared to what comes later. Cut to the 1970s and the Aryan Nations and other white nationalist groups began to move there. Those groups grew and encouraged more like minded racists to move there in hopes of setting up a whites only homeland.
It’s been a haven for the far-right since the 1980s.
Sort of like New Hampshire has been for libertarian types.
It’s simple that some group decided to move there and was like ‘hey come live here with us if you believe what we believe’.
Then Ruby Ridge happened in '92 and made it a national headline.
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear is a great story about those libertarians that flocked to NH
They like potatoes with lead.
This comment has been fact checked by a real American patriot 🇺🇸✅Wow i didn’t know that IDAHO was the neo nazi capital of the US. I suspect it has something to do with the low population and large rural areas.
Cheap land to run the cult and not a lot of eyes watching what is happening. Add to that understaffed and under equipped local law enforcement. Finally lots of white peoples.
We didn’t ban their ideology from festering like civilized countries did after WW2
Bacause, you people haven’t killed enough, i supposed
I feel like the answer’s in your question…
