Faith Goldy's Book Club: "The Turner Diaries" and Julius Evola

ARC has been paying a little more attention to Faith Goldy these days given what will likely be her futile, though certainly self-serving, mayoral candidacy that Doug Ford in a fit of pique seems determined to continue to disrupt ("law and order for thee, unless I'm the one who violates the law in which case screw you law!"). Ms. Goldy's recent efforts to both deny her past association with overt neo-Nazis and her own xenophobic and ultra-ethnic nationalist statements while at the same time dog whistling to these same groups that she's still one of them reminded me of a tweet she made almost exactly a years ago.

But before I get to that, some context.

Back in April, PressProgress published a story detailing Goldy making a book recommendation to her supporters:

One of Goldy’s recommended books – “For My Legionaries,” by Corneliu Codreanu – is described by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as one of “the canonical works of global fascism,” a text published in 1937 by the anti-Semitic leader of a murderous Romanian fascist group that advocated “the elimination of Jews.” 

“This one is a little bit edgier,” Goldy concedes.

Indeed it is:

Goldy claimed in the video that she hadn't read the entire book at the time she made the recommendation, but I imagine she could have read the table of contents and perhaps at least up to pg. 62:

When eventually confronted with the fact the author of the book she described as being "very, very, very, very spot on given a lot of what the movement is talking about right now” was the founder of Romanian fascism, she "disavowed" it claiming she had no idea it promoted fascism and antisemitism:

Well then, that certainly clears things up.... or something.

Goldy went on to write that it isn't illegal to read or recommend books and then seems to double-down on her support of the "themes" found in "My Legionaries":

"Their people" presumably doesn't include Jews....

Now no one suggested that it wasn't legal for her to "read" or "recommend" and book and in and of itself reading and recommending such a book might be perfectly reasonable. I for one have read and own books such as Hitler's "Mein Kampf" (I own two copies including a pre-WWII English translation), David Duke's "My Awakening", and much of the work of William Pierce (more on this in a moment). Hell, I even once subjected myself to David Lane's noxious "KD Rebel". I read these and other books to help me understand the psychology of the groups and individuals I've kept an eye on for now over 20 years and I would recommend that others interested in anti-racist activism to do the same. However given Ms. Goldy's association with the ideology and members of the far-right, I'm not necessarily willing to give her the benefit of the doubt:

• Faith Goldy Fired From The Rebel
• Faith Goldy Caught Promoting Neo-Nazi YouTube Channel

Which finally (because I'm long winded as hell) brings me to the point. 

On September 8, 2018 and prior to her recommendation of "My Legionaries" Ms. Goldy made another book recommendation:

Homophobe Bill Whatcott Charged Under Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code

Looks like Bill Whatcott is having some legal problems:

Whatcott provides more details on his own web forum regarding the charges:

The response from Whatcott's supporters was as to be expected:

February 2018 Bits and Bites: The Hypocrisy, Infighting, and Just Plain Dumb Edition

I think it is correct to acknowledge that humanity is a complicated lot rife with contradictions. We all have our blind spots where we have difficulty seeing that our words are not always reflected in our actions or behaviors. Many of us occasionally subscribe to the maxim, "do as I say and not as I do." It is all part of being a complicated human being trying to muddle through life before shuffling off our mortal coils.

But then there are times when the hypocrisy of some people is so pronounced, one can't help but be in awe.

ARC submits the following as current a case study for your consideration.

I first offer one Bill Whatcott, a man who for at least two decades been in the news in some form or another for his rejection of abortion rights, the LGBTQ community, and same-sex marriage. He's best known for his incredibly graphic and offensive propaganda that he distributes from door to door or at places such as university campuses as well as his frequent court appearances where he challenges efforts to keep him off the premises of public institutions:

During the last few years he also welcomed the support of white supremacist Paul Fromm, support that Whatcott has also reciprocated:

Like other religious right supporters, he's also a big supporter of Donald Trump:

I and others find it interesting that religious conservatives support a twice-divorced, thrice married man accused of engaging in extramarital affairs, sexual harassment and assault, and who has acquired at least a portion of his wealth through the gambling industry. Whatcott himself has been outspoken about his opposition to divorce, despite the fact that he too is twice divorced and thrice married:

Well it turns out that this particular post has aged especially poorly as Whatcott is actually now thrice divorced and now on his fourth wife:

This came as a surprise to many of Whatcott's followers:

But those friends of Bill Whatcott needn't worry because he has a perfectly fine explanation for his most recent divorce/remarriage.

He had grown tired of his third wife.

Paul Fromm to Speak Before Ontario MPPs

On Thursday, a committee studying Bill 163 (An Act to enact the Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, 2017 and to amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in relation to abortion services) will be meeting. A number of stakeholders will be appearing before committee members, including one familiar to the folks who read this blog:

A committee of MPPs has invited Canada's most infamous white supremacist to speak about access to abortion services: https://t.co/GUhKGtkIKk pic.twitter.com/uZvffYAOEl

— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) October 18, 2017

(Correction: "Invited" is an inaccurate verb, as committees only handpick who to hear from when there are more requests than spaces.)

— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) October 18, 2017

(Queen's Park committees aren't like City Hall, where they take anyone who signs up. You apply and then get asked to make a presentation.)

— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) October 18, 2017

"White supremacist," by the way, is generous, as the SPLC just outright calls him a "neo-Nazi": https://t.co/iucpKUjkFI

— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) October 18, 2017

Neo-Nazi would be an accurate description even based on what he finds funny:

Yeah, hilarious.

More importantly though are the people and ideologies whom he associates with:

Canadian Soldiers of Odin Break With Finland

I've been away on vacation (thanks George Soros ;) and only returned to Canada yesterday, but I thought this would be an appropriate time to mention that ARC and Rabble.ca are currently collaborating on a project:

We are partnering with the Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective for the next #stophateca roundup to focus on the Islamophobic organizing in Quebec. Please send contacts and any information you think would be useful in regard to digging into Islamophobia in Quebec to #stophateca or to toolkit@rabble.ca.

To be fair, Ms. Bhullar is being very kind in characterizing this is as a partnership, as Rabble is in my view doing most of the heavy lifting and has already put together a valuable resource that will grow over time. I would ask ARC's readers to closely follow Rabble and the ongoing project.

In the meantime, while I was away this happened:

Man charged after windows broken at main Ottawa mosque, Islam centreThe Ottawa CitizenMore from the Ottawa CitizenPublished on: April 14, 2017 | Last Updated: April 14, 2017 4:38 PM EDT 

Police have charged one man after Ottawa’s central mosque on Northwestern Avenue and the Islam Care Centre were hit by vandalism this week.....Investigators were able to confirm that windows were broken at both the mosque and care centre and then arrested the man. Police allege that the man assaulted one of the arresting officers. 

Shawn Le Guerrier, 27, has been charged with two counts of mischief and one count of assault police.

ARC received information about Le Guerrier which suggests that he subscribes to white nationalist beliefs and runs in a crowd that advocates violent confrontations with antifa:

Of further note, Le Guerrier is a member or supporter of the Ottawa chapter of the Soldiers of Odin:

I should further mention that this is actually the second time Le Guerrier has targeted the same mosque in as many weeks. Interesting that the "law abiding" SoO didn't give Le Guerrier the boot the first time.... unless they perhaps tacitly approved of the vandalism? And perhaps not coincidentally, the same mosque was also the target of an attempted arson.

This isn't of particular surprise to those of us who follow the SoO in Canada. Members of the SoO in both Ontario (at least those who have attended the anti-Muslim events in Toronto), Calgary, and British Columbia have become increasingly aggressive and confrontational and the level of anti-Muslim vitriol is increasingly hysterical and unhinged. ARC and others have reported on the large number of white supremacists who have joined or who are supporters of the Canadian organization, as well as their refusal to disavow the Finnish parent chapter in spite of the founder's overt ties to a violent neo-Nazi group and his (and others) numerous arrests for racially-based assaults. 

Or, at least the once refused to disavow Finland. Seems things have changed:

Thus far we haven't heard anything from Joel Angott, but at this point there seems to have been a coup which has ousted SoO National President and founder Angott and has resulted in convicted grow-op operator with what appears to be a recent domestic violence charge hanging over his head Bill Daniels becoming the new Grand Poobah.

A Closer Look At The WCAI Canada Chapter

Last week it was reported that a visiting Jordanian imam, Sheikh Muhammad bin Musa Al Nasr, conducted a sermon at the Dar Al-Arqam Mosque in Montreal in December 2016. Video of the sermon showed Musa Al Nasr calling for the death of Jews. Upon learning of the video, B'nai Brith Canada filed a complaint with the Montreal police's hate crime division.

The reaction to the video was swift. The sermon was condemned by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian organizations, municipal, provincial, and federal politicians, and most right-thinking Canadians.... the folks who post on Stormfront notwithstanding. The negative reaction to what seems to be a clear cut case of hate speech directed towards a religious minority is what we would expect in a civil society. In fact, it is what we would come to expect of a country who's political leaders, both in government and in opposition, unanimously passed a motion condemning antisemitism in 2015:

a) there has been, in the words of the Joint Statement issued following the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on January 22, 2015, “an alarming increase in Antisemitism worldwide,” including the firebombing of synagogues and community centres, the vandalizing of Jewish memorials and cemeteries, incendiary calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people, and anti-Jewish terror; 

b) this global anti-Semitism constitutes not only a threat to Jews but an assault on our shared democratic values and our common humanity; 

Therefore the House: 

a) declares its categorical condemnation of anti-Semitism; 

b) reaffirms the importance of the Ottawa Protocol on Combating anti-Semitism as a model for domestic and international implementation; 

c) reaffirms, in the words of the Ottawa Protocol, that, “Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, and saying so is wrong. But singling Israel out for selective condemnation and opprobrium – let alone denying its right to exist or seeking its destruction – is discriminatory and hateful, and not saying so is dishonest;” 

And the House further calls upon the government to: 

a) continue advancing the combating of anti-Semitism as a domestic and international priority; 

b) expand engagement with civil society, community groups, educators, and other levels of government to combat anti-Semitism and to promote respect, tolerance, and mutual understanding.

There was nothing at all controversial about this motion. And yet, a similar motion regarding Islamophobia that passed last week, well....

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should:  

(a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear;  

(b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and  

(c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could  

(i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada, while ensuring a community-centered focus with a holistic response through evidence-based policy-making,  

(ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and that the Committee should present its findings and recommendations to the House no later than 240 calendar days from the adoption of this motion, provided that in its report, the Committee should make recommendations that the government may use to better reflect the enshrined rights and freedoms in the Constitution Acts, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

.... lot's of people have lost their shit:

Demagogues such as Ms. Leitch as well as Canada's baby Breitbart, Ezra Levant's, "The Rebel" have been stoking the fears their base that this non-binding motion is merely the first step towards introducing shariah law into Canada. Some of these people have started protesting at mosques and have already organized two national protests, the first of which was less successful than the second (at least in the cities of Toronto and Calgary). Our reporting of the event's have brought us to the attention of the organizers who have a rather interesting take on this nearly decade-old blog:

That's right, we formed Anti-Racist Canada in November 2007 in anticipation of M-103 in 2017. We are crafty mofos, ain't we? George Soros is very forward thinking.

Which allows me to segue into the topic of the day:

WCAI, or Worldwide Coalition Against Islam, is an anti-Muslim Facebook group with over 65,000 members in Canada and internationally. The Canadian chapter alone has nearly 10,000 members at this point. Now, while only a handful of people seem to be particularly active on either page, these aren't numbers that we should discount, especially when it seems that some members of WCAI have decided to take their bigotry off social media and apply it to the real world:

Rebel Media Loses Lauren Southern. Oh, And Gavin McInnes Is An Antisemitic Dick Too

Actually McInnes isn't a fan of Palestinians specifically and Muslims in general either, but we're sort of getting ahead of ourselves here.

We've written about Ezra Levant a number of times here on the blog, as well The Rebel which he started a few years back after SunNews collapsed. The Rebel is Canada's alt-right answer to Breitbart and Levant, as Rebel Commander, has used it as a vehicle to attack left-wing protesters, stoke the fears of his readers and viewers about Muslims and refugees, and celebrating far right political figures in Canada and abroad. The Rebel Commander also had a number of subordinates as well who have made names for themselves in alt-right circles as well. Among the more popular were Lauren Southern and Gavin McInnes.

Well, at least until recently.

Andrew Benson Reappears With Interesting Friends

It seems that in addition to the Goudreau, who recently came to our attention after a lengthy absence, another character whom we had once been keeping close tabs on but whom we lost track of has reappeared on our radar:

Andrew Benson has been somewhat of a political chameleon over the years. He started out as a self-proclaimed Trotskyist....

.... followed by a lengthy stint as a bonehead:

The last time we heard from Benson, he had begun to style himself as a free market libertarian acolyte of Ayn Rand and Ron Paul, though his association with Richard Spencer's National Policy Institute certainly strongly suggested he retained his antisemitic and racist views:

“I am not a fan of political correctness,” said Andrew Benson, 28, who had traveled from Canada to attend. Wearing a black suit vest, red collared shirt and black cargo pants, he looked more like he’d come to his conclusions as part of a teenage rebellion. “I have always had an odd attraction to things that are taboo.”

No kidding?

It seems that Benson is still enamored with this particular brand of nationalism and like other members of the so-called "alt-right" (who are, at the core, neo-Nazis) is a supporter of Donald Trump:

Benson with Milo Yiannopoulos. Photo first posted on Benson's page July 2016.

We found Benson again quite by accident, but we immediately recognized him despite his Russified name as it now appears on Facebook: