In the "AM Hucks" thread today about the racist incident at Hayden Lake, Larry Spencer comments that the best way to deal with racists is to ignore them. According to Spencer's theory, the local racists are seeking publicity and the region can hurt them most by denying them that.

Spencer's philosophy was prevalent among community leaders and business owners for much of the 1980s and early 1990s -- the period of greatest growth and influence for the Aryan Nations. Many local residents felt that Richard Butler and his gangsters would go away, if they were denied the media spotlight. Many were upset by the role the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and this newspaper played as they kept a spotlight trained on Butler, the Aryan Nations, and the steady stream of racist criminals attracted to Butler's Hayden Lake compound.

The late undersheriff Larry Broadbent made a profound statement to a private meeting of chamber types in the 1980s, when community support for human rights hung in the balance. He was asked what would happen if the community and the media simply ignored the Aryans and the task force wasn't around to resist them. Instead of 60 Aryans, Broadbent said, there would be 600. In the end, the passive resistance approach embraced by the task force won the day.

You never should ignore racism, no matter how small the incident. Nor should the media.

DFO

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