Black, Brown and extremist: Across the far-right spectrum, people of color are playing a more...

[DonViejo]

Black, Brown and extremist: Across the far-right spectrum, people of color are playing a more visible role

Hannah Allam, Razzan Nakhlawi 11 hrs ago

Brandon Rapolla is not who springs to mind as the face of the far right.

Rapolla’s brown skin, a reflection of his multiracial ancestry, is at odds with images of White guys in self-styled militias wearing camouflage in the woods. The militia stereotype is so entrenched, Rapolla said, that airline ticket agents have refused to believe him when he gives them a heads-up that he’s on a domestic terrorism watch list.

“This one lady — she was Asian — she said, ‘Darling, you don’t look like a domestic terrorist. It’s a mistake,’ ” Rapolla recalled. “I said, ‘Nope, I am. That’s what I’m labeled as.’ ”

Rapolla, a 46-year-old former Marine, has participated in four armed standoffs with the federal government, including the “Bundy Ranch” episode in 2014. He was active in two far-right factions — the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters — and co-founded the Pacific Patriots Network to boost cooperation. His trajectory, he said, shows how people of color are carving space in movements that are generalized as exclusively White in membership and racist in ideology.

Rapolla’s father has roots in China and Guam, while his mother is a mix of Scandinavian, Inuit, Mexican and Greek ancestry. None of that matters, he said, when he stands alongside fellow “patriots” who share his concerns about government overreach and Second Amendment rights.

more/NO PAYWALL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/black-brown-and-extremist-across-the-far-right-spectrum-people-of-color-play-a-more-visible-role/ar-BB1gNQsk

[abqtommy]

1. This is no surprise to those of us who know that fascists come in all skin colors. It's

human nature, unfortunately.