White supremacist who inspired Dylann Roof calls Charleston ‘a preview of coming attractions’

[DonViejo]

SAM THIELMAN, THE GUARDIAN
28 JUN 2015 AT 08:51 ET

Dylann Roof refers to Harold Covington’s white separatist group, the Northwest Front, in his alleged manifesto. The rightwing sci-fi writer distances himself from the shooting, but his followers speculate if his work influenced Roof’s actions

One of the shadowy figures who appears to have influenced alleged Charleston killer Dylann Roof is Harold Covington, the founder of a white separatist movement and, within supremacist circles, an influential sci-fi author. Covington, the latest in a long line of rightwing sci-fi writers, has been linked to racist crimes in the past and this week called the massacre “a preview of coming attractions”.

The racist manifesto and photos apparently posted by Roof makes mention of the Northwest Front, created by Covington, a former member of the American Nazi party who traveled to South Africa and Rhodesia in order to agitate for white power. In the accompanying photos, Roof wore patches with Rhodesian and apartheid-era South African flags on them.

Covington, if you believe his website, runs a growing enclave of white supremacists near Seattle called the Northwest Front. The non-profit group is reflected in a series of sci-fi novels, authored by Covington, about a dystopian future in which a white nation is the only answer to US economic and racial woes.

American science fiction has long had a rightward tilt, from the contemporary strain of small-press sci-fi Tea Party fantasias swarming the Hugo Awards nominations all the way back to libertarian deity Ayn Rand. But Covington’s novels are a breed apart.

His followers see conspiracy in Covington’s connections to Roof. “And why did this young man have a flight jacket with flag patches from the old White ruled southern African countries, which is where HAC spent part of his early days in the Cause, hmmm,” wrote a commenter called Wingnut under a recent podcast on the Northwest website. “Wonder if they’ll ‘find’ a pile of NF-HAC stuff in this young man’s home? Then they can pull one of those ‘the devil made me do it’ numbers on HAC.”

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/white-supremacist-who-inspired-dylann-roof-calls-charleston-a-preview-of-coming-attractions/

[marym625]

1. sigh.

Just too unreal.

[underpants]

2. White supremacist sci-fi?

I was not aware of that.

[onehandle]

5. Don't be. I used to be into sci-fi conventions.

There was a 'subculture' of racists fantasizing about all kinds of crazy shit. There would always be at least one table in the dealer's room with a prominent Confederate flag, if not more at larger conventions.

Sometimes they would sell racist and Nazi 'fan-fiction' right on the table, but often it was hidden away. You would have to ask.

Invariably, there would also be stacks of flyers for gun shows, where these individuals would sell their 'materials' on other weekends.

Most sci-fi convention attendees tend to be more liberal. I always wondered why these scum were there.

I think they saw a chance to 'influence' young minds. I know of more than one of these guys who got arrested for molesting under age convention goers.

Also, I think they saw white culture as being 'threatened,' and fantasized about being its savior, gun in hand.

[underpants]

10. Fascinating

- I do a great Spock impersonation of that.

I ran this by my wife who loves sci-fi. She was totally unaware of it.

I would guess that it is spreading their horrible message as you said.

[Starry Messenger]

6. Have you heard of the Sad Puppies?

http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/bizarre-sexism-from-gamergate-and-co-at-the-hugo-awards.html/?a=viewall

Because what sci-fi needs is to be whiter and more male:

<snip>

What’s slowly been forming these last couple years is a movement within the voting for the Hugo Awards, making a radical claim that their favorite stories are being unfairly co-opted to promote social issues concerning women and minorities. The movement calls themselves the “Sad Puppies,” and their mission statement is…well. Something.

The book has a spaceship on the cover, but is it really going to be a story about space exploration and pioneering derring-do? Or is the story merely about racial prejudice and exploitation…A planet, framed by a galactic backdrop. Could it be an actual bona fide space opera? Heroes and princesses and laser blasters? No, wait. It’s about sexism and the oppression of women. Finally, a book with a painting of a person wearing a mechanized suit of armor! Holding a rifle! War story ahoy! Nope, wait. It’s actually about gay and transgender issues.

They soon developed their own spin-off sect loosely affiliated with the GamerGaters led by Vox Day, called the “Rabid Puppies,” arguing that they’re “striking back against the left-wing control freaks who have subjected science fiction to ideological control for two decade.” It’s unsettling at best, and what’s more upsetting is that the Puppies have managed to completely game the Hugo Awards to fit their twisted, backward agenda.

<snip>

[underpants]

9. No I had not

My sci-fi experience has been mostly of the mainstream - Trek, Wars, and Firefly. Reading Vonnegut and Douglas Adams when I was younger.

My wife loves sci-fi and reads it regularly. I asked her about this Covington character and supremacist liertue a she had never heard of either.

Thanks for the heads up.

[onehandle]

3. Gun apologists. Please tell us this man and his fans should have guns.

A legal gun owner isn't a mass killer until the moment they are.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. This is a big issue

How do we get rid of domestic terrorists? Do we arrest this author over threats of terrorism? Where do we draw the line? I think we could arrest him. They arrest protesters after FBI agent provocateurs pushed them to more violent plans than they had on their own. This guy is not being set up, he is doing it on his own.

I will have to rethink some of my guillotine statements based on this.

[Frustratedlady]

8. At the least, he's surely heard a "tap-tap-tapping" at his door by the suits.

Surely, he's been questioned. That statement of more to come should provoke enough curiosity to warrant a one to one discussion. Hopefully, he's been on their radar for a long, long time.

[on point]

7. At a minimum add them to terror watch list. Take away guns

[malaise]

11. Oops - didn't see your post

Rec