Let’s not forget that in our debates and arguments over the next few weeks about where to go from here.
by Gerald D. Martin
I am a retired teacher from Texas. Like everyone else who registered for the American Renaissance conference in Charlotte this year, I was frustrated, angry, and a bit demoralized when it was canceled only a few days before its start. But when I heard a few “die-hards” were organizing some kind of “shadow conference” in Charlotte anyway, I decided to become a die-hard myself and make the drive from Dallas. I had no idea whether it would be worthwhile.
It was! When I arrived at the “secret” location, I found myself in a beautiful, spacious, well appointed conference room that could easily hold more than 100 people. Coffee, tea, ice water, complimentary pens and note-pads—all the accouterments of a first-class event—were in the room for our use. I was greeted by the two organizers of this underground affair, humorously called “The American Dark Age Meetup,” Matt Parrott and Jaenelle Antas. Matt—creator of the white activist website, Hoosier Nation—and Jaenelle—owner and operator of Lighthouse Literature, an online bookstore of pro-white reading material—are part of the youth movement in white activism. Both are in their twenties. In fact, of the dozen or so people in the room when I arrived, I was by far the oldest, at 59. (Roughly 20 people were in the room for an hour or more during the course of the day.) With a couple of exceptions everyone else was in his (or her) twenties or thirties, with twenty-somethings the single largest age group. These young people were well dressed, well spoken, highly motivated, and brimming with optimism and energy. For an old fogey like me, they were a joy to behold! Just looking at them made me glad I had come.
Originally we had planned to watch the live feed from the speakers (who were at another, “undisclosed” location). But as most readers know, that didn’t work because of technical problems (though the speeches were recorded for later download or DVD purchase). In the meantime, Matt and several others at our location made presentations, starting with Matt himself.
Matt and the other speakers gave interesting talks that taught me things I hadn’t known. Veteran white activist, teacher, and political candidate, Paul Fromm (the only person in the room all day older than I) spoke about the relationship between higher IQs and democracy, asserting that the first is necessary for the second to work and predicting that the low average Egyptian IQ of around 67 will leave that country, after the present turmoil subsides, with pretty much the same type government it has today: authoritarian and corrupt.
Andrew Yeoman, the young, dynamic, and inspiring leader of the Bay Area National Anarchists (BANA), described the outreach program his organization makes to white youth and the white poor in the San Francisco area. (Yes! He came that far!) He also recounted some physical confrontations that occurred when his group was attacked by the same kinds of violent radical leftist thugs who have threatened the AR conferences in recent years. Andrew left no doubt that he and his fellow white activists more than held their own in those “altercations,” and if you saw him you would know why—he’s the model of a tough, physically fit, young white man who doesn’t get pushed around by left-wing bullies.
Richard Smith, author of The Religion of Macho: Racial Integration, the World Wide Crime Wave and the Left, gave a talk about the chief contention of his book, that black pathologies, including violent criminal behavior, drug addiction, illegitimacy, and welfare dependency, have had little-discussed but disastrous effects on white behavior around the world, causing whites to increase their participation in the same destructive behaviors. His thesis, intriguing and highly controversial, is nevertheless worthy of discussion. In a less PC world, Mr. Smith would be debating his ideas on Fox News and C-SAPN, instead of a “bunker” (albeit a luxurious one) hidden away in Charlotte.
Finally, the blogger and long-time AR supporter known as “jewamongyou” (aka, Reuben) recorded for Internet download a short, low-key explanation of the difference between resentment and hate. It was an eloquent and effective rebuttal to the charges we had heard all week from the Left that AR is a hate group. It would have made a wonderful two-minute segment on the Charlotte TV news.
We ended the day by rendezvousing at a popular bar and grill, toasting each other with some fine Carolina lager, and laughing and arguing over the events of the previous week, good and bad as they were. The next morning Matt, Andrew, and Reuben demonstrated on the highway outside the Sheraton (the hotel that had kicked AmRen into the street with virtually no notice), displaying placards reading, “CANNON: RACIST HYPOCRITE,” and “DO WHITES HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH?” I joined them for the last ten minutes before we said our goodbyes.
It is true that not everything at the “shadow conference” went as planned (or rather, hoped). The failure of the live feed from Jared Taylor and his speaker group was a disappointment. And yes, we were unable to meet the speakers. (And I’ve complained very loudly about that.) But that should not obscure the fact that—for what it was—our Dark Age Meetup was a success. I had a great time, met outstanding people, and plan to go to other conferences and events in the future.
Many have been piling on Jared Taylor and AR the last few days, I included. But despite my criticism, I continue to greatly admire the man and the incredible work he has done. No one has done as much as Jared Taylor has done in the last 20 years to rekindle race-consciousness among white people. Let’s not forget that in our debates and arguments over the next few weeks about where to go from here.