Sorry to hear that you are the neo-Nazi flavor-of-the-month, Sarah. They can engage in some really twisted behavior as a means of intimidating people they consider to be enemies. But remember - the light of truth makes the sick bstards scurry like cockroaches. Hold your head high and don't let a few demented SOBs get you down. I went through something similar in late 2005 and early 2006, with threatening emails, death threats, and sick posts at Overthrow. I would recommend retaining an attorney and documenting every shred of evidence. Nothing stops the harassment like a legitimate threat of legal action. Michael Brooks

that was some scary reading Sarah. I'm sorry that people are treating you this way. It's too bad that some people have nothing better to do than make up a fake society and ( this one surprised me ) assign everyone ranks and try to pretend they are fighting for us. People like that remind me to lock my door at night.

Sarah,

That really sucks. Those sort of words have so much power. They trigger such horrible thoughts that is a sort of a weapon. Sometimes I find myself getting wrapped up in fear. Recently I imagine things like the Nazis targeting my family- beating up my partner, harrassing my daughter, or showing up at my house. Or worse things. What helps me (though maybe its cheesy) is imagining myself as sort of a hero in the story. I think about this thing that Kevin (EGYHOP volunteer) said: that we as Americans need to reinvent heroism. We need to imagine a kind of hero that we can be. So I think of myself as a hero standing up for justice, and love, and the earth. (You can think of whatever your hero would stand up for-its probably stuff you already do.)

And I realize, wow. You don't have to be anyone pure or finished-up to be a hero. You just have to invent in your head an idea of what you think would be heroic and then do it. It really works, because if you think about it- heroism almost always has to do with being courageous, and courage is simply not being stopped by fear. So then your fear becomes like an opportunity to be heroic. Its fun.

Some great things have come out of this little thought process. Like for a while I was feeling scared about the FBI surveillence and their targeting of activists in town. I would imagine being watched, people I know getting arrested, or me getting unjustly arrested, or them murdering people and making it look like an accident, or whatever. I was scared to talk to anyone about this, because I was afraid of the FBI. I felt paralyzed. I had nightmares about a police state.I was basically peeing my pants.

And then I sort of conjured up a hero, and I realized that my hero would wear a t-shirt around town that said: "FBI:Survey This. " With a "one-finger salute" on it. So now I'm going to make that t-shirt. (I just hope they make note of it in my file.)

Most recently I've been e-mailing the NSM, politely but persistantly asking them to add me to their list of "NSM haters". This was something I was and still am afraid to do. So then I think, "Wow. I'd be so scared to do that. Oh, wait--I did. That is so cool." Anyway, that's what I do.

Another thing that inspired me was at the event tonight, a guy in the movie had Nazis throw a brick through his children's bedroom window. He was talking about how horrible it was to realize he couldn't protect his family. He was a doctor- I imagine someone very accustomed to having power. He said, "I realized that I could not protect my family. I had to let my community protect my family." And I think that is a beautiful thought. That is a really beautiful thing to imagine how many people that you don't even know, Sarah, are protecting you right now.

-Jade

Jade - you WROC.

Sarah - so do you. But I'd spell it Rock, since the other spelling is an inside joke.

I'm glad the Nazis came to town for one reason. I got to meet Sarah.