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5 February 2012 A Retired Teacher’s Courageous Crusade: Tackling Neo-Nazi Hate

 Irmela Mensah-Schramm has walked every day for 26 years to demolish Neo-Nazi endorsements with spray paint, a scraper, nail polish remover, and a camera for her own documentation. Every day Irmela works on removing stickers and swastikas from bus stops, telephone poles, and anywhere else she can find them. She is a firm believer in the fight against neo-Nazis and will work until the day she dies in order to create peace. Even though, removing a sticker from a window or spray painting over a swastika seems small an insignificant, she believes these are the steps that need to be taken to undermine neo-Nazi power. Every time she finds a sticker or sign, she firsts takes a picture of it and adds it to her scrapbook which she always carries with her. While Irmela fights the neo-Nazis, there have been many instances where people have been murdered due to ethnicity. For Example, two males, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt, along with their 36-year old female accomplice, Beate Zschaepe, formed the National Socialist Union (NSU). They were believed to kill nine small business owners of Turkish and Greek decent between the years 2000 and 2006, also while murdering a policeman in 2007. The group was first found after a bank robbery which lead to jail time and all three group members committing suicide while in jail. The news shocked the German government and they finally opened their eyes to violent groups and neo-Nazi protests that were becoming more and more of a threat. Also, the government in German has estimated that there are around 9,500 violent neo-Nazis still active in Germany. All of this news has not stopped Irmela, in fact, it has made her more passionate about her work and she continues without fear.
 * Summary: **

 The article ties directly into both what is being discussed in class and what has been discussed in class over the past few weeks. The German government was not paying very close attention to neo-Nazi rallies and gatherings because they believed they were non-violent and not threatening. The gatherings in the past had not given them reason to have to worry about potential outbreaks and dangerous events. But, in order for the members of the government to open their eyes to what was really going on, a tragic incident had to occur. This incident would include the multiple assassinations of Turkish and Greek business owners along with a police officer. Once the crimes were connected, German government realized that neo-Nazi groups may be more to handle then what they had assumed.  This relates to class discussions and lessons in many ways. Recently discussed were the many different problems in America including workers rights, equality, and the protection of the wildlife in the western part of the country. Going back to workers rights; the Triangle Shirtwaist fire was a horrific happening that occurred because requests for laws to pass that would have potential prevented many deaths, were ignored by the American government because, at that time, it was not prevalent or important enough to have the main focus of the government. They had bigger and better things to worry about. Also, nothing had really gone wrong that would force them to change the laws until the fire broke out and many workers lost their lives. After the fire occurred, quick action was taken in order to have more incidences like this prevented. Many laws and requirements were changed that created a safer environment for the workers. The only major problem with this is, the factory owner that had locked the doors, which caused the exit to be impossible to access, was only reprimanded and continued to lock the doors of his next factory. The German government has started to take a closer look at neo-Nazi rallies and gatherings in order to keep them under control and not let things become violent. But, in order for this to happen, innocent people had to lose their lives.
 * Relevance: **

 The article highlighted a main, and continuously growing, problem throughout Germany. The government has finally realized that something needed to be done to prevent innocent people losing their lives, and rallies becoming violent. Invisible to the government, but witnessed by many, the neo-Nazi supporters parades and festivities would often become violent and would strike fear into the hearts of those who watched. Irmela’s small steps in fighting neo-Nazi supporters have a crucial role in the government’s action. As a country, America can learn from Irmela and her actions. She, even though she is one person removing small signs, stickers, and swastikas from places around the city, has a major impact for the community around her. She uses her scrapbook of stickers and slogans as a conversation starter for her local youth and anyone who has the guts to ask her about what’s inside. If something needs to be changed in America, the citizens must rise up, one by one, and stand up for what they believe in and what they believe is right, if they want change in the nation and in government. They must, as a whole body of people, bring it to the politicians eyes and make them realize that something, whatever the topic may be, needs to be considered.
 * Evaluation: **

1.) Is what Irmela doing every day of her life actually worthwhile? Why or why not? 2.) How should the German government handle the neo-Nazi outburst? 3.) Is there a change that a racist group, like the KKK, is secretly rising up in America? 4.) Should Irmela receive some assistance or protection while continuing her venture through Germany looking for different items to remove? 5.) Is the American government paying attention to our individual racist groups? 6.) What is a way to bring a problem to the government’s eye without a violent or tragic incident occurring? 7.) If more people in Germany would follow in Irmela’s footsteps, would the neo-Nazi situation be taken care of at a faster rate? <span style="font-family: "times new roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">8.) Since the group hanged themselves in jail, there has been little to no more investigation on the mini neo-Nazi group. Is this morally right?
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<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Eckardt, Andy, and NBC News. "World Blog - A retired teacher's courageous crusade: Tackling neo-Nazi hate." //World Blog//. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2012. [].

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">RE-DO <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Mississippi teen gets two life sentences after pleading guilty to hate crime

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">In the state of Mississippi, a Hines County Circuit Judge, Jeff Weill Sr. had these harsh words to say to Deryl Dedmon; "Your prejudice has brought shame upon you and placed a great stain on the state of Mississippi. Whatever excuse you may offer for what you have done, forget that. There's no excuse that you can offer for the family of Mr. Anderson or to your fellow Mississippians who have to try to reconcile the horrible damage you have caused." Deryl Dedmon had pleaded guilty to murder and a hate crime. The prosecutors told how Dedmon admitted that he and a gang of white teens had been partying when he suggested that the group find a black man to harass. The group went to the city of Jackson because of its majority-black population. Dedmon later bragged that he ran over Anderson using a racial slur to describe him. A camera used for hotel surveillance captured the horrible act on film. It shows a green Ford truck back up to the parking lot and then lunging forward. The victim’s shirt is lit up by the headlights before he disappears under the truck. Prosecutors said Dedmon and others had targeted blacks for harassment before, usually homeless or drunk people who weren't likely to report it to police. Dedmon was indicted on charges of capital murder which in Mississippi carries a sentence of death or life in prison. The Anderson family asked the prosecutor not to pursue the death penalty because they were opposed to it. They have however filed wrongful death lawsuits against seven other teens, two females included, who were allegedly in the truck at the time. Since the FBI had been investigating the case they too can file federal charges against Dedmon.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Summary: **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">The victim’s sister, Barbara Anderson Young, addressed the court saying that the Anderson family, are praying for racial reconciliation not just in Mississippi but all over this land and country. Dedmon told the family that he wasn’t raised the way he acted that night, and is now a changed man, he is a godly man. He asked them for their forgiveness. Judge Weill spoke in court about the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers who were murdered and buried in an earthen dam in a rural area in what became known as "Mississippi Burning." He said that the hard work that has been done to move the state forward from that incident has been strained by Dedmon. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Wikipedia defines racism as the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. Unfortunately, in the US, racism has been a cultural issue throughout history and continues to be evident today. We have learned how in the 1880s Reconstruction ended in the U.S. South. States in what was once the Confederacy began to enact legislation stripping black citizens of the right to vote, ejecting black office holders, and forcing segregated public accommodations and public transportation. These acts of excluding black Americans from the public were viewed as a protection of the values and culture of Southern life. It wasn’t until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed that public segregation ended. We have talked in class how in 1942 the United States began the forcible internment of Japanese nationals, more than half of whom were American citizens. The "War Relocation Camps" were justified as a protective measure for American interests in the wake of Peal Harbor. In 1945 the internment camps were closed and in 1948 reparations were made to many of the survivors. Our nation has acted wrongly toward groups with different human traits only to learn later just how unfair and unjust we had been. Dedmon acted horribly against a black man for whom our courts today view as a hate crime. This crime is now punishable by life sentences and in some states death. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">**Evaluation:** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;"> Our nation has made strides in having equality for everyone and having people viewed as equal no matter what the color of their skin, what religion they practice, or what nationality they are. We have road left to travel however. In 2008 we elected our first black president. He was born to a white mother and a black man from Kenya. He was raised in an American state with a large Japanese-American population. This man then selected a catholic running mate. As president he has attempted to pass health care for all. It is because of people like him, like the slaves, the abolitionists, and the suffragettes that our nation has changed some of our cultural beliefs over the years. As we can see by this article and by the acts of the teens involved in this crime that we continue to have work to do.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Relevance: **
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Questions: **


 * 1) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Dedmon has been sentenced to two life sentences in the state of Mississippi; will the federal government still attempt to charge him?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">What sentences will be issued to the other teens involved in the crime?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">Our culture here in the US has always been one with some amount of racism, can we ever be completely free of this?
 * 4) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">If Dedmon truly was raised in a home free of racism, where then does this extreme hatred come from?

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">"Can We? A Brief History of American Racism | The Nation." //The Nation//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.thenation.com/blog/can-we-brief-history-american-racism>.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">"Mississippi Teen Gets Two Life Sentences After Pleading Guilty To Hate Crime | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/22/mississippi-teen-gets-two-life-sentences-after-pleading-guilty-to-hate-crime/>.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16px;">"Racism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism>.