In It Together: A Conversation About Race Hatred Ought Never Be A Child’S Birthright

The intended targets of hatred are not always its only victims. Bystanders often get drenched by the fetid backwash.

The two boys pictured at right, for example. They look about 5 and 8 in this photo, taken during a 1986 cross-burning ritual at the Aryan Nations compound north of Hayden Lake, Idaho.

They weren’t born with hands raised in Hitlerian salute. Someone - parents and adult acquaintances, most likely - taught them the gesture. Judging by the puzzled, tentative looks on their faces, maybe the baptism by bigotry wasn’t quite complete - but it was well under way.

That was 12 years ago, however. What’s become of these lads? Where are they? What attitudes have solidified? What values do they embrace?

We can only guess. But they, like James Byrd Jr., the disabled black man dragged to his death this month in Jasper, Texas, are victims of hate - even if they carry its marks on the inside, out of sight. It’s their souls, not their bodies, that are scarred and mangled.

We have to wonder what message, if any, they have this Father’s Day for the dad or dads who sought to indoctrinate them with twisted, racist beliefs. And we wonder, too, how they will raise their own children when and if they embark on fatherhood in the next few years. The message here, sadly, is that no, families aren’t the only source of values for children nor even in some cases the best. Sometimes, it’s up to a community - dare we say a village? - to step in. Clearly, North Idaho and Eastern Washington are blessed with abundant resources for that purpose. For a few inspiring examples, take a look at today’s Perspective pages and read the comments written by some of the North Idaho teenagers who attended a seminar on racism May 28.

“The younger we start teaching kids, the sooner we will be able to stop racist attitudes from blooming,” wrote Amber Hill, a student at Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene.

Implicit in Hill’s insightful words is an important recognition: The threat is ongoing so the response to it must be ongoing as well. The concern won’t end when the parade Richard Butler and his Aryan Nations followers plan to hold in downtown Coeur d’Alene on July 18 is over. It will last in North Idaho, in Eastern Washington - anywhere outsiders like Butler can import their distorted views and contaminate the minds of their children while tarnishing the concept of fatherhood.

Best wishes today to all the strong-willed fathers and other decent citizens who won’t let that happen.