NI’s Scourge Of Hatred Re-emerges

In this Oct. 28, 2000, file photo, white supremacist Richard Butler, speaks through a megaphone at an Aryan Nations rally in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The Aryan Nations is long gone from northern Idaho, but its reputation lingers to the chagrin of locals. (AP Photo/Tom Davenport, File)

In a small house in Coeur d’Alene, 89-year-old Sid Rosen lives out his sunset years going through his life’s mementos. Tucked away in a box, the World War II veteran finds two small, dog-eared photographs of anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed on his Coeur d’Alene restaurant in 1980. The vandalism – which still angers Rosen, his son says – was one of the first in a series of incidents that led to creation of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. Today, as the nationally recognized group prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary, other racist, anti-Semitic graffiti and literature have been turning up not far from Rosen’s home/ Bill Morlin , Spokesman-Review. More here . And: History of Hate section here .

Question: How well do you know the history of the Aryan Nations in North Idaho and the long fight waged by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations against area racism?