TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey officials say white children need to be educated on how to avoid recruitment into white supremacist groups.
According to the administration of Governor Phil Murphy, recruitment starts with efforts to enlist white children – often unknowingly – in normalizing hate.
“It is therefore critical that children – and especially the white children white supremacist violent extremists target for recruitment – know that jokes, memes, videos, and other online content that stereotype, demean, or scapegoat others is never acceptable, that they should tell a parent or trusted adult when they see it, and that they should not share it,” a new report by the state outlines.
One parent interviewed by the Washington Post described the white supremacist violent extremist content her sons encountered online.
“I saw the memes that came across my kids’ timelines, and once I started clicking on those and seeking this material out, then it became clear what was really happening,” she sa[id]. With each tap of a finger, the memes grew darker: Sexist and racist jokes (for instance, a looping video clip of a white boy demonstrating how to “get away with saying the n-word,” or memes referring to teen girls as “thots,” an acronym for “that ho over there”) led to more racist and dehumanizing propaganda, such as infographics falsely asserting that black people are inherently violent.”
According to the report, if a child encounters this content online, it’s important that responding adults stay calm and talk about it in a way that doesn’t elicit shame or defensiveness.
It is more productive to open up a dialogue to help them understand what they saw and why it’s harmful.
It is also helpful for adults to become familiar with the language and symbols white supremacist violent extremist recruiters are using so that they are equipped to spot its use among children. Some symbols – like the swastika or the Confederate flag – are obvious.
Some symbols – like the “OK” hand gesture or the cartoon figure Pepe the frog – started out as innocent but now have disturbing significance among white supremacist violent extremists.
(The “OK” hand gesture is used to signal “White Power,” and Pepe the Frog is featured in extremist memes.) , at the end of this report, is a resource guide intended to help parents, caregivers, educators, and community members understand possible signs of white supremacist radicalization and become familiar with white supremacist narratives, symbology, terminology, and groups so they can identify early warning signs of radicalization.
However, because white supremacists regularly adopt new symbols and memes, and often adopt seemingly innocuous symbols to convey white supremacist messages, even the most informed caregivers and educators may not be familiar with the full scope of white supremacist symbology. Thus, parents, caregivers, and educators should make a habit of asking young people the significance of the symbols they display and researching unfamiliar symbols and terms.