Hate-Exhaustion

"They're very prevalent in a number of communities. They're very unpredictable. You don't know when they're going to lash out."
Barbara Perry, criminology professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

"We see the right-wing extremism movement rear its ugly head once in a while, but it just doesn't really gain the same traction as Islamic extremists."
Ryan Scrivens, Ph.D student,  Simon Fraser University, British Columbia

"One officer voiced his concern about websites that urged its audience to 'kill the Aboriginals, kill the Jews, kill the blacks, kill the gays'."
"[More concerning yet some far right groups have joined outlaw biker  gangs who] share similar subcultural characteristics, such as slang, language, dress and a propensity for violence."
Study by Barbara Perry and Ryan Scrivens

In undertaking their study which has been published in the journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Perry and Scrivens interviewed law enforcement agents, community activists and as well current and former members of hate groups to arrive at their conclusions. They looked through court records and media reports and ended up with a comprehensive view of the far-right movement in Canada.

About 100 right-wing extremist groups were identified through their  study, ranging from "three-man wrecking crews" to more populous groups of die-hard haters, active in recent years. They discovered that these groups are prevalent primarily in Quebec, western Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Some of their numbers have taken part in  acts of violence at random, others in targeted attacks.

Those targeted  are Muslims, Jews, people of colour, aboriginals and LGBTQ people.

One incident the researchers focused on was the fatal shooting of an Edmonton hate-crimes officer last year as he engaged in serving an arrest warrant on Norman Raddatz, suspected of anti-Semitic bullying of a family. The June 2014 Moncton, N.B. shooting deaths of three members of the RCMP by Justin Bourque was also examined in the study, where his social media trail was replete with messages pf pro-gun and anti-authority support.

"Right-wing extremist circles appear to be fragmented and primarily pose a threat to public order, and not to national security", advised a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service which does not view their presence as a high priority they must address.  Police agencies have put together special teams tasked with monitoring such groups to enable their response to hate crimes.

It is their presence online, however that helps them spread their message. Just as it does the Islamist jihadi movement.

There exists as well a white power music scenario where Quebec appears to focus on skinhead music while Alberta presents as a black metal hotbed.

The public imagines the extreme right to be the purview of tattooed, raging young white males who view a pluralist society as anathema, where their opportunities for advancement are strictured in deference to preferential treatment given to  visible minorities, lack of personal success and opportunity representing a 'reason' for their angry hatred.

The Canadian Armed Forces has been infiltrated by the presence of those who  espouse and exhibit racism, though a military spokesperson noted that racist behaviour is not tolerated within the military since "such attitudes are totally incompatible with the military ethos and with effective military service."

Conflict between  gangs is a common trope. Petty criminal gangs often view one another as competitors from whom their turf must be protected. Neo-Nazi groups also engage in conflict between themselves,  negotiating violently for status and power, according to the study. One security figure quoted by the study noted: "They hate so much and so many that they start to hate one another".

Some of the interviewees evidently left the impression that it was irritating and fatiguing to have to justify racist, homophobic or anti-Semitic propensities, leading to the conclusion that "hating" quite simply "was exhausting". Oh dear.