American History X
American History X
“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil” was a wise phase once uttered by Hannah Arendt. I love this quote because is perfectly describes the two boys from “American History X,” Danny and Derek. These two boys have seen and done it all when it comes to hate groups, as both were members of a neo-nazi hate group. Neo- Nazi hate groups use authoritarian, scapegoat, normative, and exploitation theories to justify their hate, discrimination, and torture of anyone who isn't a part of the “supreme race,” or white. Boy Danny and Derek end up in this life from an early age.
Parents are one of the biggest, if not the biggest influence on a child's life. When Danny and Derek were both relatively young they looked up to their father, thought of him as the “ideal” man. However their father was a racist, influencing almost every thought the boys had. At family dinner when talking about about a black school teacher their father said, “It's nigger bullshit,” and warned Derek not to buy into the equality teachings. Because Danny and Derek both looked up to their dad so much, this would be and example of the exploitation theory. Exploitation theory is when one societal group, in this case whites, use hostility to keep their position and power intact. This really come into play after Danny and Derek's father was murdered and Derek believes it was a race related killing.
Right after their father died, Derek joined a neo-nazi hate group known as the DOC(Disciples of Christ). Being extreme believers in the white supremacy movement, the DOC acted out with violence and extreme hatred toward any other race, especially blacks. Derek, being a high ranking member, murdered 2 black men for the cause. He served three years for the murders, which impacted his whole family tremendously.
At the beginning of Derek's sentence he did not want any visitors, claiming it would be to hard to see his
“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil” was a wise phase once uttered by Hannah Arendt. I love this quote because is perfectly describes the two boys from “American History X,” Danny and Derek. These two boys have seen and done it all when it comes to hate groups, as both were members of a neo-nazi hate group. Neo- Nazi hate groups use authoritarian, scapegoat, normative, and exploitation theories to justify their hate, discrimination, and torture of anyone who isn't a part of the “supreme race,” or white. Boy Danny and Derek end up in this life from an early age.
Parents are one of the biggest, if not the biggest influence on a child's life. When Danny and Derek were both relatively young they looked up to their father, thought of him as the “ideal” man. However their father was a racist, influencing almost every thought the boys had. At family dinner when talking about about a black school teacher their father said, “It's nigger bullshit,” and warned Derek not to buy into the equality teachings. Because Danny and Derek both looked up to their dad so much, this would be and example of the exploitation theory. Exploitation theory is when one societal group, in this case whites, use hostility to keep their position and power intact. This really come into play after Danny and Derek's father was murdered and Derek believes it was a race related killing.
Right after their father died, Derek joined a neo-nazi hate group known as the DOC(Disciples of Christ). Being extreme believers in the white supremacy movement, the DOC acted out with violence and extreme hatred toward any other race, especially blacks. Derek, being a high ranking member, murdered 2 black men for the cause. He served three years for the murders, which impacted his whole family tremendously.
At the beginning of Derek's sentence he did not want any visitors, claiming it would be to hard to see his