More hate groups in Montana than any other state

That one time a Nazi tried to pick me up

I was at an after party after finishing bartending.  It was a party with a few people I knew, some of the folks from the bar that night, and some new to me people.  So, I'm talking to this guy about tattoos, a new to me person, and he pulls up his shirt to show me his, and this is what I see

Needless to say, I abruptly ended that conversation and went home.  I didn't know who invited the low-life bottom-feeding Nazi to the party, but I was out.  The old saying, "If 10 people are at a table and a Nazi sits down, there are now 11 Nazis at that table", always rings in my head when I think of this moment.

Hate groups love  Big Sky Country

I did some research, and it turns out, per capita, if you're looking for a hate group, Montana is the place to be.  Our glorious state has more hate in it per capita than any other state in the union.

What hate groups are here

American Front, Proud Boys, Last Chance Patriots and Radix Journal make the top 4 from Southern Poverty Law Center, with 2 groups not making the map.  I also found Oath Keepers have a pretty strong foothold here in Montana.

If this has you disturbed, hold on to your pants.  This site doesn't name names, BUT it does tell you how many registered Oath Keepers are signed up in the state, 449 (they pay dues), how many are in elected office, 2, how many are in law enforcement, 2, and how many are in the military, 1.

My favorite part of the data leak was a Montana Sheriff who used his full name and profession when he paid his dues.  The only one dumb enough to do it. And in a sea of dumb, that's saying something.  Another I enjoy reading is the lawyer who decided to storm the capitol and commit sedition on January 6th was disbarred by the Montana Supreme Court in 2015.

What should keep you up at night are that there are law enforcement, military, first responders, doctors and nurses in these groups.  All people that can effect if you live or die in a vulnerable moment.

They all have recruiting sites

I looked on line, worried about losing my job doing so, to see if they were brazen enough to have web-sites.  They all do.  I will not be sharing them with you today.  If it's something you're interested in, I'll tell you what so many in these groups love to say to others when they argue their misinformed, racist, gross and generally gas lit opinions, "Do some research". It's easy to find links to hate.  I will give you this link to the Proud Boys so you can see what they really are.  Not some cherry picked words to make their bigotry, discrimination, misogyny and hate look inviting.

What does hate look like?

I didn't really want to help advertise their symbols for hate, so click here to get informed.

I almost didn't write this

I nearly didn't write this article.  I was and am a little nervous getting the attention of these groups.  Hate crimes happen here.  Yes, I'm white but that's actually going to make them hate me more and to make that even worse, I'm a woman with a big mouth and an even bigger platform.  All things that would make them want to kill me, rape me, or generally hurt me.  (Like calling into my job trying to get me fired.)

But in talking to my good friend, Nick Northern, this brings up the Paradox of Tolerance.  Basically,  The idea that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must retain the right to be intolerant of intolerance.

Plus, this liberal leaning moderate has guns and a daddy that made sure I could use them.  Honestly, what good do guns do if a group breaks into your home and terrorizes you when you're not prepared, but I have them none the less.  My safety is so much smaller than these terrorists getting a foot hold in this state.

Does this post make you mad at me

Good.  It's time to move you racist, bigoted, misogynistic terrorist.  Get the hell out of my state.