Hate Crimes: They can happen anywhere

  • Published
  • By By Kathy E. Paine
  • Tinker Air Force Base Public Affairs
It can happen anywhere. A hateful act suddenly poisons the air. At Tinker, members of the workforce face a number of challenges that include ensuring safety and trying to prevent the situations from escalating.
   "In the past, members of hate groups have approached military members of all branches of the armed forces because of the training those members have received with weapons, tactics and explosives," said AFOSI Det 114, Special Agent in Charge Jack Angelo.
   "Such knowledge has been used to further illegal activities," he added. If a military member or civilian believe they are being pursued to share such information, they should contact OSI immediately."
   As painful and disruptive as a hateful act is, a bias incident does not define your character unless you allow it to do so.
   Bias incidents can be described as acts directed against people or property that are motivated by prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, social affiliation, ability or appearance.
   These include hate crimes ranging from violent assault and harassment to vandalism and graffiti. Biased incidents also include hate speech, hate literature, and derogatory language and imagery in all media.
   In Oklahoma, there are 11 cities that have known organized hate groups. When bias-motivated incidents occur, many discover they have not planned ahead. Currently, there are plans in place for responding to fires, hazardous weather, weapons possession, fights, medical emergencies and other situations that call for quick assessment and decisive action, but not for bias-motivated incidents.
   As for what members of the workforce here at Tinker can do if they encounter one of these hate groups, they are advised to report the information to security forces at 734-2000 or OSI at 734-7822.
   As someone once said, "People are not born to hate, they are taught." Therefore, it is up to each individual to ensure they don't teach others to hate, especially the future leaders of America - our youth. 
    Hate Groups in Oklahoma
City                                        Chapter Group
Atoka                                     Brotherhood of Klan's Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Bixby                                      Aryan Nations - League of the South Neo-Nazi/Confederate
Cement                                 Brotherhood of Klan's Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Coalgate                               Brotherhood of Klan's Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Hinton                                    Brotherhood of Klan's Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Lawton                                   White Revolution Neo-Nazi
Moyers                                   Brotherhood of Klan's Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Muskogee                             Artisan Publishers Christian Identity
Oklahoma City                     National Socialist Movement - NSM Neo-Nazi
Shawnee                               Bayou Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan
Tulsa                                      American National Socialist Worker's Party Neo-Nazi
                                                European-American Unity & Rights Org. White Nationalist
                                                Nation of Islam Black Separatist
                                                National Socialist Freedom Movement Neo-Nazi 
                                                National Socialist Movement - NSM Neo-Nazi