By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – Dr. Pete Simi was the featured presenter for last month's Omaha Press Club Noon Forum.
Dr. Simi is an Associate Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at UNO. His talk focused on his new book, "American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate." Dr. Simi says the book provides a firsthand account of his experiences inside the neo-Nazi movement. He says the question that guides the research in the book is, "How do these groups survive in a world that is largely antagonistic to their perspective?" He says. "American Swastika focuses on what we call the hidden spaces of hate. These spaces are important because they are one of the principle mechanisms that allow extremist movements to persist in a largely hostile environment. These hidden spaces of hate are where extremists find each other. These are the back stages of radicalization Although the spaces we focus on do not always directly lead to violence, these spaces are, nonetheless, intricate parts of the radicalization process."
Dr. Simi's book "American Swastika" is available online and in bookstores.