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Symbols and Cracking the Code of Hate in America

How Hate Stays Under the Radar and How to Recognize It

By James HowellPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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There are many “secret” codes of hate along with symbols in America. These are used to show other members they are a part of certain hate groups, without alerting the public. You can find these easy enough on the internet, as well as social media sites. 88, 1488, and HH are just some of these codes, but what do they mean? I will be discussing these and giving the meanings behind them as well as discussing symbols of hate in this essay.

  • 1488 is a combination of two hate slogans. The 14 stands for the 14-word slogan, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” The 88 is the 8th letter of the alphabet, which is H. So you have HH, which stands for Heil Hitler. You may see it written as 88 or HH. These numbers come in variations such as 14/88 and 8814.
  • 13: This is a symbol of the Aryan Circle. 1 and 3 are the first and third letters of the alphabet, a and c. You may also see this as "113%" for Aryan circle forever.
  • 511 is for a Portland gang of racists meaning E and K, for the European kindred.
  • AKIA: Acronym for "A Klansmen I am."
  • AYAK: "Are you a Klansmen?"
  • FGRN: "For God, race, and nation." This is a popular Klan slogan.
  • ORION: "Our race is our nation."
  • ROA: "Race over all."
  • SWP: "Supreme White Power."

This is by no means a comprehensive list; I have left off obvious ones like 311 and WP for the KKK, in the interest of time. There are more showing up every day, as white supremacists try to keep their talk in code.

Pepe the frog was once a beloved internet meme that has now been adopted by white supremacists and neo-Nazis. He is sometimes accompanied by the Confederate flag or a swastika.

The swastika was once a symbol of good luck by the Indian community, but was taken by Hitler to mean the genocide of the Jews in order to maintain “the master race.” It is still used by many neo-Nazis today, although some have moved away from it in order to become more mainstream. The Othala rune has become a more “PR friendly” replacement for the swastika.

An obvious one is the noose, which many white supremacists use due to its use against African Americans during lynchings.

There are also the SS bolts, which were used by Gestapo agents, Waffen SS soldiers, and concentration camp guards during the Holocaust and World War Two. A lot of neo-Nazis and Nazi sympathizers use this symbol.

There are also many variations of Celtic crosses and Nordic runes that are used by white supremacists. This is due to the European descent of the symbols, and the ferocity with which the Nordic Vikings fought with.

Twitter is a really popular place for white supremacists and neo-Nazis. If you look for some of the codes I have stated earlier, along with phrases like “white lives matter” and master race, you will eventually find some of these people on there. They prefer Twitter due to their more lax regulations on hate speech, although Twitter is making an effort to stop hate speech on their platform.

You may also see some of these symbols and codes in the form of insignias, tattoos, and hand signs as well. As I said, this is not a complete list, as there are over 900 known hate groups in America, and smaller ones flying under the radar. You can visit the website of the Anti-defamation league as well as the southern poverty law center for an even more comprehensive list of hate group symbols as well as a map of hate group names and locations.

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About the Creator

James Howell

Father, activist, man in black... He/Him

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