Brotherhood of Hate 2000
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by New York Times Television
Directed by Pamela Yates
VHS, color, 52 min.
High School - Adult
Psychology, Sociology, Popular Culture
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Gerald Notaro, University Librarian, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, St. PetersburgBrotherhood of Hate chronicles one specific White Power crime, but the fact so many people knew and did nothing, and that the perpetrators lived and traveled the underground so easily, is the real message of the video.
The NeoNazis of America movement is no secret. Still, their shouts of "Six million more" shock. According to interviews from neighbors, teachers, and friends, Chevie Kehoe was bright, creative, polite, and even charismatic as a youngster. His father doesn't care for the liberal leanings of the public school system, so he homeschools his children. There they learn the ways of white supremacy, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and the Covenant Christians. These Christians claim to be direct descendents of God's promise to Abraham. How they reconcile their hate for Jews while proclaiming to be part of that lineage is typical of their logic. Chevie joins the Aryan Peoples Republic, whose members thrive in the rural NorthWest, buying, selling, and plotting their paramilitary ways from gun show to gun show. Chevie and his followers justify the murder of an entire family who had befriended them because of supposed Jewish blood. It isn't until years later, when they sell weapons from the murdered household, that they become suspects.
Brotherhood of Hate does a good job of creating drama through the narrative, keeping the viewers both shocked and intrigued. A fine addition to any library collection.