There is a new student organization on campus which is making waves this week. The group is part of a national organization called Youth for Western Civilization. This group, which bills itself as “America’s Right Wing Youth Movement” is bringing controversial former congressman and anti-immigrant activist Tom Tancredo to speak at UNC today (Bingham 103, 6:30 PM).
On their website, YWC claims to be a group dedicated to preserving western culture on college campuses. They argue that “the cultural, political, and especially academic elites in this country hate the West and seek to destroy its identity and freedoms” and as a result “we do not believe it is worth conserving and adopt a revolutionary mindset towards the status quo. The existing power structure must be overthrown.”
YWC says they are not conservative, for they do not want to conserve the existing power structure. Rather, they say that they “are a right wing movement that seeks fundamental change in our society.” They do not concern themselves with issues such as taxes, the economy or foreign policy. Instead, they maintain that “the leftist assault on the West must be repulsed on the firm grounds of identity.” These politics of identity in practice translates into strong anti-immigrant sentiment (both legal and illegal). Indeed, all speakers (Tancredo and Bay Buchanan) that YWC has brought to UNC have been speaking out against allowing Hispanic immigration into the United States.
However, a closer look at YWC reveals more sinister leanings.
The national Vice President of YWC is Marcus Epstein, who is a regular contributor to VDare.com. VDare.com is a racist anti-immigrant blog which has criticed the US government for “encouraging the garbage of Africa to come here” and argues that Africans are on average mentally retarded. (Ed. Note: Previous version incorrectly identified Epstein as a VDare.com editor)
National YWC president Kevin DeAnna has told Carolina Review that Epstein is not the vice president of YWC, but according to the Vanderbilt Orbis, Epstein is in fact the vice president of the organization. Epstein identifies himself as the vice president of YWC while writing for The American Cause. According to Epstein, he is a close personal friend of Kevin DeAnna.
On their website, the YWC states that they want to “Create a social movement on campus where a right wing subculture — similar to the left wing subculture that currently exists — will provide a healthy alternative to a poisonous and bigoted left wing campus climate.” Their goals:
Initially, we would like to set up as many active campus chapters as possible that will host events such as speakers, debates, and protests.
In the medium term, we want these groups to take over student governments, defend against left wing organizations and create new right wing groups. We also want to change the social atmosphere of the school, with YWC becoming the focus of social life at the school as well as political activism.
In other words, YWC wants to become the right wing version of Students for a Democratic Society.
Given YWC’s stated goals and associations, it is surprising to know that their faculty sponsor at UNC has not even read the organization’s national charter. Professor Clemens says that he does not agree with everything that they told him they stood for, but that he sponsored the group to foster “a diversity of opinion.”
Riley Matheson, the president of the UNC chapter of YWC, has interned with Epstein. We have not heard Matheson himself say anything explicitly racist, but his association with Epstein is troubling. YWC’s national leadership, especially Epstein, are clearly associated with racist organizations. Considering this, as well as their penchant for revolutionary rhetoric, YWC’s intentions are suspect.
YWC’s leadership insist that their group is not racist. But because of the reasons for suspicion outline in this post, the burden of proof is on YWC to demonstrate what they actually believe.
Ed. Note: The previous version of this post re-printed several other claims about YWC president Kevin DeAnna from other sources that upon further investigation could not be substantiated beyond one group’s word against another.
Thanks for re-posting! After the DTH’s tepid editorial it’s nice to see someone calling out YWC for their links to white supremacists.
Good for you guys! Many times I find myself at odds with this journal, but this time, I applaud you.
this is the first and only cr article that I could stand to read all the way through. better than the usual drivel.
Thanks for calling it like it is. I don’t always agree with what you guys have to say, but on this issue, I’m with you true conservatives 100%.
is it just me or is the YWC an ominous recurrence of Hitler Youth…Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, can’t we all agree that even allowing the thought of such a violent organization to exist is simply unacceptable?
I am as thrilled as I am surprised by the well-researched nature of this article.
Whoa! This editorial is a an unexpected but gladly received surprise.
I usually hate everything you all say and publish, and I still do, but I am surprisingly happy and elated with your disagreement and and calling out of the bullshit that the Youth for Western Civilization stands for and is aiming for.
Thank you
“The national Vice President of YWC is Marcus Epstein…”
Hmmm, so much for the YWC being a bunch of ‘crazed Neo-Nazi White supremacists Hitler Youths’ – the VP of YWC, Marcus Epstein, is himself half Jewish/half Asian ya geniuses! LOL!
Also, just for kicks…does anyone find it a bit ironic or strange that Marcus Epstein (remember, he is ethnically half Jewish/half Korean) is a very high-ranking member of YWC even though Jews and Koreans are not traditionally considered to be part of ‘Western civilization’ because those groups are of Near Eastern/Semitic (in the case of Jews) and Asian (in the case of Koreans) ethnic extraction?
Just something else to think have a little laugh about. 🙂
YWC sounds like a great group! We need a group to defend Western civilization. We know the Carolina Review won’t do it. They are busy carrying out the true conservative vision of stalwarts like Bush, McCain and the SPLC.
By the way, are the worthy conservatives at the Carolina Review concerned about the racism of the NAACP, New Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam?
“By the way, are the worthy conservatives at the Carolina Review concerned about the racism of the NAACP, New Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam?”
Yes. We are opposed to finding identity through race. All men are created equal.
“Yes. We are opposed to finding identity through race. All men are created equal.”
So you oppose campus groups for blacks?
If so, have you (or will you in the future) attack them just as you have the YWC? Have you (or will you) call them racist?
Pete, if you are familiar with Carolina Review you would know that we clash with Black Student Movement on a monthly basis.
I would also suggest reading past CRdaily posts about the Stone Center at UNC:
http://crdaily.com/2009/03/unc-racist/
Fair enough. At least you are consistent.
But if YWC can’t talk about immigration, affirmative action and anti-white racism today, what makes you so sure you will be able to talk about abortion, gay marriage and gun control tomorrow?
The favorable comments from the lefties should give you pause. These are the same people Orwell wrote about. They want to stomp out all dissent. They will put you in camps if they get the chance, just like they did/do in China, Cuba and the old Soviet Union.
Just because we aren’t taking YWC’s side doesn’t mean we are automatically taking the other side.
Your mindset is part of the problem. Not everything is a matter of us versus them. Your mindset creates a world full of false dichotomies which leads to people being constantly divided against each other.
Even though we do not agree with their left-leaning identity politics, we want YWC to be able to talk… which is why we strongly oppose the childish anti-speech protests yesterday.
It is because of YOUR BOGUS “expose” that things went so crazy at what was supposed to be a speech from former Congressman Tancredo. You falsely sounded the alarm, scared the liberals, encouraged chaos and attempted to be holier than thou and, at the same time, you distracted from the truth about the real problems with illegal immigration. GOOD JOB! How foolish you are for publishing such nonsense and you still DON’T have the facts right. Those responsible for this abomination they call “journalism” at Carolina Review should truly be ashamed of themselves. You went after the wrong folks and still haven’t come clean and apologized. You slaughtered the YWC and never even gave them a fair chance. You have become a pseudo-conservative joke for a paper. Really, you seem more liberal than the Daily Tarheel. You deserve to be boycotted by authentic conservatives.
Sir, the protest was planned several days in advance of this post. I also doubt that many left-wing militants read the Carolina Review.
I also can’t control what people do once they know the truth. I can only report it.
Don’t play stupid. They may not read the Carolina Review, but your “expose” traveled like wild fire. You incited the people. Protests are one thing. This was not a protest and you started the feeding frenzy. Again, your “report” was BOGUS!
Your “truth” is false.
I did not start any feeding frenzy…I only became aware of YWC through other people who informed me of the planned protest. The signs accusing YWC of being white supremacist appeared before I began researching the organization.
At first, I thought the signs were an unfounded accusation. Then, I started doing research and found that it was actually true.
“It is because of YOUR BOGUS “expose” that things went so crazy… You falsely sounded the alarm, scared the liberals, encouraged chaos … GOOD JOB! …you still DON’T have the facts right. Those responsible for this abomination they call “journalism” at Carolina Review should truly be ashamed of themselves… You slaughtered the YWC… Really, you seem more liberal than the Daily Tarheel.”
Hilarious, well done!
“Research”, you are kidding, right? Mr. Jones, what don’t you get? Your piece is a disgrace.
cas, you have failed to actualy present an argument, only assertions.
You can’t find anything on the National YWC president Kevin DeAnna that can be substantiated, so you try to attack Epstein. Assuming that DeAnna would lie about his own vice president, let’s look at your attacks on Epstein. He is one of the editors on VDare.com. He hasn’t posted anything on VDare that is racist. All you seem to know is that he is involved with it.
That’s it? That is your “evidence” for suspecting that the YWC is inherently racist? You use that to substantiate “YWC’s national leadership, especially Epstein, are clearly associated with racist organizations.”? So far, all I have seen is your claim that Epstein is involved with VDare. How is it clear then, that YWC’s entire leadership is associated with racist groups, ignoring the fact that DeAnna has denied that Epstein is part of that leadership?
They, as an organization, have not posted anything racist, and they have denied those accusations, but YOU know better with the deep research you’ve done on this group that you have just heard about. Give me a break.
The burden of proof lies on your shoulders. You don’t tell someone to prove that unicorns don’t exist. If you believe that YWC is a racist organization, then prove it. So far, YWC’s actions have not been racist. Until you provide evidence contrary to that, you are just a rabble-rouser.
That the Carolina Review would even allow this shoddy workmanship to be available to the public is simply amazing.
Well, DeAnna has said both that Epstein is and isn’t his vice president. Therefore, DeAnna IS lying about his own vice president, one way or another.
Epstein is the editor of a racist website. Editors generally have control over what gets published in whatever it is that they edit.
Eventually/hopefully, I will be putting together a much more professional piece which will completely refute the “expose” that Mr. Jones has produced. If the Carolina Review is honest, they will allow me to publish it in their next print publication, but I’m not going to bank too much money on that one.
Although Mr. Jones has made too many erroneous claims to address in a post such as this, I can tell you that he says very few things that are actually factually correct, and what he does get right he contorts just as would the SPLC, which is about 100 times less reliable than Wikipedia ever has been. (Indeed, Mr. Jones himself seems to hold the SPLC as a very reliable source, considering that he pretty much quoted their entire section on Marcus Epstein and Kevin DeAnna in the first edition of this blog that he produced. It was only after I raised Cain that other (more reasonable) members of the Carolina Review were able to force him to stand down and take out some of his original (and more outlandish) remarks.)
Needless to say, my reputation has been HORRIBLY tarnished as a result of Mr. Jones’ carelessness and prejudice. THAT is why I believe that the Carolina Review owes it to me to allow me to publish my refutation in their next print-edition publication as a guest columnist.
Riley Matheson
President, Youth for Western Civilization
VDare’s site seems to disagree with your claim of who is the editor:
http://www.vdare.com/contact_us.htm
And, looking at the links that you have provided to show that Epstein is YWC’s vice president, I have seen nothing to indicate that DeAnna has said anything of that nature. In fact, he has said the exact opposite, by your own report.
I also meant to mention: MARCUS EPSTEIN IS NOT AN EDITOR FOR VDARE.COM. Have you ever even been to vdare.com? Go to http://www.vdare.com/contact_us.htm for proof. Marcus Epstein has posted articles on vdare, but so has Michelle Malkin, who has written for the National Review (actually, she posted one yesterday: http://www.vdare.com/malkin/090415_extremist.htm) and Pat Buchanan. So if Epstein is a racist for publishing an article on vdare, then so is Malkin and Buchanan and many other mainstream conservative writers. Are you really willing to make that claim?
By the way, that’s just an example of the many COMPLETELY BOGUS claims that you make.
As I mentioned in the article, Kevin DeAnna told the Vanderbilt Orbis two weeks ago that Marcus Epstein is the Vice President of YWC.
There’s a lot more stuff about Epstein and the groups he associates with that we didn’t publish: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/11/25/0207112.php
And no, I have no problem calling Pat Buchanan a prejudiced, possibly racist individual. He’s definitely no longer “a mainstream conservative writer”.
You’re also not answering the question of why Epstein would choose to write for a racist website.
As for a column in the print edition, that’s ultimately not my call but given that the original article was posted online, an online article would seem to be a more appropriate forum.
The Vanderbilt Orbis offers two contradictory statements, in that DeAnna said he was the vice president, and in the next paragraph that he was not. Whether you feel that that is indication of reliable source of information is your pejorative.
Once again, I ask that you provide concrete evidence that YWC is inherently racist. Things like racists acts, racist publications etc would qualify as real proof. Usually, when one does research on a topic as hot as this, finding these things should be no problem. Care to explain why you are having a difficult time in finding this? As I said before, the burden of proof is on your shoulders.
The only “proof” that you have offered is that Epstein, who, according to YWC, is not the vice president, has links to proclaimed racists publications and websites. I find it troubling that a writer at the Carolina Review is so easily accepting of SPLC’s word, but won’t believe DeAnna when he says that Epstein isn’t involved in the leadership of YWC. Have you read what Epstein has posted on VDare? Have you actually done research on his “racism” or are you merely repeating what you have heard?
Well Epstein himself states he is the VP of YWC.
No, we don’t believe DeAnna. He told us and other people contradictory things.
Everything you ask for has already been answered.
If the site is VDARE.com it is time for yet another “UPDATE.”
Epstein is not the editor and the site is not “racist.”
Michelle Malkin writes for VDARE. Is she a racist?
By the way, I checked out YWC. Seems a Mexican woman is the #2 person there. So you have an Asian/Jewish person (Epstein), a Hispanic woman and an Italian guy (DeAnna) running the group.
Stop relying on SPLC press releases to write your articles.
Have you read any of the crap that gets published on Vdare? Like the articles linked to in the above article?
You mean the articles from 2003 and 2004? Couldn’t find anything newer than that?
In any event, these were not racist articles.
The 2003 column by late Sam Francis (who graduated from UNC by the way)was about the U.S. rejecting an asylum request from a white South African family that had been targeted for terrorism because of their race. Francis writes that:
“The attacks in South Africa, you see, are “criminal,” not “racial.” Never mind that the New York Times and other papers have repeatedly carried reports on the racial targeting of whites by black marauders in South Africa. Never mind that last year there were some 1,400 attacks on white-owned farms in South Africa, with 200 whites killed, on top of some 700 killed in the previous five years.”
Francis was talking about the double standard of allowing millions of black immigrants but not allowing one white South African family to stay despite legitimate grounds for asylum.
Maybe he should not have used the word “garbage” but he was pointing out an example of racism, not engaging in it.
The 2004 column by Prof. Philippe Rushton did not use the word “retarded” in a derogatory manner. It merely pointed out that IQ studies have shown the average African IQ in South Africa do be 70. In the West, people with an IQ below 70 are deemed mentally retarded. That is a scientific term, not a slur.
You really should apologize to VDARE.com, Marcus Epstein and the YWC for such a shoddy, fact-challenged article.
Right Pete, saying that some races are genetically inferior to other races in terms of intelligence/IQ is not racist…seriously, if that’s not racist then what is?
Chris, I don’t understand why you are still trying to defend this article. This is what, the 4th update? This article is just a shell of what it originally was, and quite honestly, has almost no substance.
At this point, I think you are arguing just to argue. You’ve been forced to back pedal on this article to the point where all you are saying is that YOU personally think that YWC has racist leanings….I mean, you can’t even use strong language in your own claim because it has so little backing.
Epstein wrote on VDare. Big deal. Nothing written on there, by him, was racist at all. It’s obvious that you won’t condemn Malkin as a racist (and rightly so), but you condemn YWC. Why the double standard?
You are making yourself look worse by trying to defend what is left of you “article”.
Epstein is up to his neck in racist material…for example watch this interview Epstein gave to the Young Turks radio program:
Skip ahead to 13 min…
“Right Pete, saying that some races are genetically inferior to other races in terms of intelligence/IQ is not racist…seriously, if that’s not racist then what is?”
The racial differences in IQ scores are not in dispute. What is in dispute is whether they are genetic or cultural. Rushton does say it is part genes and part environment.
Charles Murray makes the same claim in The Bell Curve. Is he a racist? He is employed by AEI. Are they a racist think tank?
By the way, John Derbyshire of National Review also writes about race and IQ. Is he a racist? Is NR a racist publication?
If not, why is VDARE?
Chris,
When you are in a hole stop digging. The Young Turks clip is not racist.
Epstein condemns slavery and segregation. His “racism” is talking about race and crime. But Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell also admit that blacks have higher crime rates than others. Why not just check the FBI and DoJ crime stats to confirm?
Are Williams and Sowell (they are black conservatives, Chris) racists?
If you are “conservative” then why are you attacking other conservatives and calling them “racists”? Do you expect anyone to take you seriously?
Us conservatives aren’t big on identity politics, or on trade barriers and economic protectionism. We tend to question the conservative credentials of those who argue in favor of such things.
Question for all the liberals and fake conservatives who attack anyone who dares question massive legal and illegal immigration: if America and the West in general are such horrible, racist places, why don’t you leave? Would you rather reside in India, Kenya, or El Salvador, to name but a few? Moreover, why do so many Third Worlders want to come here so badly, and in massive, massive numbers?
Is common sense beyond you guys?
It is sad to see our nations youth degrading journalism with modern day McCarthyism. It seems like the author is hopelessly looking for anything to discredit this group.
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