Gabrielle Hanson, a Tennessee alderwoman and a candidate for the position of mayor, has found herself embroiled in another controversy in 2023. This time, the issue revolves around the presence of a purported white supremacist organization at an event in which she was taking part.
The Tennessee Active Club, frequently characterized as a white nationalist and hate organization by various media outlets, with reference to assessments from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Nonetheless, the SPLC has faced recent scrutiny for designating groups that do not align with far-left ideologies, such as Moms for Liberty, a collection of concerned parents advocating for transparency in their children’s public school education.
Hanson issued a statement to unequivocally convey that she neither employed nor invited the Tennessee Active Club to the candidate forum in which she was engaged. She emphatically asserted her non-affiliation with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, or any such groups.
She clarified that she maintains a professional association with one of the individuals within the group, as she serves as the listing broker for his business. She characterized the articles covering the event as derogatory pieces aimed at tarnishing her reputation.
Historically, the categorization of an individual or group as white supremacists hinged on explicit declarations of such beliefs or association with well-defined white supremacist organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan.
However, in the contemporary context, merely being observed alongside a conservative or expressing criticism toward left-leaning entities like Antifa is adequate for both the SPLC and the media to label someone as a white supremacist.
Left-leaning individuals assert that Antifa’s sole objective is to combat fascism. Nevertheless, similar to how terms like white supremacist, fascist, and neo-Nazi are broadly employed, they are also used to characterize anyone opposing the violence and property destruction associated with Antifa, exemplified during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and riots.
As always, readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and independently formulate their viewpoints, rather than passively endorsing the prevailing media portrayal.
