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Stage 4: The Hate Group Taunts the Target
Hate, by its nature, changes incrementally. Time cools the fire of hate, thus forcing the
hater to look inward. To avoid introspection, haters use ever-increasing degrees of rhetoric
and violence to maintain high levels of agitation. Taunts and offensive gestures serve this
purpose. In this stage, skinheads typically shout racial slurs from moving cars or from afar.
Nazi salutes and other hand signals often accompany racial epithets. Racist graffiti also
begins to appear in areas where skinheads loiter. Most skinhead groups claim turf proximate
to the neighborhoods in which they live. One study indicated that a majority of hate crimes
occur when the hate target migrates through the hate group‘s turf.15
Stage 5: The Hate Group Attacks the Target Without Weapons
This stage is critical because it differentiates vocally abusive haters from physically abusive
ones. In this stage, hate groups become more aggressive, prowling their turf seeking
vulnerable targets. Violence coalesces hate groups and further isolates them from
mainstream society. Skinheads, almost without exception, attack in groups and target
single victims. Research has shown that bias crimes are twice as likely to cause injury and
four times as likely to result in hospitalization as compared to nonbias crimes.16
In addition to physical violence, the element of thrill seeking is introduced in Stage 5. Two
experts found that 60 percent of hate offenders were ―thrill seekers.‖17 The adrenaline
―high‖ intoxicates the attackers. The initial adrenaline surge lasts for several minutes
however, the effects of adrenaline keep the body in a state of heightened alert for up to
several days.18 Each successive anger- provoking thought or action builds on residual
adrenaline and triggers a more violent response than the one that originally initiated the
sequence.19 Anger builds on anger. The adrenaline high combined with hate becomes a
deadly combination. Hard-core skinheads keep themselves at a level where the slightest
provocation triggers aggression.
Stage 6: The Hate Group Attacks the Target with Weapons
Several studies confirm that a large number of bias attacks involve weapons.20 Some
attackers use firearms to commit hate crimes, but skinheads prefer weapons, such as
broken bottles, baseball bats, blunt objects, screwdrivers, and belt buckles. These types of
weapons require the attacker to be close to the victim, which further demonstrates the
depth of personal anger. Attackers can discharge firearms at a distance, thus precluding
personal contact. Close-in onslaughts require the assailants to see their victims eye-to-eye
and to become bloodied during the assault. Hands- on violence allows skinheads to express
their hate in a way a gun cannot. Personal contact empowers and fulfills a deep-seated need
to have dominance over others.
Stage 7: The Hate Group Destroys the Target
The ultimate goal of haters is to destroy the object of their hate. Mastery over life and death
imbues the hater with godlike power and omnipotence, which, in turn, facilitate further acts
of violence. With this power comes a great sense of self-worth and value, the very qualities
haters lack. However, in reality, hate physically and psychologically destroys both the hater
and the hated.
Model Application
Anecdotal evidence suggests that this hate model has a wider application. For example,
when a coworker becomes a hate target for reasons other than race, sex, or national origin,
the hater immediately seeks out others in the office who dislike, or can be persuaded to
dislike, the hated coworker (Stage 1). The group establishes an identity using symbols and
behaviors. They use a lifted eyebrow, a code word to exclude the hated coworker from a
lunch invitation, or any number of other actions to demean and isolate. The haters even

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may adopt a name for their group (Stage 2). At this point, the haters only disparage the
hated coworker within their group (Stage 3). As time passes, the haters openly insult the
hated coworker either directly or indirectly by allowing disparaging remarks to be overheard
from afar (Stage 4). One morning, the hated coworker discovers his desk rearranged and
offensive images pasted over a picture depicting his wife and children (Stage 5). From the
sophomoric to the terroristic, acts of hate have the same effect. Eventually, the haters
sabotage the hated coworker‘s projects and attempt to ruin the individual‘s reputation
through rumors and innuendoes (Stage 6). In so doing, the haters make the work
environment intolerable for the hate target (Stage 7). Scenarios like this occur every day
across America and, indeed, around the world. The targets of hate may change, but the
hate process remains constant.
Assessment
Assessing and analyzing skinhead groups can help investigators tailor intervention
strategies to each hate group, thus increasing the probability of successful intervention and
rehabilitation. Law enforcement can assess a skinhead group by first determining if the
group is hate motivated or criminally motivated. The best method to establish motivation is
through one-on-one interviews, although reviewing police reports and criminal histories
prove adequate determining factors as well.
Second, investigators should measure the maturity of the group, which is not determined by
the chronological age of the group‘s members but by the collective actions of the group.
Violence constitutes an important maturation indicator. Comparing the group‘s activities to
the stages in the hate model can determine the maturity of a skinhead group. Mature
groups commit more violent acts than immature groups.
An additional step in the assessment process involves gauging the strength of the group‘s
mythology. Immature groups have simple mythologies, whereas mature groups have more
complex and stubborn mythologies. Studying group mythologies proves difficult because
they represent the aggregate of a group‘s common beliefs, experiences, symbols, and
rituals.
Symbols, Rituals, and Mythology
Fully understanding hate groups involves identifying and defining their unique symbols,
rituals, and mythologies. Symbols give greater meaning to irrational hate. Haters use
symbols for self- identification and to form common bonds with other group members.
Additionally, they often swear allegiance to these symbols. For example, the swastika, a
simple symbol, served as a powerful rallying point for the Nazi movement and helped
mobilize an entire country.21
Each hate group adopts its own symbols or borrows them from others. Symbolic words and
nonverbal behaviors reflect individual disdain and serve as advertisements to attract fellow
sympathizers. Offensive language is the most common expression of dislike for others. Hate
groups also display contempt by using nonverbal gestures, such as a Nazi salute. Clothes,
short haircuts, military boots, tattoos, and bumper stickers also represent symbols that can
effectively communicate hate.
Symbols, however, are not enough to unify a group therefore, more organized hate groups
incorporate rituals, which serve two functions. First, they relieve individual group members
from deep thought and self-examination. Second, rituals reinforce beliefs and fortify group
unity.
The hate group‘s experiences, beliefs, and use of symbols and rituals combine to create
group mythologies. Mythologies unify disparate thoughts and act as filters through which
group members interpret reality.22 Group mythologies can have profound effects on its