Hate has crept out of the shadows, but communities are pushing back

White supremacists have been pelting Minnesota with hate and corn for months.

If their ideas had any merit, if their cause was just, they wouldn't need to throw these bags at strangers. But these are white supremacists we're talking about.

They stuff their rage and grievances into glossy fliers full of racism, bigotry and self-pity, then stuff those fliers into baggies, weighted down with corn or rice so they won't blow away with the rest of the garbage.

"This group of racist idiots does this all over the state in a poor attempt to get people riled up and to generate media attention," Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski posted on Facebook after the world's worst cornhole tournament came to town.

"I don't want to give them any of the daylight they are so desperately seeking to achieve," he wrote, "but it's important to know these are not our people, they are not our neighbors, they are not from our town."

These are not our people. Our people are the ones they're trying to attack.

"They are certainly trying to terrorize and intimidate both the Jewish communities and communities of color. I wouldn't say their intimidation has been successful," said Natan Paradise, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota, who is tracking the issue. "The community as a whole is resolute in addressing this."

The pamphlets name-checked certain hate groups in bold Gestapo fonts and provided links to their sad, whiny websites and antisocial media accounts.

You won't find those names or links here. If hate groups want to spread their propaganda in this town, they're going to have to buy more corn.

Small, organized hate groups have been coordinating distribution of these fliers around the country.

The number of people distributing these pamphlets is small. The number of people who feel comfortable parroting their racist rhetoric is growing.

"The community at large needs to recognize what is happening in their backyard," Paradise said. "I don't think most Minnesotans are aware of the degree to which this rhetoric has spread. I don't think most Minnesotans are aware that there's a concerted campaign of intimidation against the Jewish community in general. … I don't think most Minnesotans are aware that this is no longer the open and safe society it once was."

"I hope," he added, "most Minnesotans, when they realize that, will no longer be silent."

Minnesotans who see something are starting to say something.

"I found this random baggie in my driveway last week," said Plymouth resident and City Council candidate Clark Gregor. The pamphlets scattered across the western suburb were a vile screed against the Jewish faith. "I was really disturbed to see it and I really felt for my neighbors who are being attacked in this way. … It harms everybody."

Police departments are reviewing doorbell camera videos. The FBI and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety are investigating.

The fliers have been reported in Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Edina, Lino Lakes, New Brighton, Arden Hills, North Oaks, Hopkins, Plymouth, Cottage Grove, Stillwater and Woodbury.

Communities hit by these racist litterbugs have moved through the stages of indignation — anger, revulsion, "Silkwood" showers, feeding the corn to the squirrels, and of course, sustained, withering mockery of these bigots.

"In Stillwater we take care of each other," Kozlowski concluded in his Facebook dunk on racists. "In Stillwater we welcome all. Even people that like Nickelback and the Packers."