Thinking Time for a Hater : White supremacist Metzger rightly is given a 6-month sentence

After decades of preaching racial hatred, white supremacist Tom Metzger is in jail. The 6-month sentence, imposed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J. D. Smith, is a stern warning to others who may contemplate burning crosses or committing other hate crimes.

The warning is certainly necessary. Hate crimes, racial politics, ethnic tensions and separatist propaganda are, sadly, on the rise.

Words alone didn’t put Metzger behind bars. His speech, as offensive as it is to decent Americans, is protected by the Constitution. Actions--when they break the law--are another matter.

Metzger was convicted in October of misdemeanor unlawful assembly for his role in a 1983 cross-burning near Lake View Terrace, a racially diverse area of the San Fernando Valley. That fiery ceremony--reminiscent of a brutal and murderous era in American history--spread a chilling message of terror and intimidation.

In that ceremony, which was videotaped by a free-lance journalist who had infiltrated the group, some participants put on hooded robes, chanted racist slogans and raised their arms in Nazi-like salutes as they stood near three wooden crosses. The tape indicated that Metzger was there, although he was standing on the periphery.

However, he has not been on the periphery of racial demagoguery. From his Fallbrook base in San Diego County, the former grand dragon of the California Ku Klux Klan and leader of the White Aryan Resistance has venomously preached racial separation in speeches and newsletters and on cable television programs. He has a right to his ideas, no matter how ignorant they may be, but his actions must stay within the law.

Metzger, like most people who hate, is unapologetic. He will have plenty to think about--in jail.