Talk:Sandpoint, Idaho/Archive 1

Nazis

I disagree with the wording "Sandpoint and surrounding towns..." in the Nazi paragraph. I don't remember any "Nazi" activity IN Sandpoint. I think better wording would be "because of White Supremasist activity in neighboring towns, Sandpoint has become associated with Neo-Nazis". Or something like that. My question is: Was there ever any significant "Nazi" activity in Sandpoint to warrant the current statement? I can't remember any. CDA July 22 2005

I think is mostly a case of guilt by association, but it deserves coverage. As the county seat of Bonner County, Sandpoint is the town most often associated with the various white supremacist shenanigans that have gone on there. Also, I seem to recall that there were some Aryan Nations supporters distributing literature in town a few years back -- I don't remember where they lived or where located specifically. In any case, I've made a small edit for accuracy. RadicalSubversiv E 00:14, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

I agree that this topic is important. I am moving it to a history section because the Aryans are gone. This is now history and doesn't belong in the introduction of Sandpoint. The statement "As the county seat of Bonner County, Sandpoint is the town most often associated with (Neo-Nazis)..." -

• most activity occured in Hayden Lake and Coeur d'Alene which are both in Kootenai County.
• if you live in this area, Sandpoint is NOT most often associated with Neo-Nazis. Sandpoint is associated with a core band of highly educated intellectuals and artists who created a community unique in this area. In this area Sandpoint is considered an artist's community. Sandpoint has a reputation as a place where very few native local people (including the -excuse me- "poor white trash" that many would associate with racism) can afford to live. Sandpoint is known as a place where burned out LA cops retire. But Sandpoint has never been, to my knowledge, associated with Neo-Nazis.
• if anyone has documentation about any Neo-Nazi activity in Sandpoint please add it to the history section with your sources. Because there *might* have been leafleting in Sandpoint at some point that this warrants a paragraph in the introduction seems unprofessional to me.
• I agree that analysis of how Mark Fuhrman and the other LA cops have affected Sandpoint is warranted. But since I am familiar with Fuhrman's views (he has a local radio program) and I consider him a thoughtful and sincere man who burned out on crime - and through whatever socio-economic reasons the violent criminals where he worked happened to be Black - I don't think that makes him racist. I don't believe he considers himself a white seperatist. I think that is the perception to the outside world though and I agree that warrants analysis. It's not an area of interest for me though. (Don't forget that due to Fuhrman's investigation a white Kennedy family member was successfully prosecuted.)
• I think that Mark Fuhrman's affect on Sandpoint belongs on the Sandpoint page. Personal information about Mark Fuhrman and the O.J. Simpson trial belongs on the Mark Fuhrman page. Neo-Nazi's affect on this area belongs on the Hayden Lake and Neo-Nazi and Aryan nations pages.
• The white seperatist Randy Weaver lived north of Sandpoint and should be discussed at Ruby Ridge.

CDA monday july 25th

Sandpoint was originally a logging town-- not an "artists community" as it is styled by real estate developers. Until the late 80's the town remained true to its roots. In the past 20 years it has drastically changed thanks to an influx of new residents from outside the state.

There was a white supremacist element present in Sandpoint, notably at a compound near the base of Schweitzer Mtn, though you are correct to note that Weaver was closer to Bonners Ferry than Sandpoint, and the Aryan Nations were centered in Hayden Lake, in Kootenai County.

70.36.0.227 20:16, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Vincent Bertollini

I think it is important that if anyone has facts about white supremacist activity in Sandpoint that they add it to the history section. I found some info about Vincent Bertollini while looking for something else. He was based in Sandpoint and is now a fugitive (according to Wikipedia). His information should be added to the Sandpoint history section. But I don't want to do it. I don't want to write about crime. I'm just not interested. Here's a link to some rumors that would have to be verified somehow, I would think, before adding them to Wikipedia. Can someone who has an interest in crime writing work on this? --cda 15:55, 27 March 2006 (UTC)