Race- Privilege, Relations, Racism, etc.

To complain that "there exist Klansmen at all" (as opposed to complaining that there are many) is actually a little silly.

Bigotry has degrees and nuance, like anything else. And if you confuse the former with the latter, you're making an injustice.

General Motors Co's (GM.N) Cadillac brand on Saturday disavowed a casting notice that called for an "alt-right (neo nazi)" role in a Cadillac commercial amid a storm of outrage on social media.

The casting notice, circulated on Twitter and Facebook, said an agency was looking for "any and all real alt-right thinkers/believers" and indicated the call was for a Cadillac advertisement to be filmed later this month.

The alt-right is a loose grouping characterized by a rejection of mainstream politics that includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. The alt-right came to the fore during the U.S. presidential election.

Cadillac officials said on Saturday the brand "did not authorize or approve a casting notice for an 'alt-right (neo-nazi)' role in a commercial. We unequivocally condemn the notice and are seeking immediate answers from our creative agency, production company and any casting companies involved."

The Cast Station, a casting service, on Saturday afternoon posted on its Facebook page that a casting notice "for an "alt-right" role in a Cadillac commercial was issued by mistake on Friday, Dec 9th. The notice was drafted by an employee, who was immediately terminated for her actions. Additionally an outside third party further altered the breakdown without our knowledge and posted it on social media. Cadillac unequivocally did not authorize this notice or anything like it, and we apologize to Cadillac for the ex-employee's actions."

The notice also called for "real current or retired military people," as well as "real Olympian runner/cyclist" and "real taxi driver." (here:large)

Another version of the casting call posted on social media described the planned "Cadillac - Real People" commercial as a "beautifully artistic spot that is capturing (sic) all walks of life in America. Standing together as a union. This is not meant to be offensive in any way. Just a representation of all sides."

(Reporting by Joe White; Editing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)

At first there was outrage. Kimberly Houzah told everyone watching her Facebook Live video to boycott Victoria’s Secret. She pledged to call the store’s corporate headquarters and report the racist behavior she’d just been subjected to. She told her friends that she’ll never set foot inside the store again, even if “I’m down to my last pair of drawers.”

Then, she began to sob.

“I just, you’re kidding me,” she says, wiping tears, searching for words.

“I already didn’t need to be spending the money, but I’m like, you know — I’m going to treat myself . . . and I got to come down here and deal with this B.S.”

Houzah, 27, a traveling nurse from Calhoun County, Ala., detailed most of the experience — and the effect it had on her — in the Facebook Live post, which has been viewed more than a million times since Wednesday.

On Thursday she was shopping at Quintard Mall in Oxford, Ala. She wanted to get a pair of boyfriend sweatpants, and she thought about splurging on a T-shirt. Instead, she got insulted and kicked out because, she says, she’s the same race as a woman accused of a crime.

As Houzah was shopping, another black woman was caught shoplifting, she said.

Then, she said, the manager walked over to her and the only other black woman in the store and told them to leave.

On Houzah’s video, the manager can be heard telling the other black woman: “I just need y’all to go.” The mall’s security guards approached as well.

“She can’t tell us why, but we’re kicked out the store,” Houzah said on the video. “Because another black female gets caught stealing, me and the other black female here have to be affiliated, so we’re all put out.”

Houzah said she didn’t know either of the other black women at the store. None of the dozen or so white shoppers were asked to leave.

“You don’t want to be that person that feels like everybody’s racist, and I don’t feel like everybody’s racist,” she said after being kicked out, continuing the video from her car. “But we just happen to be three black people in Victoria’s Secret and we got to be together. She’s going to say you, you and you, get out. All y’all get out.”

In a statement, Victoria’s Secret said it had reached out to Houzah directly to “express our sincere apology.

“What happened at our store should not have happened and does not represent who we are or what we stand for. The store associate involved in this matter is no longer employed with the company. Victoria’s Secret is adamant that all customers regardless of race be treated with dignity and respect at all times.”

Daymon Ward, the mall’s general manager, told the Anniston Star that the mall was conducting its own investigation into the incident and was “committed to ensuring that all of our guests are treated with the utmost respect.”

On Thursday, Houzah returned to the store with a group of supporters, according to the Birmingham News. Employees apologized.

She told the newspaper she’d probably shop at her favorite store again, just not at the Oxford location.

“I’m a little more settled about it today,” she said Thursday. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone. I mean, I can’t change who I am. I’m an African American female and I just want to be treated like everybody else.”

An ABC FOX Montana investigation tonight into Richard Spencer, the part-time Whitefish resident who is inspiring white supremacists across the country.

Our reporting has uncovered an unexpected by-product of Spencer's notoriety - - a family and a community torn apart.

Spencer’s latest news-storm came last week when he spoke at Texas A & M, provoking heated confrontation and once-again, mentions of Montana - - and Whitefish specifically - - as his part-time home.

So, we went back to Whitefish - - and here's what we uncovered.

Richard Spencer was raised in Texas, but has been spending time in Whitefish for years with his family. His mother, Sherry Spencer, still lives in a beautiful home at Whitefish Mountain Resort. She also runs a business downtown, but perhaps not for long.

"Hail trump! Hail our people! Hail victory!" says Richard Spencer.

In a speech last month at the National Policy Institute's annual convention, the crowd's Nazi-like response rocketed Richard Spencer into the media stratosphere. But back here on Earth, and specifically in Whitefish, the war over Spencer's white nationalist views has locals fighting battles in the newspaper and on the street - - 22 Lupfer Avenue specifically.

It’s a new building in Whitefish's downtown historic district. First owned by Richard Spencer, and now owned by his mother, Sherry. There are vacation rentals on the top floor, businesses lease at street-level.

But Sherry says her son's political views - - and his detractors - - are forcing her to sell the property. In an email to us, Sherry says, "As painful as this is, I am exploring a potential sale of the building."

One of those detractors is Tanya Gersh, a prominent member of the community, who told me in an email: "She (Sherry) is profiting off of the people of the local community, all the while having facilitated Richard’s work spreading hate by letting him live and use her home address for his organization.”

Virginia’s state corporation commission still lists Sherry's home as the principle office location for Richard’s white nationalist organization, The National Policy Institute. And a dive into Sherry's Facebook page supports the fact that Richard has spent a substantial amount of time with his mother in Whitefish, snow skiing, water skiing, hiking, holidays. Sherry’s Facebook page also has photos of her son when he spoke at the Mencken Club's annual gathering in 2010, A group the Southern Poverty Law Center refers to as “A band of white nationalists and pseudo academic racists.” Pictures also show Sherry and her husband attending.

In Sherry's email to me, she says, "As parents, we deeply love our son, as we always will. We unequivocally do not agree with the extreme positions espoused by Richard."

She goes on to say, "We are stunned by the actions of Love Lives Here, an organization claiming to advocate tolerance and equal treatment of all citizens, yet coursing financial harm to many innocent parties."

Ina Albert, Love Lives Here co-founder, says, "I don't know what she's talking about. We don't cause financial harm to anybody."

Human rights group Love Lives Here has been vocally opposed to Richard Spencer's views, but its co-founder says she has no problem with Richard spending time, or his mother doing business in Whitefish.

"I don't know what he does when he comes here,” says Albert. “But that is not our problem with Richard Spencer. It is the national policy institute and what that stands for and our town being smeared by his philosophy."

Tanya says she does have a problem with it, though. She says, Sherry "Could address this by selling the building, making a donation to human rights efforts, and making a statement in opposition to white supremacist ideas spread by Richard."

One thing on which both Tanya and Sherry agree: The tenants at 22 Lupfer are stuck in the middle. The owner of Whitefish Aesthetics tells me her association with the building is destroying her business and she's moving out if Sherry doesn't sell it.

Sherry wrote to Tanya that, “Her son's actions have been a source of anguish within her family.”

It’s also been a source of contention in Whitefish. A letter to the editor of the Daily Interlake: "The mob rule reaction to Richard Spencer's mere existence in Whitefish reminds me of the old Frankenstein movies where the townspeople gathered with pitchforks and torches."

And: “This ‘group’ which is supposed to love all, only loves those who agree with them.”

A town divided, a mother torn, and a man whose mission is continuing to stir controversy on a national, and very local level.

And: “This ‘group’ which is supposed to love all, only loves those who agree with them."