Michigan Bar Strips Racist Author Kyle Bristow of Short-Story Award
The State Bar of Michigan, representing more than 42,000 attorneys in that state, today issued a pointed apology and withdrew its honorable mention award for a short story written by an avowed white nationalist.
The story, 鈥�Post-Conviction Relief,鈥� written by Kyle Bristow, was 鈥渇ound to be embedded with racist cues and symbolism,鈥� the Bar Association said in a on its web site.
Bristow, now a Detroit-area attorney, led Young Americans for Freedom while he attended Michigan State University.听 The organization鈥檚 anti-immigrant and anti-gay campaigns under Bristow鈥檚 leadership led to its designation as a hate group in 2006 by 蜜桃传媒.
A bar official suggested judges who gave Bristow the award听were hoodwinked by a 鈥減otential ideological manifesto鈥� and hate speech masquerading as art.
鈥淲e cannot apologize enough,鈥� said State Bar President Thomas C. Rombach said, adding that the biennial short-story contest would be discontinued.
鈥淭he short story contest has been popular with many [attorney] members,鈥� the bar association president said. 鈥淏ut if this result could occur even with the high caliber of the judges who conferred the award, the contest should be discontinued.鈥�
The entries didn鈥檛 include the writer鈥檚 name, the reported today.听 The story was posted on the bar鈥檚 web site, but now has been removed.听 Printed journals, listing the contest winners, were mailed to bar members, but that publication didn鈥檛 include the honorable mention short story.
Bristow then submitted his short story to The Occidental Observer, a 鈥渨hite identity鈥� journal that prints extremists鈥� articles and is a favorite among academic racists in America.
The embarrassment of the Michigan bar association seemed reflected in its statement.
听鈥淲e deeply regret our failure to recognize the underlying symbolism in this story,鈥� Francine Cullari, chair of the Publications and Web site Advisory Committee. 听鈥淭he panel of five judges approached each contest entry as an imaginative work of fiction, rather than a potential ideological manifesto.鈥�
鈥淎s a mandatory bar, our membership holds a wide range of opinions about bias, discrimination, and remedies, and we respect those differences," Rombach said. 鈥淲hat we cannot and will not do is put the State Bar鈥檚 stamp of approval on hateful speech masquerading as an alleged work of art.鈥�
The story is about Jack Schoenherr, a 鈥渟oft-spoken and introverted鈥� Michigan criminal defense attorney, who has practiced 22 years, swearing to uphold the state and U.S. constitutions.听 His daughter, Caroline, is murdered by an 18-year-old 鈥渢attoo-covered, drug-abusing gangbanger named Tyrone Washington.鈥澨� Bristow did not specify the race of the victim or the killer in his short story.
As the fictional account unfolds, Washington is convicted of shooting Caroline in 鈥渃old-blood with a stolen revolver 鈥� to show off his 鈥減olar bear hunting skills鈥� to prospective members. 听
Bristow described Washington as showing no remorse and grinning and jeering as Schoenherr gave a victim-impact statement at sentencing.
After the trial, Schoenherr visits Washington in prison under the guise of being his appeal attorney. 鈥淵ou mah appointed lawyer for da鈥� appeal?鈥� Tyrone asked,鈥� Bristow writes.
Schoenherr lectures Washington about retributive justice while, 鈥淭yrone drooled and snorted as he slouched further in his chair.鈥澨� Then Schoenherr kills Washington with a sharpened pen.
Contacted for comment about being stripped of the award, Bristow told the Lansing newspaper he had been singled out for a 鈥減olitically incorrect thought-crime.鈥�
鈥淢y tale is simply about a criminal defense attorney who becomes fed up with the legal system,鈥� Bristow said in an emailed statement, the newspaper reported.
鈥淢y short story bested that of 26 of 30 contest submissions made by other attorneys after a panel of five judges chosen by the State Bar decided it earned fifth place in the contest based upon its merits alone,鈥� Bristow told the newspaper
鈥淚f the State Bar officials are now getting their panties in a bunch over a mere fictional story, then I submit that it is probably a good idea that they canceled the annual contest so that they are not triggered in the future by politically incorrect thought-crimes,鈥� he added.
It鈥檚 not the first time Bristow has infused his fiction writing with his white nationalist views.听 In 2010, he wrote, 鈥淲hite Apocalypse,鈥� which is a violent revenge fantasy about a racist, anti-Semitic killer, who stalks a fictional organization that appears to be quite like the Southern Poverty Law Center.听
Bristow鈥檚 protagonist targets the evil 鈥淐enter for Diversity and Multiculturalism,鈥� based in Atlanta, which has a legal staff and identifies hate groups.听 In great, grisly detail, the author describes the assassination of one of the center鈥檚 senior editors. Later asked about the parallels, Bristow snidely said he meant nothing of the kind.
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