Fourteen Words
Fourteen Words, 14, or 14/88, is a reference to the fourteen-word slogan "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children", or the less commonly used "Because the beauty of the White Aryan woman must not perish from the earth." The slogans were originally coined by white supremacist David Lane, a founding member of terrorist organization The Order and serve as a rallying cry for militant white nationalists across the globe. "88" is a veiled reference to "Heil Hitler", as 'H' is the 8th letter of the alphabet.
The terms were coined while he was serving a 190-year sentence in federal prison for violating the civil rights of Jewish talk show host Alan Berg, who was murdered by another member of the group in June 1984. The slogans were publicized through now-defunct 14 Word Press, founded in 1995 by Lane's wife to disseminate her husband's writings.
Lane also used the phrasing in other writings, including the "14 points" in his "white genocide" manifesto, and further in his 88 Precepts essay, stressing his support for racial and ethnic religions, opposition to multiracialism and miscegenation, and support for racial separatism. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Fourteen Words slogan is derived from a passage in Adolf Hitler's autobiographical book Mein Kampf; the Fourteen Words are prominently used by neo-Nazis, white power skinheads and certain white nationalists and the alt-right.
Lane's ideology was anti-American and Lane considered loyalty to the United States to be
"race treason" and upheld a secondary slogan entitled "OUR RACE IS OUR NATION" or "ORION", viewing the United States as committing genocide against white people and as having been founded as a New World Order to finalize a global Zionist government.
Being bitterly opposed to the continued existence of the United States as a political entity, and labelling it the "murderer of the White race", Lane further advocated domestic terrorism as a tool to carve out a "white homeland". To that end, Lane issued a declaration called "Moral Authority" published through now-defunct 14 Word Press and shared through the publications of Aryan Nations, World Church of the Creator and other white separatist groups, referring to the United States as a "Red, White and Blue traveling mass murder machine", while asserting "true moral authority belongs to those who resist genocide".
Phrasing
The terms were later adopted by white supremacists and neo-nazis, white nationalists and identitarians, members of the far-right and alt-right, the most widely used variation being, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." Another less commonly used variation is: "Because the beauty of the White Aryan woman must not perish from the earth."It is sometimes combined with 88, as in "14/88" or "1488". The 8s represent the eighth letter of the alphabet, and "HH" stands for "Heil Hitler". This can also be a reference to Lane's 88 Precepts, which when combined with "14" refer to Lane's white supremacist neo-pagan religion, Wotanism.
The slogan has been used in acts of white supremacist terrorism and violence. It was central to the symbolism of 2008's Barack Obama assassination plot, which intended to kill 88 African Americans, including future President Barack Obama, 14 of whom were to be beheaded. Skinhead Curtis Allgier notably tattooed the words on to his body after he murdered corrections officer Stephen Anderson, and Dylann Roof's race war-inspired Charleston church shooting was influenced by the slogan.
Origins
A strong resemblance of the first definition to a statement in Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf has been pointed out, albeit not by Lane or by Fourteen Word Press. Scholars such as Barry Balleck have stated that Lane was almost certainly influenced by Hitler, specifically the following statement in Mein Kampf.What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our race and our people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the creator of the universe. Every thought and every idea, every doctrine and all knowledge, must serve this purpose. And everything must be examined from this point of view and used or rejected according to its utility.
According to scholar Mattias Gardell, David Lane taught something he called the "Pyramid Prophecy 666", which included the concept that a Bible code was inserted by "Aryan adepts" within the King James Version of the Christian Bible. Gardell's book Gods of the Blood states "The number 1776 appears in the numeric square of Mars in which is found the Star of David and its 741 formula, 741 also being the value of the 14 Words in simple English gematria." Lane was described in "Pyramid Prophecy 666" as the "man" in the Book of Revelation with America being "second-head" of the Beast and the 88 Precepts being the "little book" in Revelation 10, views that were censored by Ron McVan and others who found the messianic claims counterproductive by "turning off potential converts".
Advocates
United Kingdom
- Nick Griffin, a British politician, former British National Party leader and MEP, has stated his political ideology can be summed up by the Fourteen Words. He has claimed "everything I do is related to building a nationalist movement through which those 14 words can be carried out."
- Colin Jordan, a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain and longtime supporter of the 14 Words; contributed to Lane's book Deceived, Damned & Defiant.
- Millennial Woes, a Scottish alt-right, neoreactionary political activist and YouTube personality, supports the slogan and has stated in 2017 that the "14 words used to be more controversial than they are nowadays". Faith Goldy has claimed that he had encouraged her to recite the slogan in an interview.
- John Tyndall, was a British fascist political activist, who supported the Fourteen Words, along with his party The National Front, which he was chairman of from 1972 to 1974.
United States
- The re-election campaign for Donald Trump, the President of the US, ran 88 adverts on Facebook on 17 June 2020 that opened with a 14-word phrase. The adverts were removed the following day for using a red triangle to represent political dissidents, a symbol that had previously been used by the Nazis for the same purpose.
- Andrew Anglin, an American white supremacist and founder of The Daily Stormer website, frequently uses, references, and supports the slogan, and has claimed, "We care not for our own egos or lives. We care only about the agenda, which is: We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."
- Baked Alaska, an American alt-right/far right social media personality, supports the words but not their creator, and has stated that there's "nothing wrong" with the slogan. Distancing himself from its creator, he claimed, "Just because others have used them doesn't change the meaning." He has frequently promoted the slogan on social media including with monetary receipts, polls, questions and memes.
- Craig Cobb, an American white nationalist and separatist, created the video sharing website Podblanc and started a business named after the 14 Words, as well as tried to start a church named after Trump which later burned to the ground.
- Harold Covington, was an American white separatist leader and founder of the Northwest Front organization, based on the 14 Words.
- Nathan Damigo, an American white supremacist, leader of Identity Evropa and former US Marine, supports and promotes the slogan with his organization.
- April Gaede, an American white nationalist and neo-Nazi stage mom, whose daughters used to sing under Resistance Records; distributed David Lane's cremated remains in "14 pyramids" to signify the 14 Words.
- Matthew Heimbach, an American white supremacist of the Traditionalist Workers Party, has based part of his party-platform on the "14 Words" and affirmed them at various speechings including one before the Council of Conservative Citizens.
- William Daniel Johnson, an American white nationalist, attorney, and chairman of the American Freedom Party, is an advocate of the 14 word slogan. He has stated that he and his organization "embrace principles that will secure the existence of our people and a future for our children". He has claimed that Ron Paul withdrew his endorsement of him for a judgeship in California, after media reported that he was an advocate of the 14 Words.
- David Lane, was an American white supremacist leader and key member of the terrorist organization The Order. He is credited with creating and popularizing the Fourteen Words. The ADL have described Lane's slogan as reflecting "the primary white supremacist worldview in the late 20th and early 21st centuries".
- Stephen McNallen, American neo-pagan leader and founder of the Asatru Folk Assembly, quoted the 14 Words verbatim through National Vanguard magazine declaring: "The mainstream media, the left establishment, and all the usual suspects have declared that this statement is 'racist.' It is not racist, it is not White supremacist, it is not bigoted, it is in no way expressing hostility toward any racial group" and based his own person slogan "The existence of my people is not negotiable" as a simplified 14 Words.
- Tom Metzger, an American white separatist leader, founder of White Aryan Resistance and hosted the 14 Word writings of imprisoned David Lane; accused the United States government of murdering Lane at his death in 2007.
- Jack Posobiec, an American alt-right conspiracy theorist and former naval intelligence officer, has repeatedly published information related to "1488" and has been reported as a supporter of the slogan.
- Billy Roper, an American white supremacist who corresponded with David Lane and founded a White power group called "White Revolution" based on the 14 Words.
- Richard B. Spencer, an American white supremacist and president of the National Policy Institute, supports the 14-worded slogan.
- Vox Day, an American writer, video game designer, and alt-right activist, supports the 14 Words, promoting the slogan in his Sixteen points of the Alt-Right, which placed the sentence "we must secure the existence of white people and a future for white children" as the fourteenth point.
- weev, an American computer hacker and Internet troll, has shown his support for the slogan, referencing "1488" numerously in computer transactions, as well as more explicitly discussing the topic on social media.
Other nations
- Faith Goldy, a Canadian right-wing writer and commentator, has recited and supported the Fourteen Words, saying "I don't see that as controversial... We want to survive." After being banned by Patreon for her advocacy of the slogan, Goldy defended her views, and gathered petition signatures in public on a document which replaced "white children" with "aboriginal children", to supposedly prove the slogan was not hate speech.
- Marian Kotleba, a Slovak politician and leader of the far-right Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia political party, has been accused of demonstrating support for the slogan, with supposed reference to the Fourteen Words by making a €1,488 donation to charity, which he is facing criminal charges for in Slovakia.
Murder of Alan Berg