The international group has been described as everything from a far-right vigilante group and neo-Nazis—two descriptions they actively dispute—to heroes keeping the streets clean. Despite its historic name, the club has a very short history, forming in October of 2015 in the small northern Finnish town of Kemi as a response to an influx of migrants. It's since expanded to many more towns and countries across Europe.
At the heart of all of these cells exists a burning anti-immigration sentiment.
The group gained infamy for their patrols, group events where they gather and march through the snowy streets of Finland as a show of intimidation to the refugees. There haven't been any reported acts of violence; the group has publicly stated they consider the patrols "observe-and-report styled patrols" but, if necessary, they will "come to the defense of anyone who may need us."
[Soldiers of Odin, Europe's Notorious Anti-Immigration Group, Beginning to Form Cells in Canada, by Mack Lamoureux, VICE, April 15, 2016]
There's the usual signaling about how evil they all are, followed by adoring interviews with Muslims. However, when it comes to Soldiers the reporter himself actually interviews, nothing bad happens. Nonetheless, Lamoureux says "the wannabe Soldiers of Odin I've met made me deeply uncomfortable and nervous" and that they were rough guys, including "riggers" and "retired army men."
Yes, an adult journalist actually wrote the phrase "retired army men."
At the end of the story, some of the Soldiers ask to check the ID of the reporters. They run away.
The coverage of all of this resembles the MSM hysteria over the Minuteman Project when that made its debut. Like the Soldiers of Odin, the "patrols" consisted of watching and reporting to law enforcement. Like the Soldiers of Odin, the Minuteman Project was borne out of the deliberate refusal of law enforcement to do its job.
The MSM is incredibly hostile to any groups of Western men self-organizing to defend their communities. In contrast, it actively covers when Third Worlders inflict violence and chaos on Western societies, as we saw in Cologne or in Rotherham.
Don't like the idea of politically motivated pseudo motorcycle clubs organizing in the streets? There's a simple solution. Stop admitting Muslim refugees, stop deliberately destabilizing Western societies, and enforce the law.
