Mall Rat Nationalists Gather to Celebrate Rich Houck

^[1]620 words

We gathered in Columbus, Ohio a few weeks ago to meet Counter-Currents author and fierce lawyer Rich Houck ^[2]. The venue was not a Pizza Hut or a 7-11, which might have been appropriate for the author of “Homage to Pizza Hut ^[3]” and “7-11 Nationalism ^[4].” (Or was it? Be there next time and find out!) Nevertheless, the room had the same nostalgic atmosphere — like a gathering of old friends rather than strangers meeting for the first time.

Rich is one of my favorite Counter-Currents personalities. I say “personality,” not “author,” because “author” just doesn’t convey the magnetism and lust for life that’s contagious for anyone in Houck’s circle. “The War Against Whites in Advertising ^[5]” is probably his best-known article for its in-depth research. Yet, he connects with a young audience through pieces like “Confessions of a Mall Rat ^[6].” Gen X and millennial readers feel a visceral nostalgia for the relatively more homogeneous society of the 1980s and ’90s.

This was reflected in his audience, the vast majority of which was under 40. For us, he offered words of realistic courage. Houck faced ruthless harassment just to graduate from law school. Unlike many others who hold disapproved opinions, he never uses a pseudonym. When his extra-curricular writings were discovered by fellow law students, he was removed from class by a SWAT team. When Houck objected, “[t]hey ultimately replied and said, ‘We can’t do anything to you because this is free speech for now, unfortunately. But we’ll keep an eye on you.’”

Rich Houck is an icon of the tireless fighter.

For Houck it’s not just about survival, throwing the ADL-whipped elites off his back just to be able to work as an ordinary lawyer. It’s about replacing those elites. We refuse to let them replace us by “electing a new people ^[9].” Rather, we will replace them. To do that, you need to be the absolute best.

While most lawyers take three months of study to pass the bar exam, due to a cluster of circumstances like those mentioned above, Houck did it in ten days. What could happen if we all had that kind of tenacity and force of will?

Remembering all these things, Houck said, “It reminded me of the Kipling poem, ‘If.’ In the last phrase, he says,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it . . .’”

In closing, Greg Johnson offered words of support to the organizers and attendees:

Welcome to the first meeting of the Columbus Forum. I say the first because I am confident that there will be others. I have been organizing, sponsoring, and encouraging meetings like this since 2009, trying to take community offline and foster something real . . . You are founding something new and beautiful.

One of our major initiatives here at Counter-Currents in 2022 is to more deliberately spark and encourage these local community groups by hosting events that bring people together. Who knows how many fellow readers are in your neighborhood? For example, I was surprised and delighted to have two other Counter-Currents contributors as guests of honor: Kathryn S, ^[10] who is just as beautiful as her prose, and the heroic Counter-Currents Radio chat host and voice artist Gaddius Maximus ^[11].

This was just the first of many Counter-Currents private events that we have planned for our supporters this year. Regular contributors are always welcome. New visitors to the site are encouraged to check out our Private Events page here ^[12] for attendance details.

If you, too, would like to sponsor or host an event in your area, please get in touch with me here ^[13].

Our next event will be Nationalism on the Ballot ^[14] on April 3 in Charleston, South Carolina. I can’t wait to meet you!

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