User:Editor2425Me25/Siege (Mason book)

SIEGE Newsletter
The SIEGE Newsletter ran each month from August 1980 until June 1986. Each issue was six pages and was almost always written by the original author James Mason (neo-Nazi). His writings frequently built off the ideologies of George Lincoln Rockwell, Joseph Tommasi, Adolf Hitler, and William Luther Pierce. The newsletter also sometimes came in the form of reprints and writing by Joseph Tommasi, Perry Warthan, and Frank Spisak. Mason saw his works in two separate periods, covering the world and how to change it in the first four years and then providing "greater clarification" in the last two years of the newsletter. During this time, Mason's neo-Nazi ideology remained ardent, but also fluctuated. For example, he ultimately proclaimed Christianity as an important facet of neo-Nazism in the last years of the publication. Another fluctuation during this newsletter was his support for violent activism. In the beginning, Mason wrote fondly of violent tactics from leftists and Black nationalists. Later, however, his support for this sort of activism — even more broadly — wained. Through and through, the SIEGE Newsletter remained anti-system, even rejecting notions of being conservative or right-wing. According to Spencer Sunshine:"He stressed that it was not merely the seizure of state power that was needed but a cleansing revolution, 'a TOTAL WAR' against 'the Jew-Capitalist System!!' SIEGE's readers were exhorted to take actions that would not merely be sparks to ignite the masses but that had an openly messianic aim of a uniquely 'total and complete' revolution."In terms of violent activism, Mason was drawn to state and civilian clashes such as the 1981 Brink's robbery and the 1985 MOVE bombing. However, he advised that the neo-Nazis should let Black nationalists and leftists fight this fight with the state and that the neo-Nazi movement should deactivate any violent activism.

The SIEGE Newsletter ended in 1986, as Mason cited depression and a sense of his ideology being fully communicated in what he had already self-published.

SIEGE Book
With the ending of the SIEGE Newsletter, other figures in the American neo-Nazi movement such as Michael J. Moynihan encouraged Mason to create an anthology of sorts including his earlier works. Moynihan himself ended up writing the introduction to the SIEGE book, which is excerpted below: "The SIEGE volume you hold in your hands is intended both as a guide and a tool. For the observer, or the curious, it serves as a guide through the netherworld fo extremist poliical thought.... this book offers a unique and direct access-point ot understanding the philosophy, tactics, and propaganda of an increasingly militant and uncompromising brand of National Socialism. ... Secondly, and more importantly, this book is meant to serve as a practical tool. A majority of readers will hopefully not be mere sociologists or researchers, but rather that small faction of people who may be already predisposed towards these ideas. this certainly does not only refer to National Socialists, but revolutionaries and fanatics of all stripes."After struggling to find someone who would publish the book for Mason, the book came out in April1993 titled SIEGE: The Collected Writings of James Mason. Mason dedicated the book to Charles Manson, whose anti-semitism, female following, racism, and popularity among young people inspired Mason. A second edition was later released in 2003.

SIEGE Influence
Readership of Mason's SIEGE was not large while it was in circulation. For example, the SIEGE Newsletter did not run more than one hundred. However, the impact of James Mason's SIEGE grew exponensially with its rediscovery in the 2010s on Iron March.