Former white supremacist shares cautionary tale
CRANBERRY TWP — A former white supremacist spoke about bringing awareness to social media content that can be marketed toward negative emotions such as hate and rage during a seminar at Cranberry Public Library Monday night.
Shannon Foley Martinez began her presentation by saying that people who feel worthless are most susceptible to coping with their issues through violence-based extremism.
She said her talk was to explain “the risk of dehumanization and give a brief synopsis of my story, how I got involved in violent white supremacy and eventually got out.”
Martinez shared that she was sexually assaulted at age 15 and turned the negative emotions she felt into rage. She said the feelings of worthlessness and rage are what drew her to white supremacy groups.
“I could walk into a room and have people be afraid of me,” Martinez said. “I had wanted to be a martyr for this cause.”
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