Ouch

Here, out of Oroville, California, is a story that brings new meaning to the phrase "self-martyrdom":

Oroville racist has himself nailed to cross

An Oroville man attempted to have himself nailed to a cross near the state Capitol to protest the war in Iraq, Sacramento police said.

He identified himself to capital authorities as Greg S. Tremaine, 43, but he is known in Butte County as Greg Withrow.

It's the second time Withrow, a white supremacist, has had himself nailed to a cross in Sacramento.

In the most recent case, he had hoped to be carried around the Capitol on Thursday while nailed to the cross, police spokeswoman Michelle Lazark said.

Paramedics persuaded Withrow to seek medical attention after his friend, a 41-year-old Oroville man, tapped a nail 20 times through his left hand and into a wooden cross, Lazark said.

It's not the first time Withrow has used the self-crucifixion stunt to get attention. He did it in 1987, but that time he claimed he was the victim of an attack:

In 1987, Withrow had been found nailed to a cross in Sacramento, after he had attempted to form a White Student union at a community college.

He went on the national talk show circuit afterward, claiming the attack was in retaliation for abandoning his white-power roots.

He also testified during legislative hearings that resulted in increased criminal penalties for certain hate crimes in California.

But in a lawsuit two years ago seeking to overturn the hate-statutes, Withrow asserted he set up the crucifixion to infiltrate the media and halls of government and increase flagging interest, particularly among white students, in white separatism.

Well, as they say, it takes all kinds ...

Incidentally, Withrow's opposition to the war in Iraq is likely based on positions similar to most white supremacists', that is, that this war is being waged on behalf of Jews generically and Israel specifically. More on that problem soon.