The'Outnumbered' panel reacts to the indictment of former Southern Poverty Law Center spokesperson Heidi Beirich on federal fraud charges. Editor's note: This op-ed is part of a series by Eli Steele exploring White guilt in America and the West. Sources close to the matter say additional details are expected to emerge soon.

Context and History

The backdrop to this story helps explain both the urgency and the broader implications.

Steele is the director of the newly released documentary essay, `` White Guilt.''

SPLC SCANDAL UNDERSCORES HOW THE DEMAND FOR RACISM OUTSTRIPS THE SUPPLY | BOBBY BURACK On Oct. 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a 47-page report on debanking at the nine largest banks it supervises.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter indicate that the report found that four of those banks, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC and TD Bank, referenced the SPLC even as closing accounts or denying loans to conservative and religious customers.

Reactions and Responses

The depth of the response underscores how closely this situation is being watched.

In another case, PNC refused a line of credit to a media company in light of the fact that one owner's foundation `` has funded several Christian conservative groups, including several identified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.''

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, the regulators discovered that `` mere allegations, negative press or negative reviews contributed to certain banks declining to serve average Americans, even in the absence of any validation of the underlying facts or concerns.''

In what observers are describing as a key detail, my father, Shelby Steele, has a better name for it: White guilt.

Policy Implications

The story's impact will be felt at multiple levels — local, national, and beyond.

To paraphrase him, White guilt is the eternal drive by several Whites, especially those on the left, to prove their innocence of racism, to show over and over that they are not complicit in America's historical racial sins.

Alongside the primary story, it is this drive that gives White guilt its transactional nature.

At the same time, but the White guilt machine needs a never-ending supply of hate.

What has become increasingly clear is that if racism begins to fade, then what innocence is there to sell?

Observers have also noted that as the Klan shrank, the SPLC knew that it had to manufacture racism, and it did this by widening the definition of what could be counted as hateful and racist.

The Road Ahead

For now, the situation continues to evolve, with no definitive resolution in sight. Those closely following the issue are preparing for further developments in what has become a significant and consequential story.