The contentious and ultimately lethal demonstration in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend of Aug. 11 highlighted a conglomeration of groups which no longer seem to feel the need to operate under the cloak of obscurity. Marchers carrying Tiki torches, swastikas, confederate flags, banners reading "Jews will not replace us" and "blood and soil," while yelling Nazi slogans left little to the imagination.
In the aftermath of President Trump's botched and highly controversial pronouncements about the violence surrounding this event, every observer and columnist analyzed the repercussions about what happened from all angles and in great detail, leaving little to dissect. Some questions are still left unanswered, however. Who are these people? How many are there? What inspires them? What is their support structure? Do they have First Amendment rights to spout the venom that appears to unite them?
The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, an activist group focused specifically on the development and existence of "hate groups," defines such collectives as organizations with "beliefs or practices that attract or malign an ethnic class of people typically for their immutable characteristics." Since the turn of the century the number of hate groups have seen explosive growth, driven in part by anger over Latino immigration and demographic projections showing that whites will no longer hold majority status in the country by 2040. The increase in numbers accelerated in 2009 when President Obama took office, declined somewhat after that, and picked up speed again during the last two years because of a presidential campaign that flirted heavily with extremist ideas. (Southern Poverty Law Center, Hate Map, Aug. 17, 2017).
The groups most prominently identified during the discussion following the Charlottesville events include: Neo-Nazis, white supremacists or white nationalists, Ku Klux Klan, and Alt-Right. Although organizationally distinct, ideology and leadership of these groups often overlap. The neo-Nazis grew out of the National Socialist Movement, which was founded in1974 as the "National Socialist American Workers Freedom Party." This group seeks to revive the far-right tenets of Nazism. It borrows elements of Nazi doctrine, including ultra-nationalism, racism, ableism (discrimination in favor of able-bodied people), xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Neo-Nazi literature frequently highlights "14 words," referencing the white supremacist slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children," or alternatively: "Because the beauty of the white Aryan woman must not perish from this earth" ("Hate on Display: 14 words," Anti-Defamation League, June 1, 2007). The current national leader of the Nazi movement is Jeff Schoep, who has been a "true believer" since age 10, and who took over in 1994, propelling the NSM into the most active neo-Nazi organization in the country.
"White supremacy" refers to the conviction that white people are in many ways superior to people of other races, and, because of that, white people should dominate other races. This belief is rooted in scientific racism, which claims to establish a connection between race and intelligence, and distinguishes between superior and inferior races. "White nationalism," by extension, is the ideology that advocates a racial definition of national identity, suggesting that national citizenship should be reserved for white people only. Leading promoters of white nationalism are Matthew Heimbach and Richard Spencer. Heimbach, in an article entitled: "I Hate Freedom," wrote: This is our home and our kith and kin. Borders matter, identity matters, blood matters, libertarians and their capitalism can move to Somalia if they want to live without rules" (Traditionalist Youth Network, July7, 2013).
The Ku Klux Klan, better known, was founded in 1866 as a vehicle to oppose Reconstruction policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for African-Americans. David Duke, a white-nationalist politician, anti-Semite, conspiracy theorist, holocaust denier, convicted felon, and former Imperial Wizard, remains influential. He made a point of thanking the president for having the courage "to tell the truth" following the Charlottesville events.
The "Alt-Right," a loosely defined group of people with far-right ideologies, makes a point of influencing these demonstrations wherever they take place. The group was initially identified as "Alternative-Right" by Paul Gottfried, and American paleo-conservative philosopher. Richard Spencer changed the name in 2010 to disguise overt racism, white supremacy and neo-Nazism. Lindy West, a New York Times opinion writer referred to this designation as an "unacceptable euphemism legitimizing an ideology that would be unacceptable if it were simply called white nationalism."
All of these far-right groups find editorial support and encouragement on websites like "Daily Stormer," a neo-Nazi news and commentary site, and Breitbart News, which expresses similar views, and takes the lead attacking all opinions not in line with its own. Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's Chief Strategist until just a few week ago, has retaken his previous position as Breitbart's Executive Chairman. These ideologies are substantially supported by individuals who occupy influential positions. Among them are people like Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump's Senior Advisor for Policy, and Sebastian Gorka, the president's deputy assistant. Both of these have well-established connections to the white supremacist movement and neo-Nazi extremism. And they have the president's ear.
Enough said. To quote Heather Heyer, the 32-year old paralegal, a counter-demonstrator, killed on Aug. 12 by Nazi sympathizer James Field: "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."
No comments:
Post a Comment