"The doctrine that white people are superior to other peoples, and should therefore have greater power, authority, or status; advocacy or practice of such a doctrine." Dreadful events in Charlottesville, Virginia at the weekend caused me to look up the exact definition of that term. The second word is frequently watered down, somewhat, to "nationalism", in attempts to appear less contemptible.
White supremacism, as a movement, has been bubbling under for some time, here and in Britain and Europe. Memories of the horror of World War 2 (live ones) become fewer by the month as participants and onlookers die off. White supremacism is a close cousin of Nazism, which "subscribed to theories of racial hierarchy and Social Darwinism, identifying the Germans as a part of what the Nazis regarded as an Aryan or Nordic master race." (Wikipedia). Lack of living memories of World War 2 could be one strand, among multiple others, as to why this malicious "cult" has been able to press back into headlines.
I wondered what fellow-expats from Britain were thinking at this time, so had a quick look at the forum, and among a few comments much in line with my own thoughts I read, from one "Lion in Winter" commenting archly: This country can be deeply primitive. If that wasn't tongue in cheek, I have to wonder, only "this country"? How about his and my own native country?
WikipediaIt was pointed out on some thread of comments, to which I regret I've lost the link that, back in the day, "white" was a label manufactured during Colonialism to separate the European ethnicities from the Native Americans, Africans and others. Before the New World, Europeans considered themselves separate races: Germans a separate race from French from Spanish from British from Dutch, etc. And, it should be kept in mind that Europeans (including British) are to blame that some civilizations have ceased to exist as entities. Another commenter in the same thread added that we are hardly "in a position to take the moral high ground because we had better guns".
List of British Far Right Groups since 1945:
Many of these parties stem from either the legacy of Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, or the political views held by either John Tyndall, Andrew Fountain, Eddy Morrison, Ian Anderson, Colin Jordan and A.K. Chesterton, along with those of their parties like the British National Party, National Front (United Kingdom), National Socialist Movement (1960s) and National Democrats (United Kingdom) over the last 40 years.
Human nature, at root, is to blame. I'll resist, though, entering an astrological rabbit hole at this point.
reddit - a website I seldom frequent had this question:
What is the end goal of white supremacy? What happens in a society in which there are only white people left? Would they argue over which of them are whiter than the others?One response was:
Yes, in an entirely "White" society eventually tensions develop based on other measures of "otherness". See British vs Irish vs Welsh, and Serbs vs Croats, or Spanish vs Castilians.
"Human nature" is exactly right I believe. In a sense we are prisoners of our cultures - our 'society'. We fear anything that we see as threatening that which we've come to regard as our 'security' within that culture. We gravitate towards others with similar fears, become more powerful in numbers, and eventually attack that which we consider the threat. And, of course, we give ourselves a label to make us more legitimate - Nazi, White Supremacist...whatever. Basically, we fear those who are, or appear, different from us because we consider ourselves the 'norm'. We will fight against being ousted, no longer the 'norm', even to the extent of murdering vast numbers of our own kind, simply because we see them as 'different' and therefore a threat to our culture and society.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, of course. ;-)
RJ Adams ~ Agreed! Very well and concisely put, RJ - thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks and blessings to those that stood up to the alt-right in Charlottesville or anywhere for that matter. Heather Heyer gave her life supporting my kind of American values and the two officers forfeited theirs in the line of duty protecting the right to free speech. The conditions are wrought for 'Trump, Lord of the Flies'.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous ~ I don't think Trump is fit to be Lord of anything - not even "the Flies".
ReplyDeleteIt's very complex, I do believe ignorance and feeling powerless has a lot to do with it. Looking around for something, anyone to blame. Greed. Psychopathy. The feeling of superiority to others. Demeaning lesser to non-human status.
ReplyDeleteIt is horrifying and ugly and endorsed by 45, a known racist and white supremacist, like his father. Along with women fear/hatred (his grandmother was an extraordinarily bright woman and probably knew him for what he was), our first clue as to his nature was in his TV which I thankfully never watched but knew the catch phrase.
I could go on. It's your blog, lol.
XO
WWW
Wisewebwoman ~ Thanks for your input, WWW. Whatever Donald Trump is, the one thing he should never, ever, have been is President of the USA. At times I think he realises this himself, and is doing his darnedest to be kicked out, one way or another. Either that, or his mental health is, or has become, way out of kilter.
ReplyDeleteI mean - if a guy in his heart of hearts espouses racism, but finds himself in a unique and highly important position such as Prez of the USA, where opposition, or at the very least, neutrality to such feelings is essential - wouldn't he try to hide his feelings? He has to realise what's going to happen. I thought he'd rein himself back enough to last out one term, then not run again. I'm changing my mind now.
He's longing to be ousted - that's what I think I'm seeing.