My talk with friends about White Nationalism

Following the assignment instructions, i asked four of my friends to have a chat with me about White Nationalism. I talked to Devonte, my brother, Nicole, my roommate, Karissa, a girl in my class, and Lance, a former fraternity brother. I started by asking them that they knew about the subject, and most of them didn't say anything other than they were racist or "what the hell's a white nationalist?". I proceeded to talk with them about what i learned, including the ideas about Jews and race mixing and info on cloaked sites, finishing with a talk about American history x (which we all watched the night before). Most of them had expressed confusion and disbelief at many of the statistics and ways in which racism has continued. I had a hard time getting over my frustration as i had come to think of a lot of the information as common knowledge, not realizing i was the only one who had taken the class. They all basically assumed racism was over and that things were better than ever in regards to race relations. They cited the numerous examples of recent integration, including an increased African American presence in the media and our election of the first black president. At some point i went to David Dukes you tube page, and all of my interviewees expressed disbelief that this was a real man who really thought this and Nicole was especially concerned on how many views each video had gotten. We talked more and i sort of ran out of breath talking because there was just so much that they didn't know about institutional racism and WN.
I feel very concerned about the lack of awareness of these issues, when every single one of them knew about kim kardashians divorce and who was currently dating Leonardo DiCaprio. I think to me it showed just how serious it is to spread the word and how the power of media can be used as a tool by white nationalism to expand and at the same time hide in plain sight. 

These videos represent a theme common in WN, which is white genocide. This is stated in every form of media that WN use in one way or another. The basic premise is that the white race is being systematically destroyed by miscegenation, and the jewish controlled media that promotes it. This seems to be one of the, if not the main, pillars of white nationalism.The famous mantra of WN, david lane's 14 words, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children", sums up the essential driving force of WN. All of the arguments, whether it be about immigration, or the "jewish controlled" everything, this basic idea is the root concept behind the thinking. Take these pictures for instance :

This imagery showcases both the scope and the variation of the fear expressed by the 14 words. These and other images and videos and sites all express this concern and is a prevalent topic within WN media. The logic, to me is skewed and highlights the arrogance and paranoia of the movement in general. Why WN think they're so important and why everyone is out to get them is beyond me but i can see how the dramatic rhetoric adds to the illusion of coming doom. I want to laugh when i hear this because i struggle to make the same connections that allow WN to engage in their ideology, but the sad truth is that people believe in this, so much so that they are willing to make alterations to their body like the picture above or below

and commit crimes and rally

all, essentially, to hoard their whiteness, and the imagined (but often real) privileges over minorities in America. This immenent attack by minorities plays on deep seated feelings by mainstream white america, to me, seemingly to get money or some other reason i can't understand. I believe a lack of social dialogue about our history and race relations has only served to aid WN movements, because the wrong conversation is being talked about and propagated in WN media, largely unchecked.

Stormfront.org

Stormfront is the ideal example of WN interactions with the media. The discussion forum based site is the first and best recognized WN site on the internet in America. On my visit there i read lots of different discussions. It was pretty unnerving to actually see postings of real people talking and saying things that we lern aout in class. One prevailing topic was definitely the dislike of miscegenation and Zionist control. These discussions typically started with a statement stating the dislike of these topics or an opinion and comments were made agreeing or disagreeing. This actually highlighted one of the points in Daniels book, where she talks about the dangers of cyberracism. In it she describes how many people go to these sites looking for affirmation of their beliefs and do so because of lack of fear because of the anonymity the internet provides. This was confirmed by me when looking through the site, as many members speak on how they want to say things but don't, and confessions about feelings they want to express.These comments are usually met with encouragement of the feelings and worse, stories and examples of expressing WN views on the public. This type of communication not only shelters the members and their beliefs but also encourage continuing behaviors, sometimes to the point of advocating violence. 

Another trend i saw was the sharing of various WN propaganda/images between members. These images, shown below, are of varying levels of offensiveness and type, but most usually take the form of ridiculing other races and promoting WN ideology and can include anything from pictures of tatoos, to hitler posters and white power symbols.

 

These images and the way they are shared, help create a sense of shared community, where the people who visit these sites feel safe and welcome to discuss WN ideology uninhibited by society, and serve to strengthen beliefs and encourage bonds through communication between members. This helps to not only draw in more people but to increase the likelihood of continued interaction with the site and other WN media. This is dangerous yet ideal for those who wish to spread WN ideology. There is some regulation in what language and symbols can be used but other than that there is really nothing that is taboo, except for trying to question or attack WN, which is usually met with harsh criticism and ridicule. This to me highlighted how often WN will ignore or attempt to avoid any information contrary to WN ideology, thereby further sheltering the members. I see this defense technique as crucial to WN in general because it probably would be hard to have a logical, reasonable and solid argument defending something so very flawed at its core.
Overall, i saw at stormfront a very segregated and skewed discourse and with membership in the hundred thousands, i would say that stormfront is a vanguard for white nationalism on the internet and a good example of how WN discourse can operate and flourish within the mainstream.

Southern Poverty Law Center

 

 The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1971 by Morris Dees and Joseph J Levin Jr. Its activities include filing suits on behalf of victims of hate, monitoring and reporting on alleged hate groups and key individuals, and handling various anti-discrimination cases, promoting civil rights education, and combating systemic social injustices. They are notable for their success in suing perpetrators, in some cases actually bankrupting some hate groups where members were tied to crimes or deemed responsible in the crime committed. Successful suits include suits against The KKK, Aryan Nations, The Imperial Klan of America, and The White Aryan Resistance to name a few in which the groups were bankrupted by lawsuits.

In addition to handling cases, the SPLC also runs several websites, including SPLC.org and tolerance.org. The sites includes lists of hate incidents, a case docket, which lists cases the SPLC is currently engaged in as well as info on past cases, intelligence files on various individuals and groups, for the purpose of awareness and education, and multiple "hate maps" which number or outline the groups being watched by the SPLC (shown below)

This and other material on the site, really serve to counteract the way WN and other groups have influence others and mainstreamed their ideology through the internet using some of the same tactics as WN. Their sites are filled with educational material that help to increase awareness and  they have supplemental materials for parents and teachers to help them educate as well. I found the hate incident list (linked here http://splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-incidents) especially informative because it definitely challenges the dominant discourse of hate and racism being a thing of the past, as new incidents are posted daily and are from all parts of the U.S. I think that this is important because the info given, helps to give factual data to those who doubt or are uninformed on race issues. Additionally the SPLC has a quarterly publication called The Intelligence Report that puts this info and other articles in print form, to the same effect as the sites and periodically releases documentaries to further spread their message. 

Overall the SPLC and its various endeavors into different media serve to exponentially increase awareness and education on the subject of social justice and inequality much in the same way as many WN have used it to do the opposite. Some drawbacks include claims of bias and the lack of communication (one way due to the brochure format of sites) but overall the SPLC is an organization that has done a great job of spreading awareness and actively combating social injustice and is one of the major powers combating WN in all its forms and intolerance in general.

Links to sites - SPLC.org, tolerance.org, 

Don Black

A very important figurehead in the WN movement, many would consider Don Black the one responsible for the way WN operates with new media in modern times. His website, stormfront.org, has served as an example for other sites and is considered the first hate major internet hate site where members can post articles, engage in discussions, and share news of upcoming WN events.
Created after Black was released from prison in 1995, the site was created using Black's skills in computer programming which he gained while serving a prison sentence for attempting to overthrow a Caribbean govt. Black, a white power activist from an early age, Black saw the potential of the internet to get his message out to a much larger audience than traditional forums, bypassing the problems associated with having rallies or newsletters. This site also took advantage of the privacy and anonimity of the internet to allow those who may feel publicly embarrassed or afraid, a safe place to explore/communicate white nationalism, without scrutiny. Additionaly, the message board format of the site has created a feeling of community amongst members, allowing members excluysive access to other members information and encouraging communication between members with  private discussion boards effectively creating a WN cyber-community. This is has distinguished Stormfront from other sites which typically are more of a brochure format, in which there is a one way flow of information. Along with the innovations in site format, Black has also started banning the use of slurs, symbols, and some other hate related material on the site in an effort to legitimize claims of simply being white pride instead of racist.
Overall the tactics used by Black on his site have proven effective, with stormfront currently boasting 130,000+ members. His innovations have revolutionized WN recruitment and in my opinion the face of WN. The format in which the site runs allows for exponential exposure to White Nationalism and the rhetoric involved attempts to hide the racist roots in which WN comes from, distancing itself from what we typically associate (and automatically negatively connotate) as racist, and deceiving the less informed in some instances. His work has led to the increase in the scope and effectiveness of WN sites as a whole and served as a succesful example of how WN can operate within media to expand its membership and spread WN ideology on a global scale.

SOURCES: Southern Poverty Law Center.org, Stormfront.org, and Wikipedia.org

Visual Representation

This is a specific video on "Dr" Duke's youtube channel, which you can find in its entirety here, http://www.youtube.com/user/drdduke. I chose this as a visual representation of my topic because it is a good example of how white nationalism operates in new media and of many of the points made in the daniels book. The video distorts facts and events to persuade viewers to see their point of view without acknowledging historical discrepancies and ignoring the reasoning behind some of the details he pointed out. For example duke spent a few minutes discussing how the miss america pageant has become dominated by multiculturalism and how we just accept a blatantly racist policy of allowing a blacks only miss america pageant. He continues to express outrage of numerous racially based groups/organizations like BET and the NAACP and his percieved social unacceptability of white groups. He continues to bring up facts, like blacks are only 18% of the workforce yet 80% of the postal workers, to persuade the viewers of the inequalities of diversity and affirmative action programs. He comes back to these and other facts to prove that whites are being discriminated against while completely ignoring other facts like the miss america pageant had a ban on ALL non whites when it started until the late 60's and that the ffirst african american to win wasn't until 1984. Also miss black america was started in 1968, 40 years after the miss america pageant, and was created due to lack of black contestants in the original pageant.
In daniels book, she talks about an inverted epistimology in which whites are unable to properly understand a world in which they created and the priveledges associated with that and instead place themselves as victims. She says that this is one of the ways in which cyberracism can damage relations because it warps what is considered universal truths about justice and equality and leaves room for white nationalism to infiltrate and furthers ignorance of minority issues. This type of propaganda is especially damaging for this reason.
Overall, this video is a perfect example of the way new media has been used by white nationalists and how these types of propaganda operates to persuade viewers to their way of thinking. In additon the most viewed video on his page has 307 thousand views and many other videos have upwards of 100 thousand views which means that thousands of people have been exposed to this, another phenomenon that would not be possible w/o the internet.

Propaganda through time

clips of different types of historical and contemporary media that helped to perpetuate white nationalist ideals and beliefs

Birth of a nation full movieBirth of a nation trailer
Amos and andy (blackface)
save the white race
 White genocide
Race is more than color
Johnny rebel
Johnny rebel again

History

        White nationalism and its ideology have been apart of media since its creation. Books, movies, posters, music have all been used to simultaneously prop up white culture/people as the best and (intentionally or otherwise) put down non-white culture/people. For example the movie Birth of a Nation (1915), depicts the Ku Klux Klan as the protectors of the south from mobs of animalistic blacks (who were played by white actors in blackface). The movie was used as a recruitment tool and is considered a major factor in the increase of klan membership at the time of its release. Depictions like this were common and considered normal by mainstream society, despite the obvious misrepresentation. In fact, blackface and other racially insensitive depictions were popular genres of entertainment for many years. Its important to note that a large portion of the material was not made by what we would consider racists or white nationalists and may have not been intended to harm or insult. Nevertheless the quantity and popularity of such images still helped to normalize white nationalist ideals and reinforced stereotypes in the minds of Americans. The civil rights movements along with protests led to the decline of such blatantly racist material (or at least the social acceptability of such images) in mainstream America.
         The invention of the internet and radio have enabled white nationalists and supremacists alike to share their views with the world and each other, without the restrictions of mainstream social norms. These are especially dangerous as there is no real regulation on them and has allowed for creative distortion of facts to mislead and deceive people. Websites like Metapedia and Stormfront are major perpetuators of white nationalist ideals and have been used to gain a sort of psuedo-credibility for those unaware of the biased nature of the sites. The internet has also allowed for newslettters and chatrooms and pretty much any other kind of communication to be abused to spread the ideology, unhindered, and easily accessible by children and young adults who may be influenced by the sites.
         As technology advances our ability to communicate, white nationalism and the people who believe in its ideology will find ways to exploit that communication to expand and perpetuate the ideology as they have done with every medium. I have linked several examples of historical as well as contemporary examples of the different types and forms this biased propaganda can take to show the variety as well as the scope of the problem. Hopefully the more aware we become of the ways in which white nationalists and their supporters spread their ideology the more we can avoid  and eventually eliminate it.

Blog focus

On my blog i plan on focusing on white nationalist interactions with contemporary and historical media outlets. This includes old school propaganda, the internet, music, newspapers, etc. I will try to examine how white nationalist have integrated and utilized different media tactics to get and maintain followers as well as the ideology that is spread in their media.