I have a nasty habit of being a centrist these days; so I expect hate from the left and the right.
My opinion is that the white nationalist movement is the lovechild of right wing nationalism and left wing identity politics.
Image credit: Alejandro Alvarez/News2Share via REUTERS
For a long time in America; white people, males in particular, have happily accepted a moderate level of political priority being given to minority groups. An empathetic person can easily see why people who could be discriminated against should have a buffer against the tyranny of the majority. It's easy to imagine that life in a red state could be more difficult if you were an ethnic minority.
White Americans tolerated being lampooned in the media in the 90s till as recently as 2016; where the trope of the ignorant white male was repeatedly used as a safe comic plot device.
I doubt people really cared, after all, everyone deserves a laugh; and white people have idiosyncrasies endemic to their culture that are genuinely funny.
My favorite impersonation of a super white guy comes is Dave Chapelle's bit on 'Chip' his white friend.
This is brilliant, universally funny comedy.
An example of anti-white male media would be the following:
This is a mainstream media outlet singling out a race and a gender, then telling them how they're a societal problem.
This is completely unacceptable. If MTV released the same video targeted at black females, they'd be out of business.
None of this is a problem in an America where white people (men in particular) have an outsized economic power.
The problem is that all Americans, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity are suffering financially.
63% of Americans don't have enough money to cover an unexpected cost of $500 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2016/01/06/63-of-americans-dont-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-500-emergency/#185a366e4e0d).
Unemployment, drug abuse and crime are a problem in rural white communities as much as they're a problem in urban minority communities.
Unlike other communities, the idea of white people taking pride in their ethnicity is frowned upon, as in the past, white ethnic identity was associated with the oppression of other races. The problem now is that white identity has become a form of cognitive dissonance among a population that is told every race, gender identity, sexual identity and religious identity other than white heterosexual male can be proud of itself and form groups and systems of advocacy.
For example, at the University of Auckland, a European club was shut down after receiving death threats, and accused of being 'supremacist'; as well as being given scrutiny from government organizations.
Meanwhile, cultural groups for every other identity exist without even a chance of controversy.
It's this kind of obvious discrimination that fuels enthusiasm for white nationalism, add to that an economy that is increasingly leaving working class people unemployed and frustrated, and you end up with this kind of social unrest.
If you are going to have identity politics, then it's only logical that all identities will expect representation. Leaving one group out and expecting them to passively accept an unfair train of logic is the kind of thing that even a monkey will object to.
Either dump the cultural Marxism of identity politics and treat economic disparities, or accept white nationalism as a natural result of a system that infers its necessity.
My position? People should identity as Americans and not let themselves be distracted by the true problem. Massive economic inequality.
Good Post.. @business
Thanks @asimnaseem :)
welcome... @business
wow, did i laugh at that video.
What little I saw of it, they were chanting white lives matter! can you imagine the nerve. In any case, I'm a bit of a shit disturber myself at times and in my youth would say and do things to get a rise from annoying people.
If I was to venture a Guess, I would say it was meant to start violence and probably organized and funded by the same people funding Antifa and BLM.
If you can control both sides you control the outcome. Maybe an end to all protests before this is over? Problem, reaction, Solution :-)
Cheers
yo biz, been a while since your last post. I googled your article, "3 Dead and 34 Injured After White-Nationalist Rally in VA". I think people are creating their own problems. This won't happen if we just respect each other and be kind to anyone we meet. No matter what color. I can't believe, in this age and time some people are still plain stupid.
First of all BOMB username you got there.
2nd; you definitely deserve more votes on this expansive social commentary.
I would have thought this would fit better under philosophy or culture as the main tag.