White supremacy

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A Nazi illustration of the master race. The caption says, "German bearing, German prowess, manifest Nordic racial heritage!"

White supremacy is a racist belief that white people are superior to other races. The term is sometimes specifically used to describe a philosophical belief that whites are not only superior to others, but should rule over them. White separatist and white nationalist groups often use this more limited definition in order to differentiate themselves from white supremacists, though these ideologies often overlap.

White supremacy is often associated with anti-black racism and with anti-Semitism, though it has also been used to justify prejudice and discrimination against other non-white groups, such as Africans, Asians, and Australian aboriginal people. There are different forms of white supremacy, with their own definitions of white. For instance, Pan-Europeanism regards all Europeans as "white", but Nordicism classifies southern Europeans (e.g. Italians, Greeks, Spanish, Portuguese) and eastern Europeans (e.g., Poles, Ukrainians, Slavic peoples) as inferior.

White supremacy, as with supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony. It contains varying degrees of racism and xenophobia. White supremacy is often associated with ethnic cleansing and racial separation.

A distinguishing feature of modern Nazi-influenced white supremacy is the claim that white people are innately superior to some or all other races, and therefore should rule over them. White supremacists almost always believe that dark-skinned people (especially those with sub-Saharan African ancestry) are inferior. Many white supremacists consider certain types of whites to be inferior based on non-racial grounds, such as non-Protestants, atheists, and homosexuals. Not all white supremacist organizations agree on which group is the greatest enemy. Many white supremacists consider Jews to be the gravest threat to white supremacy, and accuse them of manipulating other minority groups for their own gain.

History

In the 18th century, some naturalists and philosophers — including David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Linnaeus and Georges-Louis Leclerc — promoted variations of white supremacy.^{[citation needed]} Politically, socially and economically, white supremacy was dominant in the United States before the American Civil War and for decades after Reconstruction. The same is true of Apartheid-era South Africa and of parts of Europe at various time periods; most notably under Nazi Germany's Third Reich. The extent and nature of white supremacy's continuing influence in western culture is a subject of ongoing debate.

In some parts of the United States, many non-whites were disenfranchised and prevented from holding government office (or even serving in most government jobs) well into the second half of the twentieth century; Native Americans in the U.S. and Canada and Aborigines in Australia were often viewed as obstacles to progress, rather than settlers in their own right; many European-settled countries bordering the Pacific Ocean at times limited immigration and naturalization from the Asian Pacific countries, usually on a cultural basis; the United States in some states banned interracial marriage until 1967 (see Loving v. Virginia); Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) held out as an overtly white supremacist regime until 1979, and South Africa into the 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

Contemporary white supremacist ideologies

There is considerable variation amongst different groups of white supremacists as to whom they classify as white, and which races or other groups they claim to be superior to.

Nordicism

Those who follow the ideology of Nordicism and Germanicism only consider Northern European people who are Nordic or Germanic (and often Celtic) to be white, shunning Southern and Eastern Europe along with anyone whose ethnic heritage is not European. In Madison Grant's 1916 book, The Passing of the Great Race, Europeans who were not of Germanic origin and had Nordic characteristics such as blonde hair and light eyes were considered to be a Nordic admixture and suitable for Aryanization. ^[1] These beliefs were central to Nazism and lay at the core of the Nordic theory.

Pan Europeanism

Pan Europeanism accepts all native and original European peoples, ranging from fair skinned Swedes, Britons and Germans to darker complexioned Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Greeks.

Pan Aryanism

Another variant, Pan Aryanism, accepts native Europeans from all of continental Europe and extends its acceptance to non-European Caucasoids, such as some Middle Easterners, North Africans, and Central/West Asians. Yet this is usually on an individual basis and not all people from these regions are accepted by Pan-Aryanists as white. With regard to the acceptance of Middle Easterners in Pan-Aryanist ideology, Syrians, Lebanese, Turks (who are often considered European), and Persians are accepted as white, but Saudis and Yemenites as a whole are not.

South Asian Caucasoids (Pakistanis, Northern Indians etc) as a whole may generally not be accepted in this ideology as well, however some Pan-Aryanists acknowledge and have disputing beliefs on lighter skinned people descended from Aryans in this region. An example is a textbook for those taking entrance examinations for the British Civil Service in the early 1900s categorically stated that Afghans and Berbers were in the highest classification, along with Northern Europeans, but above the Spanish and Italians ^[2].

Religious movements

In the United States, some claim white supremacist movements are linked to fundamentalist Christianity, but most Christians denounce the movement as fundamentally non-Christian. The Christian Identity movement, which tends to regard other branches of Christianity as heretical, is closely tied to white supremacism. Some white supremacists such as Matthew F. Hale, consider violence to be a legitimate way to further their cause and dismiss mainstream Christianity as a mongrel or "suicidal" faith. Hale's group, the Creativity Movement is an atheist organization that despises Christianity and worships its own ethnicity.^{[citation needed]}

Other white supremacist groups identify themselves as Odinists. Most Odinists reject white supremacism, and white supremacists make up only a small fraction of those who believe in Odinism. The white supremacist version of Odinism believes that the universe is composed of "worlds of light" (white people) and "worlds of dark" (non-white people).^{[citation needed]} Odinists believe in the old Norse gods and do not believe in the divinity of Jesus. Some groups, such as the South African Boeremag, conflate elements of Christianity and Odinism.

Not all white supremacist groups adhere to Christian Identity or other religious doctrines. Groups such as the American Nazi Party or the Greek Hrisi Avgi are largely politically, rather than religiously, motivated. The Ku Klux Klan's reasons for supporting racial segregation are not primarily based on religious ideals, although some Klan groups are openly Christian Identity or Protestant, with some branches now accepting Roman Catholic members.^{[citation needed]}

Contemporary white supremacist groups

White supremacist groups can be found in most countries with a significant white population, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and parts of Latin America. In all of these places, their views represent a relatively small minority of the population, and active membership of the groups is quite small. However, a backlash to the influx of non-white immigrants into various European nations has spurred a rise in membership in such organizations, as well as an escalation in white supremacist demonstrations and hate crimes.^{[citation needed]}

The militant approach taken by some groups has caused them to be watched closely by law enforcement officials. In some European countries, various laws ban white supremacist groups. These include laws that forbid hate speech, in addition to laws that forbid organizations deemed to be fundamentally opposed to any multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and democratic society.

Many white supremacist organizations seem to have shown a tendency to splinter easily, and modern-day white supremacist movements existing on the Internet show a great deal of strife within the movement. Different groups and individuals have feuds and rivalries. It could be observed that too many people within the movement want to be leaders as opposed to followers. Less extreme white supremacists, along with followers of and groups associated with white nationalism and paleo-conservatism are considered to be cowards and traitors by a lot of white supremacists, the latter two groups reciprocating with a conviction that white supremacists and neo-Nazis especially make them all look bad.

Violent actions

The World Church of the Creator, now called the Creativity Movement, presents a recent example of violence perpetrated by white supremacists. Ben Klassen, the sect's founder, believed that a person's race is his religion. Aside from this central belief, its ideology is similar to many Christian Identity groups, in the conviction that there is a Jewish conspiracy in control of the federal government, international banking, and the media. They dictate that RAHOWA, a Racial Holy War, is destined to ensue, to rid the world of Jews and "mud races." In the early 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in membership due to the growing belief in the apocalypse, and that RAHOWA was imminent. In 1996, Matthew F. Hale, who was denied a license to practice law in Illinois, was appointed the leader of the Church of the Creator. Hale made a number of changes to the group, including changing the name of the organization to the World Church of the Creator. The TE-TA-MA "Truth" Foundation's Church of the Creator legally trademarked the name Church of the Creator and won a lawsuit in 1996.[1]

WCOTC members in Southern Florida are thought to be tied to several racially motivated beatings. Within the last year, four Florida members were convicted for the pistol-whipping and robbery of a Jewish video store owner. They were supposedly trying to raise money for a revolution.^{[citation needed]}

List of white supremacists

The people listed here are current or recent supporters of white supremacy. (Note that many people in the "White Power" movement regard themselves as racial separatists or racial nationalists and publicly denounce supremacism.

List of organizations

See also

References

External links

Alleged or stated white supremacist websites:

• Afrikaner Wehrstandsbewegung
• Solar General
• BNP
• Imperium Europa
• Stormfront
• National Vanguard
• National Alliance
• Vanguard News Network
• Pan-Aryan National Front
• Aryan Nations
• The Insurgent