This Is Not A New Phenomenon
I wish those fears that have been growing
and growing since the election campaigns started had just been an overreaction.
I wish I wasn’t sitting here, watching the same scenes that I imagined in my
head playing out on the news. I wish I could still feel surprised at what is
happening around us, but I can’t and I won’t. None of this is new, but so many
people only notice it now because it’s in their faces and they HAVE to look at
it. Did you see the look in those neo-Nazis’ eyes when they were marching on
Charlottesville? I’ve seen that look before, and it chills me to the core.
I’m tired. If I am tired what does that say
for my friends and family members, and for all those people I don’t know, who
aren’t white? They fight prejudice every single day of their lives. I don’t
have the right to be tired, not now, not ever. Racism is such an everyday part
of this country that people don’t even realize how appalling some of the things
they say are…
"Oh
you aren't like them, you are one of the good ones, you did it the right
way!"
"I'm
not racist, one of my friends is black!"
Or, you know when someone makes a racist
joke and laughs and then says "only joking!". And then says "lighten
up it was only a joke" when you get angry or offended.
There are many more of these aggression's.
Those three are a few amongst many.
And then what about all those justifications
I keep reading concerning the so-called “Alt-Right”… (Call it what it is
please. A bunch of neo-Nazis)
.
“They
aren't really Nazis!” (No, they were just waving
that Nazi swastika around on flags for a laugh!)
“There
aren't many of them, stop overreacting” (Oh no,
that's why there are currently 917 hate groups that we know of in the US).
“Freedom
of speech!!” (Hate speech too then?)
“If
you bring attention to them you just give them more publicity which is what
they want” (oh so sticking your head in the ground
is a better option?).
“It's
not the president's fault!!” (I didn't see him rushing
to denounce white nationalist groups this weekend, did you?)
“But
you say "Black Lives Matter"! So why can't we say "White lives
matter" then??” (Because there never was a
moment when the white person had to fight for equal rights in this country. Or
any country for that matter).
“All
lives matter!” (Fuck off please. Just fuck off).
This one is also great "I don't like to talk about my opinions on social media but that
doesn't mean I don't donate, help, protest etc" "being a keyboard
warrior doesn't do anything!".
Actually... WRONG. What happened during the
Arab Spring? Where did you see REAL footage from REAL people? On Twitter! Where
are the best opinion pieces being found nowadays? Blog posts going viral. When
you refuse to voice an opinion you are dangerously close to becoming one of
those who refuses to see the reality of things. And trying to justify why you
don’t want to talk about causes online makes it sound like those who do are doing
something wrong. Opinions DO matter and are always important. Even just sharing
a good blog post or a photo or a news article can maybe help reach one
additional person, create one more ally. Don’t pretend that social media doesn’t
matter, because it is a HUGE part of how events/news/issues and information is
shared today. If you want to keep your social media opinion free, do it, but
don’t go on about why you do that on social media, please. But honestly, to me,
your silence speaks volumes.
Back to our white power-KKK-neo-Nazi
groups. What the fuck is "white culture"??? If that's a way to refer
to "European culture" then I think it's time for a geography lesson...
Europe is composed of many countries, spanning a large space in the Northern Hemisphere.
These countries have different histories and backgrounds, as well as different
languages and traditions. Danish culture is very different from Spanish
culture; British culture very different from Russian, and so on. I have as much
in common with a Latvian as I do an Indian. I was born in a European country
and raised in another and have no idea what these US white supremacists means
when they refer to “white” or “European” culture. I know what they are referring
to, and don’t need to be enlightened on the subject, but my point is that it
makes no sense whatsoever (although not much of what they believe in does to
me).
If you are white and you are American you
are a descendant of immigrants. Your culture isn't "white culture"
(whatever that really means). Your culture is a mix of your heritage, the
traditions your ancestors started in the new country, and the cultures and
traditions brought and started by other immigrants who came here. Your culture
is the land you were born on, land that used to belong to the natives and the
buffalo and the wild horses. Your culture is a mix of everything. You can’t
pick and choose what you like and don’t like – your country belongs to people
from all over the world. But ultimately your country belongs to those who lived
here long before your ancestors. Long before the white person stepped foot on
this side of the world.
So… Whose culture is really being erased?
We all know how badly ingrained racism is in
this country. You can whine on about how you aren't privileged but if you are
white you are. Just listen to the experiences of others instead of refusing to
believe that this country is pretty rotten at the core (hey I have no qualms
admitting that my country has done some pretty disgusting shit too, and still
does). Don't say you "don't see skin color" because you do. You can't
tell people to stop talking about race and then pretend that racists don't
exist. Oh yeah, please don't talk about reverse racism – that really doesn’t
exist. And again, don’t mention your one black/Mexican/mixed friend. I doubt
your token friend appreciates that you like him/her because “they aren’t like
the rest”.
I will tell you a story, a personal
experience. I know many people think I overreact when I hear of Nazi rallies or
when I see someone with a Nazi tattoo (happened a while ago in a deli, an older
man, he turned round and smiled at the girls and all I could see was his tatted
back and torso, Nazi symbols intertwined with crudely inked words). You don't
have to have your swastika in full view, the 88's, the runes, the images...
They speak for themselves. I react the way I do because I KNOW how serious
these people are. This isn't American
History X, a bunch of disenfranchised youths listening to their leader and
following every word he says, becoming "enlightened" after a prison
sentence and realizing that black people aren't what they were taught
(surprise!). This isn't a movie; these people are REAL and they are everywhere,
even more in the open than they were before. And while Trump has allowed them
to be more open about their beliefs and convictions, fearing fewer
repercussions, they existed a long, long time before. And not just here, all
over Europe. And not just in the old Eastern bloc countries, ALL over Europe.
I know for a fact that many of the people
who join these hate groups aren't unhappy, unemployed, uneducated youths. On
the contrary, they are often well educated, smart kids who slowly become more
and more involved, fully believing their convictions are real and the truth.
Back in the 90's when I was a teenager and into a lot of heavy metal I saw a
grey line emerge within the scene. It was the time of black metal, the time of
Burzum and Varg Vikernes' incarceration. Metallica wasn't enough, more darkness
was sought after, and with it often came another darkness, one that I saw
emerging in people's eyes, turning them from friend into foe. These friends
weren't easily manipulated or suffering from some kind of superiority complex. They
were not poor and unemployed. They were just looking for something to make
their lives more meaningful, convinced that their country was being overrun by
evil. Slowly but surely the scene grew apart, disbanded, everyone going off in
different directions, and even though I still lived in the same town as them I
made sure I didn't bump into some of those old “friends” again. Over the years
I heard stories, even though I had moved across the world, stories I knew were
not rumors. I had hoped that with time their minds would have changed, they
would have grown out of this hatred, but unfortunately it just got worse.
I recently
woke up to a comment on one of my public photos on Facebook, and felt my heart
skip a beat. My last run in with this person was in my very late teens, locked
into a room where he looked at me with black, piercing eyes, telling me if I
didn't shut up and “get with the program” harm would come to me. Even back then
I documented everything with words and photos, and I still have a photo of my
face after that "party", eyes bloodshot from crying, but resolved to
never, ever let anyone instill fear into my heart again that way. That last
encounter with that person proved to me that I was right to walk away from
these people and their growing hatred. Seeing this person comment on a photo of
me and my family 20 years later asking me how I was and how he would love to
hear all about my life stopped me in my tracks. Should I answer? Had he
changed? One quick glance at his profile, one “WP” thrown in a public status
was enough to tell me he hadn't. And no I did not need to respond. Just because
we went to metal shows together when we were 16 doesn't mean that we need to be
connected on social media now. I abhor what he stands for, and seeing as he's
all for white power, I'm pretty sure I'm considered a traitor to his precious
race anyway. Some people really don’t deserve a second chance, or even a first
chance.
All this to say that they are everywhere,
and not always in places that you imagine them to be. They aren't all skinheads
with white laces in their paraboots. They look "normal", have
"normal" jobs, and probably don't bring too much attention to
themselves. But they harbor beliefs that do not represent what this country
supposedly stands for. Their rhetoric may be enchanting at times, and you may
be drawn to dismiss them as a "bit extreme", or "a bit
eccentric, but harmless". I suppose it's easy to say that if you have
nothing to fear or lose. But believing one race is better than another, believing
that if you don't conform to certain ways of life, you don't have the right
skin color, gender, religion, or sexual orientation you are a lesser human
being and don't deserve to live, well those beliefs have caused wars and
millions of deaths. Dismissing one person, pretending they don't exist or are
harmless just helps them grow stronger. Your country hasn't just become racist.
These people aren't new, they are a lot more entrenched and numerous than you
can imagine. I was brought up to believe in equality and love, but even my
upbringing didn’t stop me from being surrounded by people with hatred in their
souls.
If you can stomach it, take some time to
read the literature that these hate groups churn out. Read what they say about
women, POC, immigrants, the LGBTQ community. Read what they say about non
-Christians. Read what they say about mixed marriages and mixed children. And
believe what they say - because if you don't you risk to be taken by surprise
sooner rather than later. Saying that you don't want to bring attention to them
is a cop out - bringing attention to them makes it easier to flush them out.
They aren't going to go away just because you pretend they don’t exist. And by
saying that really shows your privilege. So please, use your privilege to flush
them out and get rid of them. Use your privilege to fight with and for those
who need to be protected from this crap and this bullshit. These people won’t
be changing their minds anytime soon, so let’s stop them from getting bigger
and stronger. A few months ago a woman was murdered by a white supremacist, a
terrorist, born and raised here. How many more will get hurt or killed at the
next rally? Be brave. Be honest and be true. The longer we sit in silence, the
faster they gain power.
And no, again, I am not overreacting.
Written by Jade.
Social
Media:
Website, From the Inside
No comments
Post a Comment