White nationalism is the attempt to create racial identity groups which advance the social and economic interests of white or Caucasian people.
White nationalist beliefs
White nationalism is the belief that white people have a common identity and interests, a belief usually considered uncontroversial when advanced by any other racial group. Pursuit of these interests includes the establishment of organisations to promote issues important to white people, organisations of kinds similar to those already existing such as the NAACP (see also identity politics). Specific policies include the preservation and teaching of European history and culture, and opposition to economic and social discrimination against whites.
White separatism
More extreme white nationalists may also support white separatism, the belief that white people should live separately from non-whites, either in separate all-white nations or in separate white areas of existing nations (see also racial segregation). White nationalism called by that name usually has a hint of these more extreme viewpoints in it, as more moderate supporters of some of the movement's goals do not typically self-identify with the label.
The concept of race
The term "race", though held by many geneticists to be of little scientific value, still holds social value for many who (in part or in whole) base their personal identity upon those genetic characteristics that affect outward appearance. In all parts of the world, personal identity reflects the degree of awareness and connectivity to the outside world and foreign cultures, thus "race issues" tend to be seen as related to xenophobia, ethnocentrism, and other "culture clash " paradigms. Similar concerns that may be a catalyst for a distinction of personal identity are religion, gender, language, and differences regarding these issues are often manifested in conflict of one form or another.
Definition of "white"
White nationalists often have a definition of "whiteness" that is more limited than mainstream usage. "Whiteness" implies an ancestry that is solely or overwhemingly native European, but also requires a psychological identification with the white ethne and a commitment to advance its interests. Therefore Jewish and Muslim peoples are rarely considered "white", even if they appear to be European. Some nations on the fringes of Europe, such as Portuguese, Southern Italians, or Greeks are not to be considered white by extremist groups because these areas were at one time ruled by non-white invaders of Europe and significant non-European heritage may remain.
History of white nationalism
White nationalists claim that their beliefs were widely held in the past. They thus quote Abraham Lincoln, who, addressing the black community, wrote:
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There is much to encourage you. For the sake of your race you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people...General Washington himself endured greater physical hardships than if he had remained a British subject, yet he was a happy man because he had engaged in benefiting his race, in doing something for the children of his neighbors, having none of his own. The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long time. In a certain sense it is a success. The old President of Liberia, Roberts, has just been with me--the first time I ever saw him. He says they have within the bounds of that colony between three and four hundred thousand people, or more than in some of our old States, such as Rhode Island or Delaware, or in some of our newer States, and less than in some of our larger ones...The question is, if the colored people are persuaded to go anywhere, why not there? Address On Colonization To A Deputation Of Colored Men. Washington, August 14, 1862. [1]
Many modern white nationalists explicitly deny being racial supremacists, arguing that they merely wish for each group of people with shared heritage, including white people, to be allowed to promote and preserve its heritage, and do not desire to oppress or dominate other races as racial supremacists do. However, many of their critics charge that white nationalism is simply white supremacism in disguise. Some white supremacists call themselves white nationalists, since it is a more acceptable term.
A negative view
Viewed in a more negative light, White nationalism can be viewed as a reaction by whites who believe they are disenfranchised against the rise of liberal multicultural ideologies based around tolerance and "inclusiveness". While posturing as civil rights groups advocating the interests of their ethnic group, white nationalist groups frequently draw on the traditions of Nazism [2], fascism and the racist and nativist traditions of the American Ku Klux Klan and the British National Front [3] cloaking themselves with symbols of patriotism, Christianity and Western civilization.
Neo-Nazi background
The term white Nationalist has been used by Neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan, Christian Identity and Aryan Nations groups, which have generally overlapping ideologies based on the perceived necessity to maintain whites as a distinct race. Some of these groups have condoned violence in the past, and some have built up strong followings in prisons.
White nationalist groups
American Renaissance and the Council of Conservative Citizens are two leading examples in the United States. In Europe, several far right political parties such as the British National Party, France's Front National, and the Austrian Freedom Party have won fairly wide support based on platforms widely seen as advocating racial separatism in addition to traditional nationalism. Some critics of more mainstream conservatism in the United States and the United Kingdom go further and claim an undercurrent of white nationalism exists in right wing politics (i.e Willie Horton, Pat Buchanan, Pete Wilson, Enoch Powell)- a charge most conservatives contest. White nationalists themselves reject the concept that Republicans like Pat Buchanan are "one of them."
See also
External links
- Here is an article about White Nationalism written by a white nationalist, in a Wikipedia-style format.
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Last updated: 05-18-2005 19:17:46
