![]() ![]() There's no escaping the fact that minorities in the United States have embraced various forms of identity politics (some unhealthy, others not) in response to centuries of white domination. Her point is well taken, but Swain mixes up cause and effect when she characterizes white nationalism as the baby that multiculturalism has birthed. "The new white nationalists are skillfully using the rhetoric of civil rights, national self-determination, and ethnic identity politics as they make their case among the many aggrieved whites in America for a white, European-centered nation," explains Swain. Noting that other ethnic groups in America organize along racial lines to press for their interests, white nationalists maintain it's imperative that "Euro-Americans" do the same. Decrying affirmative action as a form of reverse discrimination, they are driven by fears that the United States is fast becoming a nation beholden to non-whites. White nationalists are apoplectic about shifting population demographics that point toward the prospect of white Americans losing their majority status in 50 years or so. Virginia Abernethy, for instance, is cited favorably as a "political scientist and population researcher" without any mention of her position with the Council of Conservative Citizens, a racist hate group that recently referred to blacks as "a retrograde species of humanity" on its Web site. generally opposed to increased immigration") and relies on tainted sources. ![]() Her argument falters, however, as she makes sweeping, unsupported assertions ("environmentalists are. Liberal immigration policies and bilingual education also contribute to a worsening racial climate, according to Swain, and this plays into the hands of white nationalists. (She recommends that racial preferences be scrapped and replaced by class-based, color-blind programs to assist those who are socially and economically disadvantaged.)Īlthough she acknowledges that ethnic minorities continue to face discrimination in American society and that affirmative action does little actual harm to white males, Swain views widespread resentment against racial preferences as an easy mark for white nationalists to exploit as they seek to build bridges to mainstream conservatives. The book digresses into a lengthy discussion of affirmative action, which Swain opposes because it supposedly undermines self-confidence and initiative among its intended beneficiaries. "A majority of white Americans already share some of the ideas of white nationalist leaders and scholars," says Swain, who warns that the soil in which these groups develop remains very fertile.īut Swain's study gets bogged down when she analyzes several factors that are fueling the growth of the white nationalist movement, including job losses associated with globalization, the alleged (but unproven) recruiting potential of the Internet, non-white immigration, and racial preferences in employment and college admissions. These well-mannered malcontents ( Jared Taylor, editor of American Renaissance, is a prime example) have tailored their message to appeal to middle-class whites who can readily identify extremism when garbed in Nazi or Klan regalia, but not when it hides behind the softer, more euphemistic vocabulary used by right-wing politicians to attack welfare, affirmative action, immigration, and other racially charged issues. The smooth-talking white nationalists who camouflage their prejudice are the most dangerous of all, according to Swain, for the kindler, gentler form of hatred they espouse is far more palatable, and therefore more pernicious, than the discredited white supremacist ideologies of old. Within these circles, crude racialist formulations are often downplayed in favor of a less abrasive discourse, one that emphasizes "heritage" and "cultural differences" rather than genetics or skin color. While some white nationalists still spout master race slogans and parade around in uniforms, such obvious displays of bigotry are eschewed by the more sophisticated zealots who realize that it's not always best to advertise their allegiance to the creed. Swain, an African-American professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University, is concerned about the growing threat posed by the white nationalist movement, a beast with a formidable wingspan that encompasses an assortment of neo-Nazis, Skinheads, paleoconservative pundits, Klansmen, tenured academics, Christian fundamentalists and atheists, with a few "white separatist" Jews thrown in for good measure. Civil rights advocates have been put on the defensive by a new breed of right-wing extremists who are adept at disguising old hatreds with deceptive rhetoric. Swain's The New White Nationalism in America, it's that racial politics in America has gotten a lot more complicated lately. If there's one thing that rings true while reading Carol M. ![]()
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