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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'White supremacy' is really about white degeneracy
Keith Kahn-Harris
Todays far-right populists relish the idea that they can be morally contemptible, yet still prevail
Wed 28 Nov 2018 05.05 EST
The concept of white supremacy is having a moment right now, and understandably so. White resentment, entitlement and bigotry never went away, but it is closer to the political mainstream now than it has been for decades.
The rhetoric of the likes of Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, Steve Bannon and other figures in the ascendant populist right might not openly embrace white power, but there is no doubt that open white racists have been emboldened by them. Trump may have not wanted Richard Spencer (who coined the term alt right) to gleefully exclaim: Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory just after the 2016 US election, but he was not particularly bothered by it either.
Online and offline, there is a rich and growing milieu of radical racist thinkers and activists. Robert Bowers, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, was immersed in it and active on the Gab social network, stirring up hate towards Jews who support refugees.
However, white supremacy, as used to describe a belief in the racial superiority of white people, may not be the best concept to help us understand what is going on here. Its not that there isnt a barely concealed attempt to rehabilitate the long and clearly documented history of white racism in western democracies. The issue is that Im not sure that its supremacy that is the goal here, so much as a licence for a perverse kind of degeneracy.
Consider the contrast between Barack Obama and Trump. Obama is not a perfect human being, nor was he a perfect US president. But its impossible to deny his qualities. He is intelligent, competent, witty, plain-speaking, empathetic and has a loving relationship with his family. Obama is also a man who was not born into wealth and power, and worked hard to make something of his life. Trump is the reverse: incompetent, mendacious, rude and seemingly incapable of non-instrumental relationships. The only way he has made anything of his life is through being born into privilege, with sufficient reserves of family capital to allow him to build a business based on little more than bragging.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/28/white-supremacy-degeneracy-far-right-populists
Todays far-right populists relish the idea that they can be morally contemptible, yet still prevail
Wed 28 Nov 2018 05.05 EST
The concept of white supremacy is having a moment right now, and understandably so. White resentment, entitlement and bigotry never went away, but it is closer to the political mainstream now than it has been for decades.
The rhetoric of the likes of Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, Steve Bannon and other figures in the ascendant populist right might not openly embrace white power, but there is no doubt that open white racists have been emboldened by them. Trump may have not wanted Richard Spencer (who coined the term alt right) to gleefully exclaim: Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory just after the 2016 US election, but he was not particularly bothered by it either.
Online and offline, there is a rich and growing milieu of radical racist thinkers and activists. Robert Bowers, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, was immersed in it and active on the Gab social network, stirring up hate towards Jews who support refugees.
However, white supremacy, as used to describe a belief in the racial superiority of white people, may not be the best concept to help us understand what is going on here. Its not that there isnt a barely concealed attempt to rehabilitate the long and clearly documented history of white racism in western democracies. The issue is that Im not sure that its supremacy that is the goal here, so much as a licence for a perverse kind of degeneracy.
Consider the contrast between Barack Obama and Trump. Obama is not a perfect human being, nor was he a perfect US president. But its impossible to deny his qualities. He is intelligent, competent, witty, plain-speaking, empathetic and has a loving relationship with his family. Obama is also a man who was not born into wealth and power, and worked hard to make something of his life. Trump is the reverse: incompetent, mendacious, rude and seemingly incapable of non-instrumental relationships. The only way he has made anything of his life is through being born into privilege, with sufficient reserves of family capital to allow him to build a business based on little more than bragging.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/28/white-supremacy-degeneracy-far-right-populists
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'White supremacy' is really about white degeneracy (Original Post)
MrScorpio
Nov 2018
OP
unblock
(52,213 posts)1. Indeed. They really think their white skin entitles them.
They believe being white means being entitled to go around saying f*ck you to everyone, and bring entitled to tell everyone to shut up when they dare to object.
They think it entitles them to be able to be mean, cruel, insensitive, inconsiderate, selfish, greedy, jerks and to be praised for being "real Americans".
In short, they think it entitles them to be evil, while it shields them from anyone being able to accuse them of that.
Solly Mack
(90,765 posts)2. K&R
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)3. "Degenerates" is a great term for them
All hail tRump's degenerates!
A Rump degenerate rally is what you get when you mix a KKK gathering with a monster truck show.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)4. White degeneracy ... A better term for them