If I were to ask you what white supremacy means, can you give me an answer without Googling it? I certainly couldn’t anymore. Something to the effect of the domination of a particular racial group (in this case Whites), over all others. However, today’s definition includes the use of power structures and hierarchies in order to maintain the existing hierarchy. And furthermore, engaging in values that would bring success and increased prestige within the hierarchy are considered elements of that supremacy.
But when asked about what values are included within that structure of supremacy, you get answers such as keeping time, schedules, hard work, a nuclear family, beliefs in the scientific method, rugged individualism, planning for the future and delaying gratification, and respect of authority, just to name a few.
There are a number of flawed assumptions in these views, founded in the philosophy of Critical Race Theory, that I as a cisgendered white male, find very, very racist. These elements that were found on a poster at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, are based in the belief that these values only belong to the “supremacist” culture, when in fact they are universal. If you look at the wonders of the world, the level of planning, organization, and intelligence required to pull something like that off is amazing.
But this idea continues to evolve, degrading and disconnecting the meanings of words which in turn degrades our abilities to connect in meaningful ways. If we have no common understanding, we lose our ability to form communities. If we can’t understand our neighbor, we can’t be sure they aren’t trying to kill us.
And if you believe that I am being hyperbolic, follow my logic here. Let’s say that you believe that someone who disagrees with the active destruction of American systems is pro-fascist, then they are labeled a German National Socialist. If someone is a German National Socialist, they should be physically attacked. There is no room for disagreement, no room for context or nuance. It becomes a line in the sand, a binary choice, either you are with us or against us.
In the realm of social media, this thought flows freely. The use of the word hate, angry, German National Socialist, white supremacist, fascist has been thrown around so much and has been applied to so many people that the words have lost most of their meaning, and the waters are so muddied that the real fascists and National Socialists can roam freely.
Where do we go from here? Well, that entirely depends on who wins the election. Either the movement is rebuffed and retreats into darkness, or their tactics win and are validated. Who’s to say?
A Place 4Politics 