Friday, June 26, 2015

What The Charleston Church Attack Reveals About White America

Emanuel African Methodist Church was attacked on June 17th by a white supremacist gunman. The shooting was an act of terrorism in South Carolina that the mainstream media refused to address. A State senator Clementa Pinckney was a major target in the massacre. Society continues to ignore the major problem that Dylan Roof, the assailant represents. The vicious pathological hatred of Whites for non-white groups. There were apologists for the criminal, with claims he is mentally ill or that hate group propaganda had brainwashed him. A multitude of excuses for his violence have been made. The most ludicrous claim is that Roof is part of a small minority that hold racist or supremacist  beliefs. That assessment is incorrect, because a majority of Whites despise African Americans. They have never viewed them as equals, friends, or even human. Dylan Roof did what many whites wish they could do on a regular basis: the elimination of the black population in the US. Much of the rhetoric in his manifesto was recycled racist convictions from various white supremacist writings, websites, and literature. This tragedy reveals much about the psyche of White America. It is exclusionary, intolerant, and violent.
        Roof's manifesto seems to be a reflection of various racist convictions whites have. He scapegoats the African American population as ruining the country.Roof's tirade reaches the conclusion that "blacks are taking over." He describes African Americans as inferior, violent, and subhuman. The text does mention other disparaging remarks about other ethnic groups or in the case of Jews, religions. The fixation on African Americans is based on a hierarchy of colorism. Ethnic groups with lighter skin color are viewed as less of a threat, but are still hated. The writing praises Northeast Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), which seems peculiar. However, this is not an anomaly when examined through the concept of colorism. The closer to a lighter hue in skin will give one more privilege in a white supremacist society. South East Asians, West Asians, and Central Asians are excluded, because of their darker skin. Dylan Roof seems to believe in the notion of the model minority. This concept was developed to denigrate African Americans and South Americans in the US. It also simultaneously was used to conceal racism and discrimination. The argument was that Asians worked hard to assimilate into American society and  as a result were accepted by white society. This is not true and the Vincent Chin murder is a perfect example. Roof ignores the long legacy of anti-Asian sentiment that has been been in America since the first wave of Chinese immigration, the war with Japan in the 1940s, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the fear of a more powerful China currently. Roof's proposed alliance is way to divide ethnic groups against one another and have one that is favored serve white supremacy. Many Asians are still hounded by the perpetual foreigner syndrome. Most Whites never view them as "real" Americans. His rants continue further stating that "Hispanics are a problem." Then Roof contradicts himself in another statement by saying "there are good and bad Hispanics." The "bad" ones in his view are the Amerindian populations of South America. Dylan Roof states that they value "White beauty" in South America and he favors Iberian descended Whites. This exposes his hatred through a hierarchy of skin color. By saying Hispanics are a problem it demonstrates the fear of a growing South American population in the US. Immigration is a major wedge issue that the conservatives use to gain votes. South Americans are viewed by Whites as unable to assimilate or integrate and designated a cultural other.Like African Americans they are constantly scapegoated. The reasons are different which range from taking jobs, depressing the labor market, and even causing a rise in crime. These claims are spurious, but to many Whites it is truth. Roof is opposed to immigration and the melting pot concept, because it is a direct challenge to White control. The manifesto laments the fact that Europe is experiencing large amounts of immigration. Europe to Dylan Roof is a White homeland that must be protected from what he considers the "inferior races." He is not alone in his beliefs. Numerous anti-immigrant groups and political parties have emerged in the UK, US, France, Greece, Germany, and Italy. White racism is becoming more popular in the US and Europe.
           Jews are mentioned in Roof's writing and are the only religious group to be disparaged. Dylan Roof's anger with Askenazi Jews is that they have a different cultural identity. He incorrectly believes that the only "real Jews" are European Jews. One can become a Jew by means of conversion. The paragraph sates that in his view, Jews are Whites. That does not represent demographic reality when counting Mirzrahi  and Maghrebi Jews. They are Arab and African  Jews. Ethiopian Jews are also not White. Being Jewish is not a race, but because they are distinguishable by culture they are   racialized by anti-semites. This reveals that the concept of race is mostly a social construction, which is used to control oppressed groups. He goes on to state that "Jews network."  Much of the diatribe is recycled antisemitic conspiracy theories.White hatred is not solely based on phenotypic characteristics, but culture. The writing exalts what he calls "White civilization" and claims that other races are just imitators. Like most Whites he acknowledges they do have a superiority complex combined with a Eurocentric perspective of the world. Jews do not fit in the White supremacist model, because their culture is too different.
        There is a divide in White America. It is class and culturally based. Dylan Roof criticizes Whites for moving to the suburbs as pusillanimous. He thinks White flight is evidence that some how African Americans have "taken over." The truth is White flight is an example of the desire to preserve segregation. Whites want to only be with other Whites. Most do not favor diversity or other forms of integration.  De jure segregation was eliminated, but de facto segregation is still functional. Whiteness was a concept developed in America to promote unity. This was unity through exclusion of African Americans and other ethnic groups. The hatred of African Americans specifically is a way to make Whites feel equal to other Whites. Throughout US history there has been income disparity that Whites were more class conscious about. Working class Whites had to be controlled so that wealthy elites could maintain power. Redirecting their grievances  at African Americans would provide an excellent distraction. This was done by planters in the antebellum south  and wealthy conservatives presently. Roof mentions that he has a disdain for suburban Whites, which reveals a class conflict.  He claims poor Whites were left behind with "hostile" African American populations. The disdain is that wealthy Whites are not helping poor Whites. It is now known that Roof  was unemployed by the time of the shooting. This is significant due to the fact hate groups target unemployed Whites and US Army veterans. The disillusioned and the frustrated are the perfect candidates for political extremism. Besides this issue there is a major schism in White America. One section advocates white privilege and supremacy. The other which is small in terms of opposition, rejects it. The reader would assume that Dylan Roof would be an extremely patriotic.This is not so and the reasons are clear. He believes in ethnic nationalism and opposes civic nationalism.  Civic nationalism is not based on race, but certain convictions. Anyone doubtless of their race, can become a US citizen. Roof  has disdain for this and believes a real America is completely White. Many Whites do not want other races coming to the US.
         White America has no love for the African American community. Policy brutality, gentrification, right-wing extremism, and a prison industrial complex are results of a legacy of White racial hatred. There are particular reasons for this obsessive hatred. The first could be fear. Whites have feared that if African Americans gained power, they would practice the same cruel acts. The possibility of vengeance has been around in the minds of Whites since the civil rights era. Another reason is that hatred is taught. Young White children are taught to have negative attitudes about other ethnic groups, which they will carry on into adulthood. The most important reason for this hate is that Whites have a strong belief in conformity. Anything different is considered negative. That is why immigrant groups will never have acceptance in the United States. Roof represents the uncontrolled rage of White America. The fact is there will never be peaceful race relations in the United States of America as long as Whites hold racial supremacist views.     

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