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The Charlottesville marchers have roots that go deep in the nation’s history and its present
The Charlottesville marchers have roots that go deep in the nation’s history and its present
By CARL SKUTSCH
KKK members in Washington, D.C., in 1925.
The angry men marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend seemed alien (foreign) to many Americans. They shouted “Blood and Soil,” imitating the Nazi slogan “Blut and Boden” – meaning that the blood must be racially pure, and the land must belong to the racially pure. For these new American Nazis, the enemies are the Black and brown people supposedly destroying their pure white United States. The marchers chanted, “Jews will not replace us,” echoing Hitler’s paranoid fear of Jews as the ultimate enemy. Although they may seem a bizarre throwback to 1930's Germany, these men have roots that go deep in American history.
White supremacy was written into the founding of the United States. Article I of the Constitution says enslaved people were worth "three-fifths" of a person, and Article IV required states to kidnap enslaved people who ran away. The Civil War ended legal white supremacy, but it continued to be enforced by Southern leaders and white militant groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
The original Klan faded away, then was reborn as a Protestant nativist movement in the 1920's. The new KKK was anti-Black but also targeted Catholics and Jews, part of a long anti-immigrant tradition in America. The second Klan quickly attracted millions of supporters, then faded away in the 1930's.
The third Klan rose during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and ’60s. White people, angry at attempts to end segregation, again put on white hoods and joined local officials (often they were the local officials) in attacking Civil Rights workers. The Klan targeted both Black and white people with beatings, bombings, and assassinations. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 put the final legal nails in segregation, support for the Klan dwindled.
The legal defeat of segregation did not, however, end white dreams of supremacy. Instead, angry white supremacists, no longer part of the mainstream, splintered (broken up) into numerous underground racist organizations. Many of these groups borrowed ideas from the Nazis, creating a new kind of white opposition. These movements also spread out from the South, reaching every part of the United States.
Today’s white supremacists are splintered into dozens of groups with similar ideologies (sets of ideas). There is a lot of crossover between these groups, with people moving back and forth between them.
There are the neo-Nazis, who use websites to coordinate their activities. There are slightly more mainstream white nationalists who call for the creation of an ethnically pure white state (an “ethno-state”). The Klan still exists with splinter factions (groups) around the country.
Then there’s the modern alt-right, a term coined by white nationalist Richard Spencer. They are particularly offended by what they see as "excessive political correctness." They share contempt for mainstream liberals, feminists, “social justice warriors” and immigrants.
There is a sad mix of paranoia and inferiority in all these supposedly "superior" white people. They claim they are the real victims in America – the ones who face real racism. They portray themselves as warriors, but when they are attacked, they are shocked, hurt, and afraid.
version M
version M
The Charlottesville marchers have roots that go deep in the nation’s history and its present
The Charlottesville marchers have roots that go deep in the nation’s history and its present
By CARL SKUTSCH
The angry men marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend seemed alien (foreign) to many Americans. They shouted “Blood and Soil,” imitating the Nazi slogan “Blut and Boden” – meaning that the blood must be racially pure, and the land must belong to the racially pure. For these new American Nazis, the enemies are the Black and brown people supposedly destroying their pure white United States. The marchers chanted, “Jews will not replace us,” echoing Hitler’s paranoid fear of Jews as the ultimate enemy. Although they may seem a bizarre throwback to 1930's Germany, these men have roots that go deep in American history.
White supremacy was written into the founding of the United States. Article I of the Constitution says enslaved people were worth "three-fifths" of a person, and Article IV required states to kidnap enslaved people who ran away. The Civil War ended legal white supremacy, but it continued to be enforced by Southern leaders and white militant groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
The original Klan faded away, then was reborn as a Protestant nativist (relating to or supporting the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants). movement in the 1920's. The new KKK was anti-Black but also targeted Catholics and Jews, part of a long anti-immigrant tradition in America. The second Klan quickly attracted millions of supporters, then faded away in the 1930's.
The third Klan rose during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and ’60s. White people, angry at attempts to end segregation, again put on white hoods and joined local officials (often they were the local officials) in attacking Civil Rights workers. The Klan targeted both Black and white people with beatings, bombings, and assassinations. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 put the final legal nails in segregation, support for the Klan dwindled.
The legal defeat of segregation did not, however, end white dreams of supremacy. Instead, angry white supremacists, no longer part of the mainstream, splintered (broken up) into numerous underground racist organizations. Many of these groups borrowed ideas from the Nazis, creating a new kind of white opposition. These movements also spread out from the South, reaching every part of the United States.
Today’s white supremacists are splintered into dozens of groups with similar ideologies (sets of ideas). There is a lot of crossover between these groups, with people moving back and forth between them.
There are the neo-Nazis, who use websites to coordinate their activities. There are slightly more mainstream white nationalists who call for the creation of an ethnically pure white state (an “ethno-state”). The Klan still exists with splinter factions (groups) around the country.
Then there’s the modern alt-right, a term coined ( new word or phrase invented by) by white nationalist Richard Spencer. They are particularly offended by what they see as "excessive political correctness." They share contempt for mainstream liberals, feminists, “social justice warriors” and immigrants.
There is a sad mix of paranoia and inferiority in all these supposedly "superior" white people. They claim they are the real victims in America – the ones who face real racism. They portray themselves as warriors, but when they are attacked, they are shocked, hurt, and afraid.
versión en español
versión en español
La historia de la supremacía blanca en Estados Unidos
La historia de la supremacía blanca en Estados Unidos
Los manifestantes de Charlottesville tienen raíces profundas en la historia de la nación y su presente.
Por CARL SKUTSCH
Los hombres enojados que marcharon en Charlottesville, Virginia, el pasado fin de semana, parecían extraños (extranjeros) para muchos estadounidenses. Gritaron “Sangre y suelo”, imitando el eslogan nazi “Blut and Boden”, lo que significa que la sangre debe ser racialmente pura y la tierra debe pertenecer a los racialmente puros. Para estos nuevos nazis estadounidenses, los enemigos son los negros y morenos que supuestamente están destruyendo su Estados Unidos blanco puro. Los manifestantes corearon: “Los judíos no nos reemplazarán”, haciéndose eco del miedo paranoico de Hitler a los judíos como el enemigo final. Aunque puedan parecer un retroceso extraño a la Alemania de 1930, estos hombres tienen raíces profundas en la historia estadounidense.
La supremacía blanca se inscribió en la fundación de los Estados Unidos. El Artículo I de la Constitución dice que las personas esclavizadas valían "tres quintas partes" de una persona, y el Artículo IV requería que los estados secuestraran a las personas esclavizadas que huyeran. La Guerra Civil acabó con la supremacía blanca legal, pero los líderes sureños y los grupos militantes blancos como el Ku Klux Klan (KKK) continuaron imponiéndola.
El Klan original se desvaneció y luego renació como un movimiento nativista protestante en la década de 1920. El nuevo KKK estaba en contra de los negros, pero también tenía como objetivo a católicos y judíos, parte de una larga tradición antiinmigrante en Estados Unidos. El segundo Klan rápidamente atrajo a millones de simpatizantes y luego se desvaneció en la década de 1930.
El tercer Klan surgió durante el Movimiento por los Derechos Civiles de las décadas de 1950 y 1960. Los blancos, enojados por los intentos de poner fin a la segregación, volvieron a ponerse capuchas blancas y se unieron a los funcionarios locales (a menudo eran los funcionarios locales) para atacar a los trabajadores de derechos civiles. El Klan apuntó a personas negras y blancas con palizas, bombardeos y asesinatos. Después de que la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y la Ley de Derechos Electorales de 1965 pusieran los clavos legales finales en la segregación, el apoyo al Klan disminuyó.
Sin embargo, la derrota legal de la segregación no acabó con los sueños blancos de supremacía. En cambio, los supremacistas blancos enojados, que ya no forman parte de la corriente principal, se dividieron (se dividieron) en numerosas organizaciones racistas clandestinas. Muchos de estos grupos tomaron prestadas ideas de los nazis, creando un nuevo tipo de oposición blanca. Estos movimientos también se extendieron desde el sur, llegando a todos los rincones de los Estados Unidos.
Los supremacistas blancos de hoy están divididos en docenas de grupos con ideologías similares (conjuntos de ideas). Hay muchos cruces entre estos grupos, con personas que van y vienen entre ellos.
Están los neonazis, que usan sitios web para coordinar sus actividades. Hay un poco más de nacionalistas blancos mayoritarios que piden la creación de un estado blanco étnicamente puro (un "estado étnico"). El Klan todavía existe con facciones (grupos) disidentes en todo el país.
Luego está la extrema derecha moderna, un término acuñado por el nacionalista blanco Richard Spencer. Están particularmente ofendidos por lo que ven como "corrección política excesiva". Comparten el desprecio por los principales liberales, feministas, “guerreros de la justicia social” e inmigrantes.
Hay una triste mezcla de paranoia e inferioridad en todos estos blancos supuestamente "superiores". Afirman que son las verdaderas víctimas en Estados Unidos, los que enfrentan el racismo real. Se representan a sí mismos como guerreros, pero cuando son atacados, quedan conmocionados, heridos y asustados.
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