Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Whites and the Next Racial Clash in America
Time ^ | 12/05/03 | JACK E. WHITE

Posted on 12/05/2003 5:44:11 PM PST by freedom44

According to political scientist Carol M. Swain's unsettling new book, "The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration," the U.S. is on the brink of an explosion of white "tribalism" that could trigger unprecedented levels of racial antagonism and an epidemic of violence. The underlying cause: a swelling "white nationalist" movement fueled by simmering resentment of affirmative action programs like those used by the University of Michigan. "The book is a wake-up call to warn people that we're following a dangerous course by pushing identity politics and multi-culturalism," explains the Vanderbilt law school professor. "There's nothing special about the U.S. that says we couldn't have ethnic cleansing and violence here like in Bosnia or Rwanda."

It's shocking to hear such a dire prophesy from a scholar like Swain, who is rapidly establishing herself as one of the leaders of a new, increasingly vocal neoconservative brand of black political analysis that rejects affirmative action and reparations for slavery and holds blacks responsible for their own uplift. Until recently, most left-leaning black theorists derided her as a hopeless optimist. Her previous book, "Black Faces, Black Interests," ruffled many black politicians by dismissing their fear that a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the use of race in the creation of majority black congressional districts would be a disaster. Instead, Swain predicted, the ruling actually would be good for African Americans. As she foresaw, even in the Deep South strong black candidates were capable of winning enough support from whites to prevail in districts where black voters were outnumbered. She also argued that disbursing blacks into mostly-white districts could make it easier for liberal Democrats to compete with conservative Republicans by building multi-racial coalitions. Blacks "need more representation of their liberal views of policy than they need people who look like them" in Congress, Swain contended. Anyone looking at the toothlessness of the Congressional Black Caucus in the Republican-dominated House would find it difficult to disagree.

But, as Swain says, she "turned from a Pollyanna into a Cassandra" as her research into a book criticizing racial preferences made her aware of the spread of what she calls "the new white nationalism," a form of racial extremism more dangerous than the Ku Klux Klan because of its veneer of erudition and mastery of the Internet. Groups such as former Klansman David Duke's National Organization for European American Rights and the National Association of White People eschew the discredited notion of white supremacy. Indeed, they don't claim that whites are superior to anyone else and may even be inferior to Asians.

Instead they push the notion over websites, in publications such as Jared Taylor's "American Renaissance " magazine and through on-campus recruiting drives that all racial groups have unique interests and the god-given right to fulfill their destiny. They see themselves, as Swain has written, as "defenders of the legitimate civil rights of white people against what they allege are a host of racial double standards." In short, that affirmative action has made whites the most discriminated-against group in the country and that it can only get worse as a tide of immigrants transforms the U.S. from a white nation into a rickety Third World republic. The language white nationalists use to promote their insights is stunningly familiar to anyone who has listened to black nationalists like Louis Farrakhan — but that's not surprising, since the white nationalists appropriated it. As Swain observes, "the multicultural left has provided a language that works very well for whites who want to push white-identity politics," says Swain. "They say that if it's good for blacks to celebrate their heritage, it's good for whites to celebrate theirs."

What concerns Swain the most is such groups now seem to be finding an audience among mainstream whites whose gripes about racial preferences and high crime rates among blacks have been tuned out by white liberal politicians. Though she has no proof that the membership of such groups is mushrooming, their influence is being felt widely. Indeed, some of the rhetoric used by white nationalists is indistinguishable from the verbiage used by President Bush in his assault on the "quotas" supposedly used by the University of Michigan. "If we keep going down this road, it's going to increasingly pit racial groups against each other," she warns. "Some white people, who are otherwise good people, who don't hate blacks, are going to be pushed into the arms of these extremists if we don't change course."

Swain thinks there's only one way out of this bind: recognizing that whites have "legitimate" beefs about race that should be openly debated by politicians and scholars. She also believes we should immediately do away with racial preferences in university admissions, hiring and government contracts that not only fuel white resentment but send the message to blacks that they can't meet the same standards as everyone else. Swain's detractors say such steps amount to no more than a cowardly capitulation to racism, but she won't back down because she does not believe that blacks need the crutch provided by race-conscious policies. For Swain, a deeply devout evangelical Christian, such beliefs are not academic. Now 49, she went from being a high school drop-out and single mother in rural Virginia to a Ph.d and a chair at a leading university. "Somehow, we've got to embrace an American national identity that pulls us together instead of dividing us into warring camps," says Swain, "perhaps through a renewed emphasis on the Judeo-Christian idea of a common creator and the brotherhood of man." It's an old-fashioned idea that could prevent Swain's troubling predictions from coming true.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bookreview; carolswain; newwhitenationalism; preferences
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 181-200201-220221-240 ... 341-356 next last
To: freedom44
Well darn, Should I go out and buy a gun?
201 posted on 12/06/2003 10:37:49 AM PST by JamesA (Stand together, stand your ground and don't back down. Its ours to lose!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Burn24
pogue mahone ommidan

Roughly means: kiss me arse wiseguy
202 posted on 12/06/2003 10:55:52 AM PST by mylife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 115 | View Replies]

To: SauronOfMordor
"I don't think the gang-bangers have any conception of how much firepower the average suburban neighborhood has these days."

Yup.

203 posted on 12/06/2003 11:08:07 AM PST by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 177 | View Replies]

To: Travis McGee
" The first sign of trouble would be 20 cars racing up your driveway and 50+ shooter jumping out. Not good."

That could happen once in this area but, not twice.

204 posted on 12/06/2003 11:21:25 AM PST by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 197 | View Replies]

Comment #205 Removed by Moderator

To: Travis McGee
I'm very much inclined to think that if some sort of breakdown occurred, it would be primarily an urban phenomenon.

First off, there would be heavy casualties on what might be called the disruptor side. There would certainly be quite a bit of infighting.

Business would very soon turn towards survival, plain and simple. All the items not considered valuable would become worthless almost overnight. Money, jewelry, negotiable checks, etc. can't keep you warm, or light your house, or fill your belly.

Items of high value would be food, gasoline, certain clothing, stuff like that.

I once actually heard a guy say if all heck broke loose, he would go and try to buy a gun from his neighbors.

I'd bet donuts to dollars his neighbors would end up with his money and his wife!

Social breakdown is worth studying, The Turner Diaries are available online, another book that talks about it is "The Disappearance" by Philip Wylie.

No matter what, within two days after a major hit to the supply chain, all the milk is gone from the market shelves, and guys are removed from the theoretical to the reality of watching their children starve to death. A very frightening prospect.

But, finally, I can relate a short rumour I heard about events on Tacoma's south hill a few years back. Seems like some of the homies were creating a ruckus. They managed to get a bit too close to an area where a couple of retired Rangers were living.

Guess the rangers didn't take to kindly to the disruption. They brought out some of the small stuff they had, and gave a bit of a demonstration.

The roaches scattered like, well, roaches! No blood spilt. Peace was restored. There's one hell of a lot of firepower in rural America. Lots of 30-06s, .270s, etc.

And it only takes about two burned out vehicles across the street to stop anyone from getting within a mile of your house.
206 posted on 12/06/2003 12:27:32 PM PST by djf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 200 | View Replies]

To: djf
Social breakdown is worth studying, The Turner Diaries are available online, another book that talks about it is "The Disappearance" by Philip Wylie.

Hold tight. You mean you are actually recommending a book like "The Turner Diaries" for study?


207 posted on 12/06/2003 12:31:55 PM PST by rdb3 (1971 - 2003: From underrated to most anticipated.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 206 | View Replies]

To: Travis McGee
A 20 car raiding party would exfil in ones and twos, and assemble one or two miles from a pre-selected isolated affluent estate or farm. The first sign of trouble would be 20 cars racing up your driveway and 50+ shooter jumping out. Not good.

This seems a less-likely scenario. An affluent estate out in the country is not going to have as much easily-grabable goods as the average suburban mall. The "take" on a wealthy estate would likely be less than the take from a supermarket.

If things start to get ugly, look for raids on malls first: well-armed groups quickly going store-to-store, emptying cash registers, and grabbing jewelry, then scooting out the door to a convoy of waiting cars.

If it was me planning it, I would have pre-planned a set of side streets to drive down, and have some people pre-positioned there with gallon-jug Molotov cocktails ready to toss just as we pass to make the street impassible by pursuit.

The great advantages that cops have over criminals include communication, organization, and coordination. One armed robber will have all the cop cars in the area heading toward him. A crew with superior communications and organization could do things like stage a minor incident in one place, followed by their major event 20 miles away when all the cops have arrived at the first place.

The biggest advantage that cops have, is that the average crook is stupid. If we go into a war footing, we might start seeing these things pre-planned by fairly sharp people

208 posted on 12/06/2003 12:36:30 PM PST by SauronOfMordor (Happiness is a belt-fed weapon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 197 | View Replies]

To: rdb3
Not from the standpoint of the cause of any problems. But the results are something that might have to be dealt with someday.

209 posted on 12/06/2003 12:42:45 PM PST by djf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 207 | View Replies]

To: rdb3
Hold tight. You mean you are actually recommending a book like "The Turner Diaries" for study?

In my home-school curriculum for my kids, I include Hitler's "Mein Kampf" for the section where he describes his techniques of organization and media manipulation, and will be including readings from Mao and others.

Just because the overall theme of a book is repellent, does not mean that the book does not contain useful information and techniques.

210 posted on 12/06/2003 12:42:49 PM PST by SauronOfMordor (Happiness is a belt-fed weapon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 207 | View Replies]

To: Travis McGee
Bumpin back atya.
211 posted on 12/06/2003 1:14:14 PM PST by djf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 200 | View Replies]

To: Travis McGee
Reminds me of when this guy's friends came to visit:
212 posted on 12/06/2003 1:32:47 PM PST by wardaddy ("either the arabs are at your throat, or at your feet")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 200 | View Replies]

To: rdb3; Travis McGee
You should read it rdb3 just to educate yourself.

Btw...you are not the "enemy" in that book, the "Joos" are

I have read all kinds of crap....I even enjoyed Che's diaries.

You know what they say: "Know thine enemy"

But, it should be noted that Christian Identity or the like may kill some DJs, blow up some stuff but they are not terribly large or well organized.

There are some draconian PC things in the book that seemed laughable 15 years ago that are now not so laughable.

Hell....my Poli Sci degree required serious study of Hegel,Hayek, Marx and Engels and we of course dipped into National Socialism and Facism. Nobody thought my professor (ironically a former Hitler Forestry Youth) was trying to brainwash us. He was very very classically theocentric....one of the smartest men I have ever known.
213 posted on 12/06/2003 1:43:09 PM PST by wardaddy ("either the arabs are at your throat, or at your feet")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 207 | View Replies]

To: wardaddy
I think the thing that struck me the most when I read it was the absolute cold callousness of the killing. It was so matter of fact, that the characters seemed not even to be human, maybe more like spiders or something.

But if you think about it, in a life or death situation, PC attitudes are suicidal.

You have no freedom of speech or freedom of travel or any other freedoms. The only freedom you would have is to dig yourself as far as possible underground, protect what little you have, and above all, don't draw any attention whatever.
214 posted on 12/06/2003 1:52:38 PM PST by djf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 213 | View Replies]

To: freedom44
This article makes me very nervous.
The thrust of the argument is that "whites" are creating a crisis that could blow up in the future.

Blacks have whipped up the winds of hatred unbridled for 40 years and even "respected" academics (who should know better) simply gibly assume that it could continue indefinitely without some kind of reaction?
There is a clear and complete disconnect inside people who operate on cognitive dissonance, simultaneously believing that in fact we are all "equal" but some are more equal than others, while the eyes and ears of everyone else daily see mountains of evidence of the corrosive effect it has had.
Actions have consequences. Even delusion triggers consequences.

If any race or ethnic-based groups are allowed to exist unmolested, all such groups must be allowed and equally protected.
Anything short of that will yield the same undesireable result.

215 posted on 12/06/2003 1:52:56 PM PST by Publius6961 (40% of Californians are as dumb as a sack of rocks.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cyborg
There are plenty of black people who are not racist towards whites despite the treatment they endured in this country.

I doubt very much that there are any current black people living in the U.S. who have endured any "treatment" different from you and me.
That is not to say that many of them have not brought grief on themselves through their own actions, attitude and overt hostility.

Green men from Norway would have had identical grief, had they chosen to behave similarly. That's a different, apparent invisible, issue.

216 posted on 12/06/2003 2:02:32 PM PST by Publius6961 (40% of Californians are as dumb as a sack of rocks.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: Doc On The Bay
Do you really think that the depth of your ideas increases proportionally to the number of exclamation points you use?

BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

217 posted on 12/06/2003 2:07:43 PM PST by Publius6961 (40% of Californians are as dumb as a sack of rocks.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 92 | View Replies]

To: freedom44
Groups such as former Klansman David Duke's National Organization for European American Rights and the National Association of White People eschew the discredited notion of white supremacy. Indeed, they don't claim that whites are superior to anyone else and may even be inferior to Asians.

They are both jokes. Same ole Klan stuff disguised under a new name.

Some white people, who are otherwise good people, who don't hate blacks, are going to be pushed into the arms of these extremists if we don't change course."

That, I can agree with.

218 posted on 12/06/2003 2:09:39 PM PST by Dan from Michigan (To SCOTUS "We're not gonna take it! Never did and never well......let's forget you, better still!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eala
And with that safely out of the way, may I invoke the clear superiority of the Scottish-American over our nearest-of-kin, the Irish-American

Riiight. Put the sheep down.... :)

219 posted on 12/06/2003 2:13:22 PM PST by Dan from Michigan (To SCOTUS "We're not gonna take it! Never did and never well......let's forget you, better still!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: djf
I think the thing that struck me the most when I read it was the absolute cold callousness of the killing. It was so matter of fact, that the characters seemed not even to be human, maybe more like spiders or something.

I assume you're referring to Turner Diaries. The viewpoint you see there is a very tribal/ethno-centric viewpoint, where anybody not part of "my group" are non-humans to be exterminated when they threaten the welfare of "my group".

Take a look at some Nation of Islam and Five-percenter literature, and you will see the same viewpoint. The only thing holding many of them back is the knowledge that they do not have the numbers of firepower to impliment the agenda -- yet.

220 posted on 12/06/2003 2:16:28 PM PST by SauronOfMordor (Happiness is a belt-fed weapon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 214 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 181-200201-220221-240 ... 341-356 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson