How the removal of a statue angered white nationalists everywhere
Last weekend, the world was shocked at images of white nationalists, neo-Nazi’s and far-right groups protesting against the removal of a statue of a U.S. Civil War general in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with the faces of anger and the hatred that was spewed throughout the weekend, the most worrisome thing to come out of the protest was the realisation that these groups believe themselves to be a legitimate political movement with a secure ideology. White nationalists believe that national identity should be built upon white ethnicity, and that white people should preserve dominance in society by way of both a demographic majority and supremacy in the culture and public life of nations. They believe that similarly to Black Lives Matter or other ethnic minority nationalist groups, their white ethnicity and history should be celebrated and protected. As a white individual myself, I know that their political ambitions are both ridiculous and offensive. There is a clear difference between these types of groups — white nationalists and other ethnic minority nationalist groups — and they should not be compared or put on the same level. To do so would make a mockery of legitimate political movements aiming to achieve equality in society.
There is the argument that the difference between white nationalist movements and other ethnic movements is that it is unnecessary for white individuals to celebrate their white ethnicity. White people have the pleasure of knowing their exact heritage. We can say with certainty that we are of Irish or Polish or French descent and we can celebrate these cultures and are able to openly do so. We can study our history and find out more about our origins, being proud about our heritages. Unfortunately, other ethnic groups do not have this luxury. Black people, for example, often do not know their exact origins and are unable to trace them as they have systematically over the years had their history, heritage and origins erased. Because of this, they have to and should be able to celebrate and be proud of being Black. Having movements that allow them to do this should not be undermined by white nationalist movements complaining that Black people are able to celebrate being Black whilst White people aren’t able to celebrate being White. This is a petty argument that ignores the privilege that white people have to be able to celebrate our exact cultures, origins and heritage.
Whilst this is a valid explanation for why white nationalist movements built upon white ethnicity are absurd, it ignores the other aspects of white nationalist movements i.e. their desire to preserve dominance in society. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that white people are in any way being replaced or are disadvantaged in American society. In a study published in 2003 by sociologist Deirdre A. Royster, it was found that white male graduates are often employed in skilled trades, earned more, held higher status positions, received more promotions and experienced shorter periods of unemployment in comparison to black graduates from the same school with the same skills. A field experiment found that people with ‘white-sounding’ names are 50% more likely to receive a call back than people with ‘black-sounding’ names, even though they have equal resumes. The black rate of unemployment is double that of the white one, black children are more likely than white ones to attend high-poverty schools, and black men are disproportionately killed by police officers. Consequently, there is undeniably no evidence to support the presumption that white people are no longer foremost in society. Unfortunately, there is still an obvious hierarchy where they are seen as the dominant group, and therefore having a white nationalist movement to protect white culture and white people in society is ridiculous and embarrassing.
The things white nationalists protest against and the things they have problems with relate to other ethnic groups receiving equality or the chance to be on the same level as whites. The removal of a statue of Confederate icon General Robert E Lee, for example, which represents racism and America’s slaveholding history, is a way for America’s negative past not to be shoved in the faces of certain ethnic minorities. These groups would have been slaves in his time, and the removal of such a statute allows for the pain and suffering of ethnic minorities not to be heralded as a piece of treasured history worth commemorating. The fact that confederacy and slavery are still being celebrated and preserved in today’s society shows that ethnic minorities are still not perceived in the same way as white individuals, as they are forced to be degraded and humiliated by such idols as Robert E. Lee. The removal of this statute is not the portrayal of whites being increasingly dispossessed, therefore, but the attempt to make society and history beneficial and respectful to all. Their history is not being erased — the history of America will remain in textbooks and in people’s minds — it is simply not being glorified and celebrated anymore. By trying to prevent this from happening, white nationalists are attempting to remain supreme to the detriment of other ethnic groups.
As a white female, I am embarrassed and bemused that a large number of white people genuinely believe that they are being treated unfairly or are being eradicated from society. This is both an unfounded idea and a ridiculous notion, based solely on the fear that they are no longer the solitary focus in society as other ethnic groups are being represented more — as they should be. The fear that they could potentially become an ethnic minority — which is extremely unlikely — is only a fear because they are aware how badly ethnic minorities are treated, due to their treatment of them throughout the years. The prospect of the tables turning is a daunting one for those who are used to being at the top of the social ladder. They are scared of any sort of equality; as they believe this will ‘lesser’ their standing, despite the fact that this is what is sorely needed to better society. The white nationalist movement is clearly, therefore, not a legitimate political movement and is really just a new form of white supremacy.
Edited by Maryam Elahi
