Words for Racists
Intellectualizing racism is often the work of the racists themselves. The rest of us need to stop allowing them to get away with it.
There are a lot of people who complain about the use of the term “alt-right” to refer to the extremely racist conservatives who loudly supported Donald Trump. It seems like people think that the media came up with the term to re-brand racism. They weren’t. Richard Spencer, who runs the white supremacist organization, the National Policy Institute, came up with the designation in 2010.
That’s right a white supremacist came up with the term. (White supremacists tend to make up the terms that define them, despite what their bellyaching tweets and supportive pundits claim.)
Intellectualizing racism is about marketing it.
Alt-right is a shortened term for the name of Spencer’s white nationalist website the Alternative Right; it is also the name of a white identity movement that Spencer considers himself to be the leader of. The decision to go this route and to gussy up racism didn’t go unnoticed by people on the left and right for the years proceeding the 2016 Election. Concerned parties on both sides spoke out about how this website and the people that identify as “alt-right” was Spencer’s attempt to intellectualize racism. It seems that his attempts were successful.
Spencer’s choice to re-brand racism, to make it more marketable to the masses, isn’t the first time that racists have tried to attempt to make their hatred more palatable. In fact, historically, one of the most successful ways to institute racist policies is to dress them up as being for the protection of white individuals and culture. (Hitler and Wallace were experts in this sort of thing.) They use phrases like “white nationalism” or “white separatism” or “white pride” — terms that they try to justify by saying that nationalism is just about love of country, claiming that separatism is respecting biological and cultural difference, or by arguing that if other groups get to have pride in their race/ethnic group, then so should they. While these arguments appeal to those who share them, it is obvious to the rest of us that they are racist and fall within the logic/demeanor of a toddler.
By using intellectualized terms, racists ingratiate themselves amongst the rich and the powerful. They influence said individuals to make this kind of ignorance and hatred a part of their policy. They normalize it before turning around and saying that anyone trying to use it against them is clearly the bigot or that they are trying to smear real conservatives. They are defended by otherwise intelligent people who happen to be offended on their behalf because they can’t imagine why someone who doesn’t sound like an uneducated hick is a full-on white supremacist.
“I worked very closely with Steve Bannon. He’s been the general of this campaign. And frankly people should look at the full resume. He has got a Harvard business degree. He’s a Naval officer. He has success in entertainment. I don’t know if you’re aware of that. And he certainly was a Goldman Sachs managing partner. Brilliant tactician.” — Kellyanne Conway on criticism calling Steve Bannon a white nationalist.
They don’t just do this with the term alt-right. They do it with terms as explicit as neo-Nazi and National Socialism. These individuals will argue that being a National Socialist doesn’t mean that they support the murder of members of minority groups; that the casualties committed by Hitler and people like Hitler were made up or were the fault of people on the left. People who are prone to blaming minorities for things that upset them seem especially prone to accepting and excusing this sort of explanation. So too do the people who take the term alt-right on as a badge of honor.
Alt-right will never be a badge of honor.
Any individual who is proud to call themselves a member of the alt-right doesn’t deserve respect. They do not deserve to hold positions of power. Instead, they deserve to be held responsible for the acts of the alt-right. If they claim that they just didn’t know that alt-right is a code word for white nationalism and white supremacy, then you know that they are either lying or extremely lazy. In a world where you can easily google a term, there is absolutely no excuse to not understand that the term alt-right is about racism. Without racism, there would be no alt-right.
“What I would ultimately want is this ideal of a safe space for Europeans.” — Richard Spencer, founder of Alternative Right and the alt-right movement.
Hating people based upon their race, ethnicity, or national origin is wrong. History taught us this. Hell, even Kindergarten taught us this. Being proud to associate with extremism and to call yourself a bigot is a pretty big indicator that there’s something wrong with your personal character. If you think it is okay to promote the interests of a racial group over the interests of all other groups, then you need to either seek professional help or work on conquering those issues on your own.
Conservatism can exist without going to a hateful extreme. I know plenty of conservatives who are not racists. I know plenty who would never identify as alt-right. In fact, when those conservatives found out that the alt-right was endorsing Trump, they stepped away from a party that they belonged to their whole lives. They knew that it was not safe to give this kind of agenda power.
And yet the Republican Party itself didn’t.
When you normalize racism, you are racist.
That Reince Priebus is going to be a part of an administration that includes Steve Bannon, who ran Breitbart — what he called the “platform of the alt-right” — is a pretty big indicator that he was not concerned about the amplification of white supremacy within the Party or the nation. He had many opportunities along the way to call out bigotry that was regularly being mentioned at rallies, events, and through press releases. Sometimes he would give the equivalent of a slap on the wrist, but he never truly repudiated the intolerance. He even managed to praise Breitbart for the pro-Republican tone it tended to have. Reince couldn’t stop Breitbart from being bigoted, but he could have stopped a bigot from becoming the GOP nominee. Reince didn’t. He continued normalizing the hate, and he was rewarded with a role as Trump’s Chief of Staff. Whether he personally identifies as a white nationalist or a member of the alt-right, Reince is complicit in any violence or extremism committed by those who identify as such.
“He’s the alt-right, nationalist, populists’ new friend. They conspired with him to screw conservatives and the grassroots, so let them live with him. I want nothing to do with him.” — Mark Levin on Reince Priebus
Some people will claim that it is unfair to blame anyone who supported, explicitly or implicitly, the alt-right, its websites, or politicians like Donald Trump. Some will think that they cannot possibly be racists. They will think that because they have friends who are minorities that they cannot possibly be racists. Sorry, but bigots can have token friends. Hitler did. Wallace did.
You may not think you are a racist, but if you are supporting racist or xenophobic individuals, or you support or normalize their rhetoric or ideology, then you are a racist. This isn’t some random thing that liberals decided. This is commonsense. The people who voted people like Hitler and Wallace into office — because they were democratically elected — might not have identified as racist, but they empowered racists and they didn’t challenge them.
Breitbart is a mouthpiece for the ignorance of the alt-right, and now Bannon has the ear of the President-elect. If Reince Priebus couldn’t or wouldn’t stop that kind of influence on the campaign trail, who honestly expects that he will do it while Trump is in office? If Reince blushed and fawned over praise Breitbart would give him, then will Bannon just have to buy him a Hallmark card or an Edible Arrangement to allow him to shape policies in a way that the alt-right approves of? If people who would ordinarily be opposed to racism are easily tricked by members of racist movements, then how can we trust that they will be effective?
Stop pretending Trump isn’t racist.
Some on both sides of the aisle say that we should give Trump and everyone else in the potential administration a chance to prove that they aren’t racist. Within two weeks of Election Day, he has shown that he didn’t deserve that shot. Appointing Bannon, Priebus, Michael Flynn, and Jeff Sessions to prominent positions shows that his closest advisers will be individuals who refuse to view all people equally. Even if he’d chosen more moderate Cabinet members, Trump would still be a racist.
“A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market… If I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I believe they do have an actual advantage.” — Donald Trump, 1989 interview with Bryant Gumbel
Pretending that Trump’s 43-year documented history of racism could just be swept under the rug because he was elected President is rather twisted logic. Aside from his birther rhetoric that gained him the affection of white nationalists and people who claim to belong to the alt-right, which some have theorized as simply pandering behavior, Trump has been cited by federal and state governments for antics that discriminate based upon race and promote racist stereotypes. This was not some sick strategy for him. This is who he is.
“Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys wearing yarmulkes… Those are the only kind of people I want counting my money. Nobody else…Besides that, I tell you something else. I think that’s guy’s lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks.” — Donald Trump, according to John O’Donnell’s 1991 book. Trump said the statements attributed to him were probably true in a 1997 Playboy interview.
I’m sure that if she wanted to, Kellyanne Conway would claim that Donald Trump couldn’t possibly be a racist. He went to Wharton after all. While white people may often benefit from the privileges that come with their skin color, Trump has managed to benefit by actively oppressing and discriminating against non-whites for their skin color. That’s racism.
Private schools and wealth don’t prevent a person from being ignorant or from promoting racist rhetoric. It isn’t some magic cure that makes a person too good to hate. Trump shouldn’t be allowed to shrug off this description of himself or his regime because of his education or his wealth. He shouldn’t be able to say“I’m a businessman, so…” and get a free pass, yet that’s what some seem willing to give him. People cannot simply shrug their shoulders about whether or not Trump has allowed the alt-right to infiltrate his regime. He has. This is a fact. Stop denying it.
“ Look, I’m a negotiator like you folks; we’re negotiators.” — Donald Trump, 2015 speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Some people who know him claim that Trump’s never seemed racist to them, while others say that he gives preferential treatment based on what “type” of minority you are. Groups that he has offended often preface their statements that he might not really be racist, but it seems like if someone repeatedly acts like a racist, it’s pretty obvious that that’s who they are. If someone who isn’t Donald Trump spent 43 years promoting prejudice and discrimination, would we be twiddling their thumbs about whether or not they are actually a racist?
“Who the f knows? I mean, really, who knows how much the Japs will pay for Manhattan property these days?” — Donald Trump, 1989 Time magazine profile.
Trump enjoys touting a claim that he is the least racist person that people have encountered, and that might be true when he’s seated amongst members of his administration, but it isn’t true for the rest of the country or the world. People who aren’t racist don’t say the things that Trump does and they don’t do the things that he does. Trump is a racist. This isn’t some character he’s playing, this is his actual character — or lack thereof.
“He doesn’t have a birth certificate, or if he does, there’s something on that certificate that is very bad for him. Now, somebody told me — and I have no idea if this is bad for him or not, but perhaps it would be — that where it says ‘religion,’ it might have ‘Muslim.’ And if you’re a Muslim, you don’t change your religion, by the way.” — Donald Trump, 2011 interview with Laura Ingraham.
If we pretend that he’s not a racist, and that this is just strategy, we empower racists by ignoring the legitimate threat that they pose to the Republic. Look at the damage that has already been done, the acts of violence that already have been committed, and the threats that have already been made by Trump supporters within the alt-right and other racist movements. They have already felt that they can get away with terrorizing the public because Trump dog-whistled them and made himself out to be “one of them” through his speeches, rallies, and campaign advertisements. By allowing his administration to be made up of individuals who are praised within the movement as heroes and defenders of white culture, Trump has shown the cruelest among us that there is no justice for the marginalized in America. So if we pretend that Trump isn’t actually a racist, that the level of violence and discord isn’t something that he wanted, then he’s just some cruel, selfish prick that uses racism to get votes. That may lessen the stigma for his on the racism front, but it wouldn’t make him a good person and it definitely wouldn’t make his actions less reprehensible.
We need to be honest.
The alt-right is racist. Steve Bannon is racist. Breitbart is racist. Reince Priebus is racist. Donald Trump is racist. These are the facts.
People who get upset over everyone calling these individuals and entities racist need to get over it. If you voted for Trump, then you voted in a regime that has no compassion or concern for human rights and that uses the vitriol to empower those who crave violence and oppression. If you want to pretend that what you did is somehow the fault of silly liberals who were “mistakenly” calling racists out for their racism, then you’re just being ridiculous. The reason that we have spoken out against these individuals and this rhetoric is that we saw this as a possible endgame, and we wanted to prevent that. This was never about demonizing conservatives or Republicans. It was about preventing atrocities from being carried out. It was about preventing a repeat of the worst events in human history.
If you voted for Trump to prove that racism was no longer a problem in America, you failed spectacularly. Your choice empowered the alt-right, which at its core is a racist ideology. I won’t tell you that I hope you feel guilty for your decision, though I do, but I will implore you to help the rest of us prevent the violence and hate that the deplorable alt-right craves from ruining this country.
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