White supremacists

Originally published in FFWD December 27, 2007 by Drew Anderson in Viewpoint

Recent census numbers report that one in five Canadians is foreign born, the first time this number has been so high since 1931. At the same time, the Canadian economy, and particularly that of Alberta, is flourishing despite the potential recession looming over the heads of Americans. Locally, according to the Conference Board of Canada, Calgary is the most economically dynamic and attractive city to live in.

Distressingly, however, we are seeing increasing tension within our prosperous and cosmopolitan society. In Quebec there has been a strange resurgence in the ugly side of French nationalism, manifesting itself in the “reasonable accommodation” hearings that are intended to focus on acceptable means of integrating immigrants, but have highlighted disturbing tensions. Here in Calgary, a group of racist skinheads slithered out of their basements, proclaimed white supremacy and even slipped some propaganda into a few copies of Fast Forward.

The rise of an intolerant group in Calgary isn’t necessarily surprising, but the fact its members are willing to be so vocal is disturbing. Despite their bluster, their message is intentionally veiled in an attempt to conceal their true intentions, even if that message remains obvious. They are waging a racist campaign couched in the language of tolerance.

The group demonstrates a troubling split personality on its website. While the site proclaims a commitment to non-violence, it also features pictures of members holding guns and bats, not to mention a freaky devotion to Hitler. I’m pretty sure Gandhi didn’t look to Stalin for inspiration.

The group also claims on the site to “reject the simple psychology of reactionary politics as a recruitment tool,” which ought to make it difficult to recruit, considering its entire philosophy is based on reactionary politics. As supporters of National Socialism (Hitler’s political bent), its entire structure is reactionary, relying on scapegoats as an excuse for drastic attitudes and actions; rallying around race and a constructed heritage in the face of a perceived threat

White supremacists, who often hide behind other titles like white nationalism or white pride, proclaim they are fighting for the survival of the white race, for the protection of their families and their children. Many follow the “Fourteen Words,” based on a passage from Hitler’s Mein Kampf and coined by terrorist David Lane: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White [sic] children.”

The Calgary group follows this principle. While the group states that its members “acknowledge the right of all people, religions, races and cultures to live free from fear, oppression, exploitation and foreign domination,” it is clear that this does not include having those religions and cultures in their city. The question is why?

The paradox is that, rather than springing up during times of economic duress and a reduction in national stature — as is normally the case for racist groups — this is occurring during a time of plenty. All our growth and wealth is producing strains on our society, and this is a reaction to those strains (reactionary again). The fact that society is succeeding leaves those who are not doing so feeling increasingly inadequate. This new framework of discontent is unlike that of 1930s Germany in which society was failing everyone.

There is nothing wrong with having pride in your culture and heritage; in fact, celebrating all the cultures that exist in Canada is a main tenet in our multicultural society. Of course, that is where the problem lies for white supremacists. To celebrate “white” culture (as though there was some overarching one) is seen as a fundamental right, while celebrating other cultures is seen as a burden worthy of fighting. What is troubling is celebrating your culture at the expense of another, and of condemning people based on their race while proclaiming pride in your own. It’s illogical.

A recent post on Stormfront’s Calgary thread sounded an alarm to those Calgarians who have rationalized their way out of the primordial soup: “We are planning on stepping it up a bit more this next year and getting out and hitting the streets even more than we have been. with [sic] all the new people we have been meeting I am very happy with the way things have gone this year and can only hope to do just as well next year!”

With more people being left behind by Alberta’s strong economy, or that of Canada, and with increasing numbers of immigrants helping to make that success a reality, there could be a true threat here. Let’s hope that it’s just more brainless bluster, and that this unwanted group of paranoid white people, and their ideological equivalents across Canada hit their high water mark in 2007.