Mainstream/Extreme

“Defining white supremacy as extremist in its racism often has the result of absolving the mainstream population of its racism, portraying white supremacists as the racist fringe in contrast to some nonracist majority." This quote from Abby Ferber's book

  

Obviously Machado's actions were extreme. But because he acted without any affiliation to a racist organization, does it reduce the extremity of the crime? This also brings up the question are all members of white supremacist groups extreme? In the video above, members of the Aryan Nation are protesting and calling for a revolution at the Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield. The video shows several members of the Aryan Nation speaking, some calling for action in the revolution and saying, "resistance need not be armed or violent at first, but it will be." Again, this call to action states that extreme measures will be taken by some members if necessary. Later, another member is asked if he is calling for violence against minorities and he responds with "no, they [his compatriots] may but I don't." This quote blurs the line of dividing the mainstream and extreme due to the fact that a known member of the Aryan Nation is not going to take extreme violence, something that only people not affiliated with these organizations, would do. As Ferber states, by portraying the majority of the population as non-racist or mainstream, members of the Aryan Nation and other white nationalist groups are portrayed as extreme. However, the notion of mainstream and extreme is clearly subjective and cannot easily be defined.

White Man Falling: Race, Gender and White Supremacy, states that because white supremacist groups like the Aryan Nation are seen as taking extreme action in racism, the rest of the population is portrayed as being mainstream because their actions are less radical compared to those of the white supremacists. The idea that white supremacists are the extreme compared to a majority of the "mainstream, non-racist population" may not seem to be too far from the truth but what actions do we consider to be extreme? Are only actions of violence related to race extreme actions? If the "mainstream" never acts extreme, according to this definition, then why are people who are not associated with white supremacist groups taking on extreme acts of violence against other races? What I mean by this is if citizen(s) considered to be part of the "mainstream"carry out a violent act, like Richard Machado hate mail to some Asian American students at University of California, Irvine, when does it switch from being "mainstream" to "extreme?"

Digital Images, Globalization and the Aryan Nation

I found this image while searching in Google and found that it was the exact message that members of the Aryan Nation are trying to convey. Additionally, it is the ultimate goal of the group, to secure a "white community" with "white tenants." According to white supremacist discourse, "interracial sexuality is depicted as polluting whiteness" (Ferber, 101), something the Aryan Nation is seeking to control by establishing their White Homeland. Images like this are strewn across the internet and aid in spreading the messages of white supremacist discourse more quickly and at a larger level.

Jessie Daniels, author of Cyber Racism: White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights,

states "the confluence of global linkages facilitated by Internet technologies means that through Stormfront true believers in White Pride can connect with their translocal and white identity... White supremacy online in the global information era facilitates the formation of a translocal white identity" (54). This idea of trans-local whiteness enables correspondents from multiple locations across the globe to connect over their "whiteness" and express their ideologies. In addition, the internet fosters the hate among the white nationalists (including those of the Aryan Nation) and allows for them to connect with others who share the same ideologies. 

       The ability of these people to connect is beneficial in the Aryan Nations goal of establishing their White Homeland. The Butler Plan, as mentioned in the previous post, calls for those awake white nationalists to relocate to the Pacific Northwest to establish their white community. Thanks to the internet, members of the Aryan Nations who live across the continent or in other countries can connect with members in the Pacific Northwest and connect over their "whiteness, as Daniels puts it. This is also a great example of the affects of globalization and white nationalism.

With access to the internet becoming increasingly easy, its my belief that the message of white nationalist groups like the Aryan Nation and KKK will be able to spread their message to a great number of people and even increase their membership and enrollment numbers. Although Daniels argues the internet has not had an affect on this, I think that some people who come across this information will begin to believe in it and become undercover members. As Daniels states, "What shifts in white supremacy in the digital era is that now this sort of racist rhetoric is no longer simply ideology that is distributed in one direction, from movement leaders to movement followers, but instead is interactive and participatory" (70). They may not admit to being members, fund membership or be active in any movement, however, the reach of the internet allows for them to hide behind an online identity and still participate within the movement. The interactivity of the internet, as well as the anonymity it provides the user, creates a sort of safe haven for a person not willing to go to the extremes of groups like the Aryan Nation, but still actively forward information relevant to the cause.

More On Richard Butler

As previously mentioned, Reverend Richard G. Butler was the founder of the white nationalist group the Aryan Nations in Hayden Lake, Idaho. The affects of the Aryan Nation can be felt throughout the Pacific Northwest. While at my friend's house for dinner recently, her father, DW, mention how he knew Richard Butler and worked with him on a water safety board in Coeur d'Alene. DW, a full Japanese man, explained some of the fear he felt in the presence of Butler. DW said he and Butler happened to be in a restroom together and had he not been afraid one of his followers would retaliate against him, he would have thrown a wet wad of toilet paper over the stall at him. The intimidation and fear is one of the main tactics used behind this organization. Through this intimidation and fear, the Aryan Nations focus on creating a homeland for the purity of their race.
Ultimately, the Aryan Nations realized that the goal of taking over the entire United States was beyond their reach and shrank their plans to include only the Pacific Northwest "to secure the existence of [their] people and a future for White children" (source). With this, the Butler Plan was released. The Butler Plan's goal is to ensure the survival (along with the rest of the Aryan Nation and white supremacists alike) of "their race" by engaging in "political action, propaganda and educational activity."
The plan includes four phases.  The first phase calls for a relocation of "racially conscious white community" to the homeland. The second phase is to create a "Northwest Front as a fighting revolutionary party." The focus of this stage is to attempt to restore their image from a racist group to more of a political party. The third stage includes getting said "party" into politics of the area and creating a revolution. The fourth and final stage involves taking over all political power in the Pacific Northwest and creating the "Northwest American Republican" which will ultimately be the force that causes the collapse of the United States (source).  
It is easy to see that Butler's message and the Aryan Nations have had their affect on many people. Their goals are plastered all over the internet, leading to easier access to their ideologies and the expansion of their group through globalization.