May 15, 2017

Richard Spencer: Neonazi

editor:	Gurmeet Singh

I've often thought how much worse it is, both morally and intellectually, to be a neo-Nazi than have been a Nazi historically. A bold statement perhaps, but my reasoning has often run thus: To be a part of the historical Nazi party meant to have supported a fascist regime, but it is debatable whether everyday people knew the extent of that regime's crimes; Secondly, there was also pressure, social and otherwise, to join this party. Neo-Nazis on the other hand, are well aware of the holocaust, and yet still propound this belief; Secondly, there is absolutely no pressure, social or otherwise, to be a Neo-Nazi.

Obviously this kind of reasoning is flawed - I'm suspicious of the first idea, in that I'm not sure it's possible or OK to separate a political regime's actions from its supporters - but there is the need to understand people on the everyday level, and people often do not know entirely what they are supporting. Do we?

However, as a general rule of thinking, I believe the two statements demonstrate the difference between the historical Nazis and Neo-Nazis. What's more infuriating is a Neo-Nazi holocaust denier (the two aren't always the same), since you can bet your life the only reason the Neo-Nazi supports the historical Nazis and glorifies Hitler and his band of chumps, is because of the holocaust.

So, to segue to Richard Spencer, a full-blown, puffed-up, intellectual minnow of a Neo-Nazi. He insists he's not - he's alt-right, or whatever, but calling a spade a spade, he's a Neo-Nazi. He shows up wherever there is a hint of an identity discussion, arguing against Mongol hoards and benighted Africans, and oh how the white race will be wiped from the earth unless it procreates with nuclear weapons and all women do a ritual sex dance to his sexual prowess. This wouldn't be a problem on its own - there are a lot of cranks in the world. But the fact is, he stokes people up, and transforms their issue into his own. He is a predator and turning the US back a hundred years.

Look at this protest in Virginia. People are protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Now, chances are if you protest that kind of thing, you have racist leanings anyway, but also possibly not - the case can be legitimately argued that the statue should remain, and everyone should be made aware of a difficult and painful history. However, Spencer descended on the rally to hand people torches, in the spirit of the KKK, and then later claimed that this protest had no resemblance to a white-supremacist movement. It's the old trick right? Saying the holocaust didn't happen, and then supporting a movement because of the holocaust. Or doing a big old Nazi bonfire and then saying the bonfire is not about that.

He is a coward, and transforming American right-wing politics using underhanded and slimy means. But such is his mind and aims that we can expect American politics to begin to look a lot like fascism used to, even if it doesn't believe what fascism did, sooner than we thought.