Ethnonationalism is the Inevitable Afterbirth of White Supremacy

An issue civil society doesn’t talk about enough is ripping the United States apart

Photo by Meadow Marie on Unsplash

The United States briefly had a conversation about racism and extremism in the aftermath of the most recent mass murder of Black people. Hateful attacks on non-white groups continue to grow across the country. Whether it be verbal harassment, physical violence, or outright murder by a lynch mob of one, what’s happening can not be ignored despite efforts to do just that.

As is typical of what happens in US society after a domestic terrorist attack, most went on the defensive. They argue that we should not talk about or share the shooter’s manifesto. The argument is based on the idea that doing so gives murderers the notoriety they seek. Nothing could be further from the truth. The notoriety is built in. You just don’t see it because you choose not to.

Because of that, I argue that civil society must read the manifestos to fully understand the mindset and the ideas that have been programmed into them. Many journalists and activists read them and it seems that we are the only people who fully understand what is happening. While you can’t rely on corporate media to get the full story, you can certainly get it from us.

What’s happening in the US is the product of a society dominated by privileged white people with access to resources not available to anyone else. White replacement or white extinction theories are all based on fear. Afraid of equality and what they perceive minorities will do to them should it be achieved, they are the tip of the iceberg in what is the current ethnonationalist movement.