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Why do some non-white Americans support right-wing extremism?

2023-05-23 18:18:56Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Why do some non-white Americans support right-wing extremism?
Why do some non-white Americans support right-wing extremism?

It's a growing trend that challenges the norm: Some people of color are joining forces with groups that openly champion right-wing causes, including white supremacy and racism.

Driven by shared grievances and hatreds, Latinos, African Americans and other non-white groups are joining the ranks of some of America's growing far-right groups.

The recent mass killing in Texas shed light on the phenomenon, reigniting a debate about what draws non-whites to far-right militancy and why extremist groups embrace them.

Mauricio Garcia, the 33-year-old gunman who killed eight people in Allen, Texas, on May 6 was Latino, who allegedly supported white supremacism.

Police killed Garcia, but he left behind a slew of social media posts showing his sympathies for neo-Nazism and white supremacy.

He had posted photos of Nazis and neo-Nazis with the Nazi cross flag, calling them "my kind of people". In another, he referred to himself as "a white supremacist."

"We will make America white again," he boasted in another post.

What led a Latina to embrace the views of white supremacism? Garcia offers some clues: Referring to his “self-loathing phase,” he rails against “failed Hispanics” and admits he wishes he was white “because my race treats me like …. [offensive word]”.

"This is the essence of the power of white supremacy: the desire to identify with the racial category that one thinks is most powerful in the society one lives in," says Heidi Beirich, a noted scholar of extremism and co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

Estimate numbers

The exact number of non-whites who join far-right groups is unclear. A 2022 University of Chicago study found that nearly 7% of the protesters charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol were non-white.

While most of the Capitol protesters were not members of any extremist groups, the data paint a grim picture, says Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.

The numbers show "how attractive right-wing extremism can be to people of color, and for some, the next level in that trend is white supremacy," Mr. Levin said in an interview.

The phenomenon is not entirely new. In the 1960s, a Jew named Daniel Burroughs led a neo-Nazi group. In the 1990s, African Americans held leadership positions within predominantly white, right-wing anti-government militias.

But Garcia was a new face of white supremacy. He belonged to a far-right movement that has become more racially diverse and offers more ideological points to aspirants who want to join it. Scholars Daniel Martinez HoSang and Joseph Lonwdes have called this phenomenon "multiracial white supremacy."

"If you look at who was arrested after the January 6 attack, you see a wide range of occupations and ages, social classes ... and beliefs," said Mr. HoSang, a professor of political science and American studies at Yale University. “Some are focused on conspiracy theories and QAnon. Some are motivated by homophobia and transphobia. Some focus on Islamophobia. Others focus on nativism."

But what unites the diverse group of right-wing believers is a belief in the "degradation of the country", says Mr HoSang.

"To deal with this degradation, there is a kind of almost appreciative and heroic role for a small number of people who, in order to restore the nation, to restore its honor, take violent action," he added.

The union of extremists

Today, extremist fringes boast support from almost every corner of American society.

Nick Fuentes, identified as a white supremacist in federal court filings, is of Latino descent.

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio identifies as Afro-Cuban.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has spoken openly about his "mixed race".

Both Tarrio and Rhodes have been convicted of sedition for their roles in the January 6 riots.

Ali Alexander, the organizer of the Stop the Steal rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol, comes from an African-American mother and a black father from the United Arab Emirates.

Joey Gibson, founder of the group Patriot Prayer, is half Japanese.

They all reject the "white supremacist" label.

Fuentes, for example, has called the label "a racial slur against whites."

Tarrio said: "I have brown skin, I am Cuban. There is nothing white supremacist about me.”

Conservatives also have a problem with this kind of characterization.

"It seems that if someone sneezes the wrong way, they are accused of white supremacy," conservative writer Julio Rosas said during testimony in the House of Representatives in recent days.

But critics say people of color who espouse white supremacy cannot escape the consequences of their ideology based on the color of their skin.

"It's very difficult to say that you reject the label of white supremacist when you're propagating that the white race is superior," said Tanya Hernandez, a racial expert and professor at Fordham University School of Law.

Inclusive racial extremist groups

To be clear, not all far-right groups welcome people of color into their ranks. Neo-Nazi organizations such as the National Socialist Movement still adhere to a rigid white-only policy.

But they are a shrinking minority within the far right, replaced by a less hierarchical and less race-based movement that taps into a more diverse pool of recruits.

"Racist extremists have changed and expanded the area of ​​who can be under their umbrella," Mr. Levin said. "Before, the question was: 'Who are you?', while now it is: 'Who do you hate'?"

Black sympathizers not only bolster the ranks of far-right groups, but also shield them from accusations of racism, enabling them to legitimize their bigotry, experts say.

"They can say, 'Hey, we have black people among us, so you can't say we're racist,'" says Jason Williams, an expert at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

What motivates black people

It may come as something of a surprise that white supremacists welcome black people. But it is even more unexpected that a person of color joins them.

The motives are as diverse as their origins.

Latinos, a racially diverse group, stand out as one of the most visible non-white groups within the far right.

A Latina, who looks and identifies as white but is not fully accepted as white, may join an extremist group to test his self-identification, says Ms. Hernandez with Fordham University.

But she notes that a Latina "doesn't have to look white to be a supporter of white supremacy."

For others, joining a right-wing group is like "joining a diverse family, a family that will support them, provide them with substance and so on," says expert Williams.

Not all right-wing extremists, whether white or not, support violence. Far-right activists distance themselves from violent actors and claim to be peaceful defenders of white interests.

But extremism researchers say that rhetoric and violence are often intertwined.

"This rhetoric is what feeds and supports the impulses of those who are more inclined to get firearms," ​​says expert Hernandez./ VOA


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