CHENNAI: The alt-right groups in the United States are planning nine nationwide rallies over the coming weekend. “We’re going to be more active than ever before,” said Matthew Heimbach an organiser of the Unite the Right rally.
The recent clashes in Charlottesville in North Carolina between the white supremacists and anti-racist protesters, which killed one person and injured several others has added fresh fuel to the debates on race relations, which has taken a centre stage since Trump's election.
Interestingly, these debates have thrown out a glossary of terms. Here are some of the most commonly used terms and what they mean.
Alt-right
Almost every commentary or report on the Charlottesville incident invariably use the term alt-right. Who are the alt-right? The term was first used by Paul Edward Gottfried an America historian. He called alt-right, a section within the US conservative movement that is far-right and who emerged in response to the perceived failures of the mainstream conservatism. Some members of alt-right profess white supremacy and shun immigrants. They fear that immigrants are slowly "replacing them". Many have voiced fears that rampant immigration to the US will change the country's social landscape to their disadvantage. "We must secure the existence of our people and the future for white children," said Matthew Heimbach, who lead the alt-right movement in Charlottesville. Many say the movement emerged in response to Obama's election as the US president in 2008.
White nationalists
White nationalists are those who emphasize that white people constitute a separate race, and thus, a national identity should be built around white identity. The Alt-right movement is populated by white nationalists who preach that the white people should preserve their identity and history in the face of the rapid demographic changes taking place in the United States. They espoused white supremacist views and call for a segregation of the white people from the people of colour in all walks of life. Many white nationalists fear that immigration of non-white people to the United States coupled with a drop in birth rates among white women is threatening the future of the white race. They lament that the United States which once had a white majority has become a country where the whites are just another racial group. Many fear that people of colour are taking over the United States. “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country and you have to go,” said 21-year-old Dylan Roof as he shot Black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015.
Today, the website of the American Nazi party claims that white nationalists are "not monsters" as the media portrays them. "We are White men and women who care deeply about the future of our children in a decadent, corrupt world gone mad. The world where decency is 'wrong' - and 'perversion' is more than 'acceptable'!"
White supremacy
This is the ideology that fuels white nationalists. It holds that white people are a superior race, and thus, its members should segregate themselves from other races to maintain their purity. White supremacists proscribe inter-racial marriages saying that intercourse with people of colour would lead to dilution of their race. White supremacists believe that since they are intellectually superior to other races, they should dominate the political and cultural landscape of the countries wherever they are present.
Neo Nazis
"Jews will not replace us," read a banner held by a protester in Charlestonville. This has been a popular rallying cry for thousands of Neo Nazis in the United States and parts of Europe. Neo Nazis combine white supremacy with a hatred for Jews. Although they hate people of other ethnic and religious group, their hatred is more pronounced towards Jews. Neo Nazis openly admire Hitler and glorify Nazi achievements. There are innumerable Neo Nazi groups in the United States. The National Socialist Movement is the largest of such groups with nearly 400 active members.
Ku Klux Klan
Two days after Trump won the election, thousands of Ku Klux Klan members marched through North Carolina to celebrate his victory. Many KKK members participated in Sunday's rally in Charlottesville. The KKK is called America's first terrorist organization. Established in 1866, the KKK unified the white supremacists to fight against the Republican party policies aimed at giving political and economic voice to Black people. The KKK espoused political violence as a means to their end and was responsible for many attacks against Black people since its founding. One of the most notable was the 1963 Baptist Church Bombing in the US state of Alabama, which killed 4 and injured 22.
Anti-fa
Everyone is talking about KKK and white supremacists who took part in the Charlottesville rally. However, hardly any are talking about the so called anti-fascists who also took part in the rally and allegedly engaged in violence. Who are they? As the name implies, they oppose fascism. Many media outlets in the US have called them an "underground anti-racist movement". They are a broad group of mostly young people who are united by their shared aversion to fascism or ultra nationalism. In other words, they are the polar opposite of the alt-right. In contrast to alt-right, they shun racism and attack of any sort on minorities and immigrants. They often espouse far left views and are critical of big business and the bureaucrats who collaborate with them to amass wealth at the expense of the working class.