White supremacy

White supremacy is a racist ideology which holds that the white race is superior to other races. White supremacy is most often thought of in connection with anti-black racism and anti-Semitism, though it has also been used to justify prejudice and discrimination against Asians, Africans, Arabs; dark-skinned people with ancestry in Mexico, Central America and South America; and indigenous people such as Native Americans and Aborigines. White supremacists usually see certain Europeans, mainly those with "white" skin, as the superior race. Some narrow this to the so-called Nordic or Aryan "race", a variously-defined term that excludes Jews, Slavs (Eastern Europeans), and, especially in the past, some Southern Europeans, such as Italians.

For example, politically, socially and economically, white supremacy was by and large the law of the land in the United States before and for decades after Reconstruction; the same is true of apartheid-era South Africa, and of parts of Europe at various periods of time, most notably under the Third Reich. The extent and nature of white supremacy's continuing influence in Western culture is a subject of ongoing debate. White supremacy is sometimes used in a more limited sense to indicate a philosophical belief that whites are not only superior to others, but should rule over them. White separatist and white nationalist groups often use this more limited definition in order to distinguish themselves from white supremacists, though these views are often largely overlapping.

White supremacy, as with supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony. It contains varying degrees of racism and xenophobia. Associations of white supremacy with ethnic cleansing and racial separation are common, but not necessarily intrinsic.

White supremacy in the United States

In some parts of the United States, many non-whites were disenfranchised and prevented from holding government office (or even serving in most government jobs) well into the second half of the twentieth century; Native Americans in the U.S. and Canada and Aborigines in Australia were often viewed as obstacles to progress, rather than settlers in their own right; many European-settled countries bordering the Pacific Ocean at times limited immigration and naturalization from the Asian Pacific countries, usually on a cultural basis; the United States in some states banned interracial marriage until 1967 (see Loving v. Virginia); Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) held out as an overtly white supremacist regime until 1979 and South Africa into the 1990s.

Ideology in Contemporary White Supremacy

While white supremacists share with white separatists a general opposition to racial mixing, especially interracial marriages, a distinguishing feature of modern Nazi-influenced white supremacy is the claim that "Whites" (often defined by Nordic or Germanic ancestry) are innately superior to some or all other races and therefore should rule over them. White supremacists almost always believe that dark-skinned people (especially those with sub-Saharan African ancestry), Jews and Hispanics are inferior. Many also regard certain "white" people as inferior on non-racial grounds (for example, non-Protestants, atheists, and homosexuals).

There is considerable variation amongst different groups of white supremacists as to who they classify as "white" and which races or other groups they claim to be superior to. For example, Eastern Europeans and various Southern European nationalities are regarded as "white" and superior by some supremacists, but as non-white and inferior by others.

Those who follow the ideology of Nordicism and Germanicism only consider Northern European people who are Nordic or Germanic (and often Celtic) to be white, shunning Southern and Eastern Europe along with anyone whose ethnic heritage is not European. These beliefs were central to Nazism. According to the Nazis, many of Germany's Italian allies were not really white. They, along with the Japanese and Hungarians were declared by Nazi German government to be Honorary Aryans. Some present-day white supremacist groups, particularly in German-speaking countries, actively proclaim themselves Nazis; and, collectively, the groups commonly are labeled neo-Nazi. The Pan Europeanism form of white supremacism accepts all native Europeans—though, of course, there can always be dispute as to who counts as native—as White, a population that ranges from fair skinned Swedes, Britons and Germans to darker complexioned Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese and Greeks. There are also many groups in the southern parts of Europe in Italy, Spain, Greece and even France who believe that those of Mediterranean origin are superior than those of northern European origins because northern Europeans descend from barbarians.

Another variant, Pan Aryanism, accepts native Europeans from all of continental Europe and extends its acceptance to non-European Caucasoids such as some Middle Easterners, North Africans, and Central/West Asians. Yet not all people from these regions are accepted by Pan-Aryanists as `white'. With regard to the acceptance of Middle Easterners in Pan-aryanist ideology, Syrians, Lebanese, Turks (not as often as the other two), and Iranians are accepted as White, but Saudis and Yemenites as a whole are not. South Asian Caucasoids (Pakistanis, Northern Indians etc) as a whole may generally not be accepted in this ideology either, however some Pan-Aryanists acknowledge and have disputing beliefs on lighter skinned people descended from Aryans in this region. The Pan-Aryanist ideology would be virtually non-existent among white supremacists in places like Britain and Northern Europe as many of them follow Nordicism.

Many who adhere to racialist doctrines do not use the term 'supremacist' because of the connotations it has with the desire to rule over those of other races. However, many of them do believe that the white race is superior to other races. This variant of racial thought is best represented by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who condemned black slavery in America yet also possessed a distinctly hierarchical racial concept of history, attributing civilizational primacy to the "white races" who gained their sensitivity and intelligence by refinement in the rigorous North:

"The highest civilization and culture, apart from the ancient Hindus and Egyptians, are found exclusively among the white races; and even with many dark peoples, the ruling caste or race is fairer in colour than the rest and has, therefore, evidently immigrated, for example, the Brahmans, the Incas, and the rulers of the South Sea Islands. All this is due to the fact that necessity is the mother of invention because those tribes that emigrated early to the north, and there gradually became white, had to develop all their intellectual powers and invent and perfect all the arts in their struggle with need, want and misery, which in their many forms were brought about by the climate. This they had to do in order to make up for the parsimony of nature and out of it all came their high civilization.” (Parerga and Paralipomena, Volume II, Section 92)

In the United States, some claim white supremacist movements are linked to fundamentalist Christianity but most Christians denounce the movement as fundamentally non-Christian. The Christian Identity movement, which tends to regard other branches of Christianity as heretical, is closely tied to White Supremacism. Some white supremacists such as Matthew F. Hale, even whilst claiming to follow a religion bearing the name "christian", consider violence to be a legitimate way to further their cause and dismiss mainstream Christianity as a mongrel or "suicidal" faith.

Other white supremacist groups identify themselves as Odinists. It should be noted that most Odinists reject white supremacism and white supremacists make up only a small fraction of those who believe in Odinism. The white supremacist version of Odinism has little to do with Christian Identity, but there is one key similarity: their version of Odinism provides dualism - as does Christian Identity - with regard to the universe being composed of 'worlds of light' (white people) and 'worlds of dark' (non-white people). The most fundamental difference between the two ideologies is that Odinists believe in the old Norse gods and do not believe in the divinity of Jesus. Some groups, such as the South African Boeremag, even conflate elements of Christianity and Odinism.

Not all white supremacist groups adhere to Christian Identity or other religious doctrines. Groups such as the American Nazi Partyor the Greek Hrisi Avgi are largely politically, rather than religiously, motivated. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), one of the most recognized white supremacist groups in the United States, proposes racial segregation that generally is not based on religious ideals, although some klan groups may be openly Christian Identity but accepting to Protestants.

Distribution and prominence of contemporary white supremacist groups

White supremacist groups can be found in most countries with a significant white population, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and in the nations of Europe and parts of Latin America. In all of these places, their views represent a relatively small minority of the population, and active membership of the groups is quite small. However, a backlash to the influx of non-white immigrants into various European nations in the last 25 years has spurred a rise in membership in such organizations, as well as an escalation in white supremacist demonstrations and hate crimes.

The militant approach taken by some groups has caused them to be watched closely by law enforcement officials. In some European countries, which have more recent experience with the effects of such beliefs in World War II, white supremacist groups are banned by various laws. These include laws which forbid "hate speech" in addition to laws which forbid organizations deemed to be fundamentally opposed to any multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and democratic society.

Violent activism by contemporary white supremacist groups

The World Church of the Creator, now called the Creativity Movement, presents a recent example of violence perpetrated by a white supremacist in order to bring about a race war. Ben Klassen, the sect's founder, believed that one's race is his religion. Aside from this central belief, its ideology is similar to many Christian Identity groups in the conviction that there is a Jewish conspiracy in control of the federal government, international banking, and the media. They also dictate that RAHOWA, a Racial Holy War, is destined to ensue to rid the world of Jews and “mud races”. In the early 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in membership due to the growing belief in the Apocalypse and that RAHOWA was imminent. In 1996, Matthew F. Hale, who came upon recent fame by being denied a license to practice law in Illinois, was appointed the new leader of the Church of the Creator. Hale made a number of changes to the group, including changing the name of the organization to the World Church of the Creator, to give it the feel of a widespread movement.

Recent incidents have demonstrated the willingness of members to take part in violent action. WCOTC members in Southern Florida are thought to be tied to several racially motivated beatings. Within the last year, four Florida members were convicted for the pistol-whipping and robbery of a Jewish video store owner. They were supposedly trying to raise money for "the revolution."

Many believe in the necessity of becoming martyrs for their cause. For example, Bob Mathews, the leader of The Order, died in a confrontation with law enforcement. Also, William King relished the fact that he would receive the death penalty for his act of murdering James Byrd, Jr.

Fragmentation and formation of white supremacist groups

Many white supremacist organizations seem to have shown a tendency to splinter easily, and modern-day white supremacist movements existing on the Internet show a great deal of strife within "The Movement", in a similar way to that observed in movements at the opposite extreme of the political spectrum.

Different groups have feuds and rivalries, different figures have personal feuds with different figures, etc. It could be observed that too many people within the movement want to be leaders as opposed to followers. Less extreme white supremacists or white supremacist groups, along with followers of and groups associated with white nationalism and paleo-conservatism are considered to be cowards and traitors by a lot of white supremacists, the latter two groups reciprocating with a conviction that white supremacists and neo-Nazis especially make them all look bad.

Contemporary white supremacists

What follows is merely a list of contemporary figures who are primarily known for their current support of white supremacy. The majority of people who are part of the "White Power" movement denounce any type of association with Racial Supremacism. They characterize the label as a misconceived epithet or a pejorative stereotype, and consider themselves advocates of racial separatism or nationalism, which they see as opposed to racial supremacism. Most "White Power" activists are opposed to living in a multi-racial society, whereas racial supremacism demands a multi-racial society.

Australia