Gangs: Soldiers of the White Nationalist Movement?

Racial purity, an ultimate goal of white supremacists, is defined as:

“…the selection, by a government, of what it considers the most physically, intellectually and morally superior people to raise the next generation (selective breeding) and a close alignment of public health with eugenics.”

To simplify the above statement, it’s basically saying that racial purity is the purification of all other races so that the “best” race will prevail and hold power. Obviously, in a white supremacist mindset, this means ridding of all other mudding races so that the whites, the most intelligent, beautiful, powerful and overall superior race, will triumph. Such a movement cannot just come about culturally however, especially with so much miscegenation in today’s society. So of course, in dire times of the racial holy war, or Ra-Ho-Wa as abbreviated by supremacists, the whites need their soldiers.

In an excerpt from a History Channel documentary on the Aryan Brotherhood gang, it discusses much of the gang violence in contribution to winning this so called “war”. Starting out, it speaks of the lack of limitation of brutality that the Aryan Brotherhood will go to in order to be victorious. It’s almost as if gangs are seen as the warriors of the movement.

In America, our soldiers are heroes, protecting our country and it’s freedom on the front line. Majority of citizens, whether in support of a war or not, are appreciative and grateful for their selflessness in protecting our country.  I hope I don’t off in a negative way in comparing the two, because in my eyes there are very distinct differences in an American soldier versus an Aryan warrior, however the mindset of the supporters: the American people versus the white supremacists in this particular case, share some commonality.

If I were to personally step back and think about the support I have for American soldiers, much of that support is because I feel as though I couldn’t do it myself. Our soldiers hold jobs that not everyone can. A connection to such mentality may be that some white supremacists view such gang violence as the affirmative action being taken that they personally support, but don’t act on themselves. Although, for example, the Iraq War and the Ra-Ho-Wa may have little in common, it’s the brutality and violence that soldiers undergo, and more importantly the support from back home from the common everyday people like us, that links such a connection in my mind.

I found lyrics to a poem posted on a blog held by a white supremacist. Here are a few excerpts from the poem:

“We’ll fight like soldiers, warriors with pride
Troops of today, martyrs in our time

Proud of our dress, proud of our colors
United we stand out amongst others
See us in force on a Saturday night
Always ready if they start a fight”

What sounds familiar? United we stand? We’re proud of our colors? Or how about we’ll fight like soldiers, warriors with pride? Now if that isn’t blatantly saying that they are the soldiers of this racial war, then I don’t know what is. American’s are proud to wave the good ol’ red white and blue all over the place. Hell, almost everything linked to the US says united we stand somewhere. I do want to stress the link I’m making here with American support of our soldiers versus that of the support white supremacists have of their gangs. I’m connecting the mental basis of things, not the reasoning itself. I’m not saying all American’s are white supremacists at all, so if you’re about to step on your soapbox and tell me I’m an ignorant close-minded person, please withhold from doing so. I’m proud to be an American.

Now back to the blog. Sure, not all white supremacists go around killing black people, or beating up Hispanics to a pulp. Typically such action is carried out by gang members in prison, such as some members of the Aryan Brotherhood, or commonly Skin Heads. These gangs are the people who carry out such violence. In the clip I posted, it shows footage of such brutality, along with the fear evoked in people of races other than white. These are the warriors of the racial war. These are the men on the front line. These are soldiers fighting, whether morally or immorally, for what they believe in: racial purity.

Suggested Literature for White Nationalist Gangs

If you’re looking for a book that basically outlines White Nationalism, look no further than Blood and Politics by Leonard Zeskind. Upon checking this book out at the library, opening it, and looking at the table of contents, I knew it would be a gem when it comes to researching my topic of White Nationalist gangs. Zeskind touches on so many facets of the white nationalist movement, ranging from the Turner Diaries, basically the white nationalist bible, to David Duke, a former United States Representative for Louisiana and now a Grand Wizard of the infamous Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, to the denial of the Holocaust. It goes through the history of multiple movements, ranging from the birth of the Christian Patriots, connections with the government, successes and failures of multiple facets of the movement overall, current action being taken towards the New World Order, and so much more. A whopping 621 pages, it is loaded with information.

 

As pertaining to white nationalist prison gangs in a more specific sense, he touches mainly on the Neo-Nazis and Skinheads and the Militia Movement, each having their own specific chapters. With my knowledge simply scratching the surface of white nationalist gangs, I do know that both of these gangs are very highly known and prevalent in the US today. They are also very notorious for being violent, a common link towards what one would constitute a gang in the first place.

In the Skinheads chapter, he focuses a lot on the family-like relationships and intense comradeship involved in the gang. A more youthful group, they tend to bring in the vulnerable “high school dropouts from middle-class, politically conservative, suburban backgrounds” (Zeskind, 2009). Neo-Nazi’s are notorious for their punk rock, violent, and careless outward action on their political views of the nationalist movement.

A second book that focuses on gang violence in America is Gangs by Scott Cummings and Daniel J. Monti. This book speculates much more broadly on America gangs and gang violence, touching on all different types. However, there is an important chapter that does delve further into gangs formed on a racial basis.

Overall, Cummings and Monti show a very psychologically based and intensely research based viewpoint on the formation and origin, implementation and maintaining of, and workings of an established gang in today’s society. Obviously, although not all gangs included in this reading are based on that of white nationalist ideology, much of the bases of them have some things in common.

Particularly delving into the chapter pertaining to gangs and civil rights, it reveals the core action of white nationalist gangs, and other gangs formed on a racial basis: a belief of supremacy of your particular race. It’s really of no surprise that white nationalist gangs are mentioned within this chapter.  This book also states that it is in fact a rarity to find a gang that is truly interracial. This connects to white nationalist gangs because the core belief of supremacy of the white race is what links members to the brotherhood in the first place.

Both books are great for a further investigation of white supremacist gangs and violence. The latter involves more speculation and connection of the reader, while the first book mentioned is a much more straight-forward book towards the specificity of the topic.