Hate 2.0

-Hannah Long

I believe the question of European identity failing in the wake of a postcolonial society can be boiled down to a push by many (not all) governments and their respective medias to reflect a more utopian society, one that is more multicultural and representative of a wider population than what the majority is still composed of. This challenge however is that it only shows one face of a two sided society, the opposing side to this push in mass migration is just as if not more active and is only given mass attention during times of crisis, even though their extreme views and actions are still done in an everyday setting. Take Atilla Hildmann’s initiative towards spreading conspiracy theories along with anti-semitic rhetoric, the way Hildmann approaches his work is of an identity that is rooted with extreme nationalistic views.

There is an attempt to tie back to a past that is more sought after, and can be more blatantly seen in countries such as Turkey where there was once a high level of white colonial interference that there is still a present day modern yearning to see Turkey in a white context. Politically the White Turk and Black Turk as is described in Güner’s article, are pitted against each other a tale of the working class vs the elite, and in history’s case a white supremacy. Both progressives and populists use narratives like this in their own political agendas as it is an aspect of history that has affected all nations in some regard, with the main difference between the two political sphere’s is either using this as a way to bring about change or going against it. Ironically both wanting to create a way of uniting a prospective group of people, it is just done so in fundamentally different ways.

Sources:

Ezgi Güner “Rethinking Whiteness in Turkey Through the AKP’s Foreign Policy in Africa South of the Sahara,” Middle East Report 299 (Summer 2021). https://merip.org/2021/08/rethinking-whiteness-in-turkey-through-the-akps-foreign-policy-in-africa-south-of-the-sahara/

How this TV Chef Turned COVID Truther Helped QAnon in Germany

By Felix Nicol

A key part of the VICE interview that I felt was only briefly touched upon were the reasons behind the growth of QAnon in Germany in particular. If Germany hosts the second largest QAnon group, the feelings of isolation due to COVID seem insufficient in underlining this growth, as this was certainly not exclusive to Germany. A point made early in the documentary suggested that German disillusionment with the pandemic was especially present because Germany was relatively unaffected (keeping in mind that this documentary was made over two years ago, when the second wave had not yet occurred). Once again, this hardly seems exclusive to Germany, with some other countries having even fewer cases. Perhaps the most appealing suggestion is that QAnon is good at including their rhetoric into local causes, which leads to the understanding that somewhat similar movements were already booming in the country. Still, it is impressive (and scary) to consider the effectiveness of QAnon in co-opting local rhetoric to garner support.

In a similar sense, the examples of Indonesia and Turkey have shown examples of where the importing of racial biases from abroad have been effectively shifted for a local audience. Especially in Turkey, which took American racial terms and instead shifted them towards religion and culture. Similarly, the imported “real antisemitism” in Indonesia perhaps represented the effectiveness of European Nazis in propagating their ideology abroad. I feel both of these cases kind of bring further discussion to the assessment that while populist and fascist movements are inherently local, local ideas can be adapted abroad successfully.

By Blaise Rego

This weeks reading looked at how European identity deals with the changing dynamics of the 21st century and the issues that come of it. The notion of European exceptionalism, one that was seemingly put to bed following the rise of the USA, had begun to rise once more in the face of modern issues.

The media prescribed this week had two different pieces of content about “Q” and the conspiracy that surrounds it and how it has morphed in Europe. The conspiracy has become more global in scale while keeping Trump and the American cause in the centre. It demonstrates how fringe groups in Europe have begin to look to the Untied States for support, this flys in the face of what we would assume European nationalist would want. By this the citizens are looking to be culturally colonized as they see the answer to their problems (migration, elites and covid). The subversion of the dominant European and be seen in the turkic activities and identity in Africa.

In Africa, Turkey looked to move in and be a leading investor and help in development. Turkish politicians use the malleable identity of being European without being taken as a white Westerner. This is seen in the quote where the African politician says to the Turkish politician you look white but you act black, saying as if you have air of European well acting as an African. This malleability of the European identity allowed for Turkey to be accepted as a nation that looked to help Africa more than other European states.

By Kaileigh La Belle

Like previous videos that we’ve watched in this class, the video on Qanon in Germany interviewed people who were close to or even directly involved with the conspiratorial, Far-Right leaning movement. When individuals were asked why people joined this movement, many outsiders noted the idea of gaining control over uncontrollable circumstances. While I think that there is some merit to the argument that feelings of control/lack of control can be mobilizing factors, I think that there is a deeper issue going on here, especially after reading some of the other readings on the subject of xenophobia and Far-Right Hate. The Stone reading, which highlighted the role of collective memory in dictating responses to current crises, is applicable here. Throughout the video, the anti-vax, anti-mask protesters made numerous visual or oral references or parallels to Germany’s nazi past, presenting COVID-preventative measures as a style of eugenic, authoritarian plot. For them, this is evidently a morally motivated movement that draws heavily on the idea of preventing history from repeating itself. While the idea that these preventative measures are anywhere close to a fascist dictatorship is, as the video makes clear, ludicrous, I think that it represents an attempt to distance themselves from the fundamentally antisemitic conspiracies they push and therefore “validate” their involvement. They see their motivations as being “civic” and hinged on “protecting” people (especially the vulnerable like children) from a shadowy authoritarian government or secret society. In their eyes, this makes their movement incompatible with hate, or, at the very least rationalizes it for them in a sort of “greater good” situation. It prevents them from seeing the antisemitic origins and impacts this movement has and thus they continue to involve themselves in it. Overall, by coupling this sort of moral argument with imagery of preventing another genocide/authoritarian regime, they distance themselves from any type of critical thought about their actions or blame for them.

By Lauren McCoy

While the subject of race has been discussed a lot within our seminar, I was really struck with the malleability of racial identities in this week’s reading. Previously we discussed how Jewishness in far-right rhetorics could be transformed to encompass whatever flavour of anti-semitic conspiracy was most resonated with a national population. A similar flexibility is visible in Güner article in regards to whiteness in Turkey. It’s interested that just last week we discussed anti-turkish violence in the context of anti-immigration and anti-multiculturalism sentiments in German, where this week they become associated with Whiteness as a way to legitimize their “development” in Sub-Saharan Africa. Turkish Whiteness seems to be entirely relative to who they are surrounded by – being white enough to be associated with Europe, yet still not white enough to actually be European.

              A similar malleability is visible in ideas of race and Jewish identity in Moses article, where Indonesian anti-colonialism sentiments surrounding Europe and Israel became interlocked in acts of anti-Chinese racism. While it may seem strange to associate Jewish people and Chinese populations, invoking ideas of anti-semitism global conspiracies seem to have less to do with an actual dislike for Jewish people and more so as a justification for violence against Chinese populations. This isn’t the only example of where a false association with Jewish people was used to imply the threat an ethnic group posed to the national population. In England’s interwar era, a similar conspiracy of a Jewish-Irish alliance was evoked by fascist parties like the League of Fascist and The Britons to showcase the threat of an independent Ireland to empire and as justification to re-conquer the nation.

              I’m not entirely sure how these ideas connect with some of the other readings/videos this week, but I think the malleability of identity, especially around social constructed categorizes of race, will become an important theme in examining European identity in regards to mass migration and de-colonial movements.