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I just saw a comic where a pagan, a LARPer and a History Buff are all like "These Nordic symbols are nice" and then a N*zi and a white nationalist join them and say "They sure are". And the other three go "Wait what". All of them are white btw. And then...
A little white child in the next frame goes, "Look Mommy! These five people are wearing hate symbols".
Now let me explain to you why this is a garbage fire of a sentiment because I have HAD IT.
Now let me explain to you why this is a garbage fire of a sentiment because I have HAD IT.
First and foremost, covert symbolism is adopted by white supremacist groups so they may identify each other in public WITHOUT letting other people know.
The reason these people use the runes and not swastikas is because people DON'T know what the runes are.
The reason these people use the runes and not swastikas is because people DON'T know what the runes are.
That is the ENTIRE point. Now, obviously the runes could go the way of the swastika, which *wasn't* originally a hate symbol, and while I do think that's important to prevent, the issue with this comic is that the idea is to generate sympathy for pagans, LARPers & history buffs.
Instead of... oh I dunno... the people who are the primary targets of white supremacist hate groups???
Every single time I see a post about a hate group adopting a runic symbol, someone's gotta be like, "Oh isn't that sad for Norse pagans." NO. NO. STAHP.
Every single time I see a post about a hate group adopting a runic symbol, someone's gotta be like, "Oh isn't that sad for Norse pagans." NO. NO. STAHP.
I have runes tattooed on my shoulder. I do not need anyone's sympathy. If someone mistakes those runes for a white supremacist group symbol and CONFRONTS me then I would probably buy that person a drink because most white people won't even confront their grandmas at Christmas.
And if I did have someone ask me about it at work or in any other setting, I have a plethora of historical evidence to the contrary regarding the symbolism and origin of the runes.
The runes aren't racist. But that doesn't mean the white people who like them aren't.
The runes aren't racist. But that doesn't mean the white people who like them aren't.
This discourse and the way it's framed creates a false dichotomy of "good white person" and "bad white person" and makes it seem like Norse pagans should be motivated to counter white supremacy so they don't get tarred with the same brush.
Instead of realising that white supremacists and N*zis represent the tip of what is an enormous iceberg of systemic global white supremacy that all white people are socialised into. The focus is about PR, not about defeating white supremacy.
If the only motivation you can find to fight white supremacy comes from a fear that you might be seen as one of them then, sorry to say, the apple is not falling very far from the tree.
The concept that you should feel sorry for Norse pagans, LARPers and history buffs because they *might* be grouped in with these people ignores the very blatant and physical risk these people represent to many marginalised groups.
And it also ignores the reality in that white supremacists are also a physical threat to white people as well. They can, will and have attacked white people. If you allow them to cozy up to you under the belief you're somehow safe, you're foolish.
Continuing to paint white supremacy as a dichotomy of good whites and bad whites is overall harmful to the effort of destroying white supremacy. Because it encourages white people to believe all they have to do is not say racial slurs or join exclusionary groups. That ain't it.
Stop trying to act like white Norse pagans deserve sympathy because we may accidentally be mistaken for a member of an extremist group. You don't have to be a member of these groups to do great harm, to reinforce white supremacy, or be an unsafe white person.
Any white Heathen that has not done any work on themselves to challenge white supremacy can clutch their Mjolnirs at the thought of being mistaken for a N*zi all they'd like -- if the only reason you fight it is for your own benefit, you're not anyone's ally.
