We often talk about White Nationalists in terms of being crazy, radical or extremist compared to mainstream America. Though, the internet and music is a good way to explain how the mainstream and extreme are connected and influence each other. In the book Cyber Racism, Daniels states that her book "discusses a number of cases in which white sup
remacist rhetoric online leads to harm in real life, and the analysis aims to balance these attacks' potential versus real threat." As the internet becomes an important part of our lives and as the extreme continues to infiltrate their messages through the internet it becomes hard to form distinctions between mainstream and extreme. I have mentioned before that iTunes sells white supremacist music. This is one major way that white supremacist ideology has permeated into the mainstream culture. The ease of being able to access this genre so easily with a few clicks of the mouse is remarkable, since at one time like I mention in the post The History Of White Nationalist Music that two decades ago it was very difficult to get your hands on it unless you knew the right person. Selling over 10 billion songs and still selling a ton of music every day, this is a major distributor of music and is one of the smartest places for white nationalists to try and sell their music. It is important to note that not all of the music that they sell is blatantly racist, though much of it is, which you can tell generally just by the name. Although the music that is more covert that is the stuff the mainstream needs to look out for, because for the most part it sounds like any other kind of angry music (usually, but not always aggressive sounding). This is a smart way for white nationalists to penetrate their ideology slowly into the mainstream, though the consumer of the music is also a big part of the picture. White nationalists have taken great measures to adapt with changing technology especially with the internet. When the internet first became a big deal, they just copy and pasted the information they were transmitting through newsletters, etc. straight to the internet. What was pervasive and good for newsletters wasn't a good format or way of displaying information on the internet. So at the beginning it wasn't effective. This is one cue that white nationalists took from the mainstream. The successful website formats that the mainstream were adopting were models for following white nationalist sites. These have been very effective, because they look legitimate and have adapted proper presentations of information that works best for the internet. The way we think about white nationalists is another way in terms of looks is a way that we might not think of being connected since what we picture and what white nationalists look like on a day to day basis is not always the sa
me. For instance we might picture a white nationalist being hooded, when in actuality they work and have different jobs that would make them need to dress as a mainstream person would. David Duke is a great example of this because he is often seen in suits, I mean seeing this man would you think he is a white nationalist based on the mainstream stereotype of what a white nationalist looks like? Also, throughout the history of America we have had a persistent, what we would now call racist ideology, though at the time it was completely normal. Though we see ourselves as more progressive now and "know better," the foundation and thoughts are still there because of hegemonic shifts and other various reasons. There is not one person that can say they don't think a racist thought every once in a while and if they do they are lying. Though the ideology is still used among white nationalist, though some variation. This is the biggest way that the mainstream and extreme are connected. Though we see white nationalists as extreme and ourselves and those around us as far from that, there are many, many ways in which we are similar, share a lot in common, and are connected.
remacist rhetoric online leads to harm in real life, and the analysis aims to balance these attacks' potential versus real threat." As the internet becomes an important part of our lives and as the extreme continues to infiltrate their messages through the internet it becomes hard to form distinctions between mainstream and extreme. I have mentioned before that iTunes sells white supremacist music. This is one major way that white supremacist ideology has permeated into the mainstream culture. The ease of being able to access this genre so easily with a few clicks of the mouse is remarkable, since at one time like I mention in the post The History Of White Nationalist Music that two decades ago it was very difficult to get your hands on it unless you knew the right person. Selling over 10 billion songs and still selling a ton of music every day, this is a major distributor of music and is one of the smartest places for white nationalists to try and sell their music. It is important to note that not all of the music that they sell is blatantly racist, though much of it is, which you can tell generally just by the name. Although the music that is more covert that is the stuff the mainstream needs to look out for, because for the most part it sounds like any other kind of angry music (usually, but not always aggressive sounding). This is a smart way for white nationalists to penetrate their ideology slowly into the mainstream, though the consumer of the music is also a big part of the picture. White nationalists have taken great measures to adapt with changing technology especially with the internet. When the internet first became a big deal, they just copy and pasted the information they were transmitting through newsletters, etc. straight to the internet. What was pervasive and good for newsletters wasn't a good format or way of displaying information on the internet. So at the beginning it wasn't effective. This is one cue that white nationalists took from the mainstream. The successful website formats that the mainstream were adopting were models for following white nationalist sites. These have been very effective, because they look legitimate and have adapted proper presentations of information that works best for the internet. The way we think about white nationalists is another way in terms of looks is a way that we might not think of being connected since what we picture and what white nationalists look like on a day to day basis is not always the sa
me. For instance we might picture a white nationalist being hooded, when in actuality they work and have different jobs that would make them need to dress as a mainstream person would. David Duke is a great example of this because he is often seen in suits, I mean seeing this man would you think he is a white nationalist based on the mainstream stereotype of what a white nationalist looks like? Also, throughout the history of America we have had a persistent, what we would now call racist ideology, though at the time it was completely normal. Though we see ourselves as more progressive now and "know better," the foundation and thoughts are still there because of hegemonic shifts and other various reasons. There is not one person that can say they don't think a racist thought every once in a while and if they do they are lying. Though the ideology is still used among white nationalist, though some variation. This is the biggest way that the mainstream and extreme are connected. Though we see white nationalists as extreme and ourselves and those around us as far from that, there are many, many ways in which we are similar, share a lot in common, and are connected.
Is there examples of music that is mainstream, that isn't connected to white nationalists movements, that advances similar ideologies and narratives? Is there multiple ways these ideologies are disseminated?
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