From our overstocked archives
Sam Smith – As I watch Proud Boys and other “white supremacists,” a question keeps arising in my mind: how come these guys think they can define what white guys like me are about? And if I were inclined to form a group of white supremacists would they look like Proud Boys?
According to BBC, “A Proud Boy must declare that he is ‘a Western chauvinist who refuses to apologize for creating the modern world.’ They want to end welfare, give everyone a gun and “glorify the entrepreneur.”
As I was growing into white manhood, I can’t remember any of these issues being of interest to me. In fact, if you were to take more normal standards of superiority, I suspect that I have weighed less, been better educated, had a more successful career, been married longer and bench pressed more than the average Proud Boy I’ve seen.
In short, if I actually believed in white supremacy, the Proud Boys would be among my least likely role models. In fact, what they demonstrate strongly is that whites can be as screwed up and incompetent as any culture.
And if I were to actually claim – as I never would – that whites are better than other ethnicities, I would certainly not use Proud Boys as part of my argument.
1 comment:
The BBC idea of the Proud Boys seems tame and simplistic compared to the Wikipedia article.
I don’t know if other groups like Proud Boys are worse, or just different. But the purpose and ideas behind these various groups are a problem that has always existed and may always exist. American society, because of education and religion, has worked to limit hate; but now with easy communications, and an apparent amount of support from financial, religious, and political sources, radical groups feel emboldened to intimidate, obstruct, and destroy. Some individuals have suggested killing is… OK. Really? Why did we waste all those lives, time, and effort by fighting WWII? Being against fascism should not be condemned, and for a politician or any group to do so is abhorrent and should be called treason.
We need ‘good’ government that is fair, impartial, and transparent. Individuals all have varying degrees of what constitutes ‘good’, but hate, greed, and violence are not to be held up as things to strive for. If these qualities become the accepted ‘norm’ in society, other individuals, that may support peace, order, and good government (hat tip) among other fine qualities might succumb to those standards and methods just to survive. It would be a called a “Jungle”.
The U.S. requires a financially independent, responsible, and capable government to keep the worst of us in line, and the rest of us from making mistakes.
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