White Power Extremists are members of a larger movement called White Supremacist Movement (WSM). This is a group made of individuals mainly from North America and Western Europe who are united by the common ideology and goal of maintaining white supremacy in the society (Simi, 2010). Their main objective is to protect the white race from genocide. This group envisions a future where non-whites are segregated and subordinated to the whites. Members who are affiliated to this group are referred to as white power extremists and they are known to engage in violent activities just like the other terror groups and it is therefore a source of concern. The violence associated with this group is referred to as white supremacist terror. A lot of attention has been paid to terror groups originating from the Middle East while paying little attention to factors that contribute to the growth and spread of White Supremacists Movement. The point of this paper is to explain how culture in form of music, symbols and beliefs are important to recruitment, retention, and mobilization of group members within White Power Extremism Movement.
Culture, which entails music symbols and beliefs, is central to recruiting, retaining, and mobilizing the group members in the White Power Extremism. Music is the most practiced culture for recruiting and retaining the group members of White Power (Shekhovtsov & Jackson, 2012). Concisely, the White Power music propagates this ideology and is a critical cultural component developed and produced in this political and social discriminative movement. Furthermore, the White Power music is used as a piece of political equipment or idea to propagate the primary movement objectives. In essence, music is used as a conduit of disseminating a political notion to the youths and recruiting new followers and offered a critical base for economic resources for the group. For instance, the proceeds from the White Power music and concerts ensured that the parties in the far right had a chance to pursue their conventional political processes.
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Culture, especially music, is integrated into the White Power movement. For example, Aryans affirmed that music is a tool used to convey crucial information regarding their righteous battles, concentrate on their movement processes and ensure that racists are united in their free spaces. The culture is practiced in house parties, bars, festivals, and hate rock websites. In this regard, the members shared beliefs that incorporated displaying styles, sharing attitudes, and releasing emotions to bring them as a unit of racial extremism. The performances at the hate rock music and the listeners alike believed that the Aryan music showed activism (Shekhovtsov & Jackson, 2012). The White Power music ensured that the listeners and performers stayed on course, and it acted as the reminder for reasons of existence of the Aryan supremacy. Rituals are also performed amongst the crowds gathered for the bar concerts. The collective rituals are meant to inform the members about the hatred ethos. Therefore, culture, especially music, symbols, and beliefs are central to recruiting, retaining, and mobilizing group members within the White Power Extremism as explained herein.
Literature Review
One of the greatest reasons for the broader spread of the White power culture, especially music, was the fact that the White power forces managed to tap into the Internet. With the popularization of the internet in the mid-1900s, the White Power music was availed to a larger population with a great variety using websites to sell and expanding it to the market gap and benefits (Back, 2002). The White Power also managed to bypass the national “hate” laws in Europe and hence gave the group an international outlook. The population recruited in the White Power culture grew significantly alongside the various racists' companies that implemented the same medium. Regardless, the understanding of the effects of racist music in a political environment is problematic. There is high secrecy among those individuals involved in the production, distribution, and selling of the products from this movement (Corte & Edwards, 2008). However, the present study shows that the White Power music production process is greatly linked to the political movement and parties on the far right.
The precise message regarding the White Power music is based on the wide-range concepts of racist political ideas as previously indicated. However, the music propagates a certain message of implicit generalization or suggestion than the ideological concepts shown or expressed by the political parties. There is also a high variation between the White Power music since a huge number of brands incorporated talk about the ideologies that express their respective situations and the different racist teams with which they have links (Corte & Edwards, 2008). The content and information of the White Power music have several themes. Primarily, the lyrics of this music show pride of a specific belonging to a struggling and neglected White group. Secondly, the music also enhances the racist opinions and views of the immigrants and the non-whites. Additionally, White Power music disregards the minorities and people with a different sexual affiliation such as homosexuals and interracial marriages, and any kind of activity regarded as race-mixing. Fourth, the White Power music produces lyrics that are against the Jews, who they think are central to the global assumptions of the white race, by promoting the White Power sympathizers known as the "Zionist Occupation Government" (ZOG) (Love, 2016). Finally, the lyrics of this music reiterates the need to oppose communism and socialism or any other liberal and progressive political process. The White Power music, therefore, considers liberalism and feminism practices as the plague of the modern era.
The design of the White Power ideology can be categorized into three; farmed to widen its reach to the contemporary youth. Firstly, it affirms that White Power is a real and non-commercial form of music. Secondly, it ascertains that White Power is not nihilistic, but it is oppositional. Lastly, White Power is regarded as the victim of the double standards postulated by multicultural and politically competent sides (Luke, 2017). Music distinction (either bad or good) is based on factors such as authenticity. However, the discourse of the White Power music ascertains that there is considerable interest in being regarded as a real musical expression, the antithesis of the American conceptualization which cuts across numerous candidates to pick on the subgroup of artists that can be marketed easily to a large audience group (Pete, 2010). The White Power activists often emphasize authenticity in music to attract the disaffected youth.
William Pierce, one of the most vital members of the White Power music globally at the start of the 2000s, justified his engagement with rock music to the other supremacists opposing the business. He affirmed that the young white children were alienated from society, and the White Power music would give them a chance to do something about the situation and change history. Pierce (2002) ascertained that the American White youths were forced into the decadent values using the musical tools and then MTV.
Through the White Power music, culture shows the level of entertainment events and ideas, and their link to the political persuasion are interwoven in a calculated manner to recruit the young generations. For instance, during the White Power festivals, a leader of the movement steps on the stage between different bands to explain various political ideas. The precise political speeches and the musical messages have a sharp contradiction. In essence, the White Power music designs its message and ideas to appeal to the audience and defend every step they take ambiguously. Contrastingly, political leaders often talk about the fundamental objective and political goal in an explicit way. Conspiracy theories are used, showing the ambiguity of the White Power music ideologies and movement. Even though these practices could seem intelligent, they are sophisticated. Primarily, various conspiracy theories are at the base, and all rely on a certain faith which makes them strong and robust. A fresh theory is typically developed to describe any inconsistency in cases where the problem originates and seemingly contradicts that specific conspiracy theory. The cycle does not end, and it is formulated to avert any liberal thoughts that could challenge the movement and its objectives.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (2004) also describes the other recruitment technique. The Resistance Records asks activists to purchase CDs at low costs to have a chance to distribute them freely in the community. The other policy of the White Power music recruitment techniques entails active framing of the message and the music position to be accessed to a wider group of youths. This approach entails veiling specific characteristics of the White Power ideas using encoded languages and vague lyrics. There are different reasons for such. Primarily for open performance by a White Power band in Europe and participation of the broader audience in the mainstream music arena, it should incorporate the legal restrictions.
Aryans liked the private spaces of the festivals involving the White Power music. Festivals, and not only the largest but also the most appropriate music arena. Festivals were major uniting factors for many days when they had to live pure white life and think of experiences they fantasized of. In essence, the festivals are primarily placed in a remote private area to protect them from potential protesters and the law. Aryans referred to it as the music festival. When compared to the mainstream music festivals, they were correct because there was a large crowd involved that camped outside to listen to the music and carouse. The attendants are instructed to use a password-protected website to gather at the grocer points parking area to be screened by the organizers and sell the tickets at thirty dollars each and then direct them appropriately to the site. The festival took place for two days and two nights with the scheduling of the eight bands.
The White power activists use music as a piece of primary equipment for gaining ideas and unifying racists in festivals or parties. The local activists use bar shows in certain places. Larger concerts, on the other hand, and festivals gather people from different areas. The scenes of hate music are on an upward surge. Some racists think that music scenes can be used to distract people from the actual political movement and disadvantage many members from undertaking their activism processes instead of using it as an elevating point for in-depth commitment (Grosholz & Pieri, 2020). Even though the Aryan ideas are powerful, music seems to be a critical tool for White Power activities. Recruits can begin by being around without necessarily indulging in the ritual hatred culture. However, visiting a festival or a concert may result in more recruits. The ones in music may understand that music scene experiences are essential in retaining them and focusing on the movement and its activities.
Conclusion
As the discussion has shown, White power music is the major cultural element for organizing resources and drawing most participants into a movement, informing youths regarding the White Power concepts, and reaching out to the adherents and supporters, emotionally and not rationally. Many youths are interested in the idea of being tied to the imagined global community of the white nation on different platforms. In particular, White Power music often motivates the creation and maintenance of a global communication framework offering a conduit to public activities, web sites publications, and the symbolic items vital to cultivate and nourish the White Power cumulative identity. The record labels developed by the White Power music, event promoters, and organizers often develop considerable financial products directly implemented by the racist parties and firms to support the recruitment of the White Power and the conventional racists. Most activists associated with the White Power have engaged in an intelligent way of attracting youths by developing the technique of mainstream youth culture developers and ensuring that its culture, especially the music, aligns with the current, alternate sub-cultural designs to improve its legality and enhance its followership. Besides, White Power activists have effectively improved the current styles or certain famous non-racist music and re-structured them to resonate with the White Power activities. For instance, White power music presents itself as the independent music arena where if not played by MTV and not accepted by a primary record label, it cannot attain legitimacy (Fielitz & Thurston, 2018). With such actions, the White Power message is legitimized to some youths who consider it as a situation of authentication that can valorize the bands and the fans.
The increased need to recruit more people to the White Power group shows the desire of this movement to re-structure its primary message from one of racial hatred to survival, loving oneself, and showing pride. In essence, this is a message that can reach virtually every White youth. It is different from the conventional white supremacist stand of aggression and emphasis on racial hatred to advocate for the extinction of what they referred to as the “inferior races.” Concisely, White Power music is a crucial element to change the traditional idea of an identity-based genetic understanding of race to the contemporary concept of socially-centered race (Eyerman, 2002). As a result, the White Power culture has been central to the racist movements and their embrace of the contemporary elements of identity politics, which talks about an embattled group that risks extinction. Based on such a vantage point, White Power casts itself as one of the different social groups that have contributed largely to social diversity and should be respected when it approaches the new set of youths.
The response of the societies to the growth and development of White Power music will largely impact the success of music and its political appeals. There is clarity in the fruitful directions involving future studies. For instance, the distinctions in the political chances shown by the European laws regarding the Holocaust Denial and the need to protect free speech in America have had a significant and adverse effect on the regional dispersion of White Power (Eyerman, 2002). Furthermore, this activity has affected the functions of the White Power in the mobilization of the movement and the degree or link between the White Power music to political parties and business organizations of the racists. White Power culture managed to embrace the contemporary sources of information such as the Internet and other media outlets. As a result, there should be a careful and measured understanding of their impact in framing the growth of and spread of White Power music. Lastly, it is incumbent to comprehend that White Power music is aiding the racist political parties and their movements to redesign their political identities and diversity to achieve selfish ends.
References
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