What elements of white nationalism have made their way into our laws and judiciary? What "white nationalist policies" dominate Florida?
This makes me wonder if you have a full understanding of what white nationalism is, and if you don’t then maybe it would make sense that you don’t think its very prevalent.
Let’s start with establishing that white nationalist philosophy is not the same as white supremacy philosophy. A white supremacist would say that racism isn’t a real thing because it’s purely a fact that whites are genetically superior. White nationalism suggests that racism is real but that white people, not minorities, are the victims of racism. This rhetoric is *everywhere* in conservative circles.
US White nationalism’s basic philosophy is that America was originally founded and made great by white people with white traditions and white values and white religions and that those people, traditions, values, and religions are now under attack by non-white races or ethnicities and so their goal is to protect those things. There are certainly elements of white supremacy within white nationalism, but they aren’t necessarily the same thing.
The first and most obvious example out of Florida is their changing of school curriculum to downplay the racism in the country’s history and to even go so far as to suggest that slavery was actually a positive thing. Again, they’re not necessarily saying “white people are better” or “racism never existed” they are instead downplaying it significantly, teaching less factual history around it, and effectively attempting to indoctrinate this generation with the idea that America has always been a morally good place, that it’s history (which was largely dominated by white people, traditions, values, and religion) is only positive - even for people that it doesn’t seem like it was positive for.
Changing curriculum to present a more favorable history of the state, by the way, is incredibly common in Fascist and other authoritarian states.
Next in Florida you have draconian regulations around the LGBT community, especially the Ts, with pretty explicit language that the desire is to protect traditions, values, and religious views.
Then you have fierce anti immigration laws. Again, xenophobia is a centerpiece of white nationalist philosophy.
The entire “anti-woke” movement that DeSantis is more or less the de facto leader of is absolutely steeped in white nationalist thinking and language.
I think it’s easy, easy to see just how pervasive white nationalist thinking is across the country, and most especially in conservative circles. Though the rhetoric has become so generic that even center left personalities like Bill Maher have become obsessed with it.
White nationalism is engrained in America’s psyche so deeply that attempts to move away from it are viewed as threats even by people who aren’t actually white nationalists.
www.nbcnews.com
thehill.com
