White Supremacists and the White Urge to call them Terrorists

Authors

Jin Chang, University of IowaFollow

Abstract

In this article, I argue that the election and inauguration of President Biden should not be a moment of celebration for any scholar, activist, or individual committed to ending the white supremacist empire of America, especially in relation to his condemnation of the January 6^th white supremacist rioters as “domestic terrorists.” However, I believe it is for a different reason than much of the current discourse suggests from many progress scholars and journalists. The current line many progressive scholars and activists cite as the reason to avoid calling white supremacists “terrorists” has been because they fear such language will be used to justify the increase in militarization from the state. The issue I see with this argument is that regardless of what white activists, scholars, and everyday individuals call the white supremacists, the state has already stated its interest in using white supremacists as “terrorists” to expand the militarization of the state. Instead, I argue that the urge to call white supremacist rioters terrorists is actually one of the ways white supremacy continues in more subtle ways in society. This analysis provides one example of how we can search for the white supremacist roots in President Biden’s actions.

Repository Citation

Chang, J. (2021). White Supremacists and the White Urge to call them Terrorists. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 20 (3). Retrieved from https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/taboo/vol20/iss3/5