An Alternative to Nazism
Introduction
When speaking of Nazism, and the ranks that have existed under the ideas of anti-Semitism, one typically also includes others, such as the Ku Klux Klan, White Pride militants, the "Creativity" Movement, among other groups that are of a nationalist and racialist opinion. When I speak of Nazism, I am referring to those who have a particular anti-Semitism and have organized themselves into this movement. While the original National Socialist Party by Adolf Hitler has been expunged by a coalition of Allied forces, the ideas that formed the basis of this party still exist today. Today, the anti-Semite and Nazi thoughts, converting new individuals and dissipating from older generations, have been organized into various parties. They can be found in different chapters throughout different cities, the various collectives of individuals who hope, either through propaganda or protest, to convince the rest of the white population that they are oppressed. In this piece, I am going to offer an alternative to Nazi ideology. By this, I mean I am going to justify an opposing theory, one of tolerance, rather than one of intolerance and persecution.
The Essence of Nazism
"The Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end spying on the unsuspicious German girl he plans to seduce. He wants to contaminate her blood and remove her from the bosom of her own people. The Jew hates the white race and wants to lower its cultural level so that the Jews might dominate."
-- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (1925)
The essence of Nazism is to befriend another by the color of their skin, to ostracize another because of the parents that brought them into the world; it is make allies and enemies on account of the one aspect of their life they could not control, who their parents were. The only part of life a man or woman cannot alter or change is whom their parents are, what racial background they are descended from. They may be born into the slums of poverty, the thresholds of political oppression, the bitter and unjust yolk of slavery. Yes, they may be born into some other things they cannot control, but they are still given a chance to overthrow even the most difficult obstacles; yet, as to their race, nothing they can do will change it. Asside from a man's race, how they feel about it is also what anti-Semites and Nazis will judge. A white man who befriends black or asian men and women will be called a "race traitor." Upon these two traits of character come the method of judgment: race and sentiments on the importance of race.
As to a man's intelligence, his wit, his strength, his courage, his boldness, interest in goodness and appeal to justice, Nazism offers no desire. Furthermore, it has made the statement that all good qualities can be found in the Aryan race, the white race, the "pure" race. Those desirable characteristics that have intrinsic value, the search for goodness and thoughtfulness, Nazism claims that they can be only be found within those of the Aryan race. The debased qualities, cruelty, malice, ignorance, apathy, nihilism, greed, those qualities we find in those we hate and in those who have done us wrong, Nazism has applied them to those of a different race. Those of the Jewish ethnicity, it has called them the destroyer of culture, the conspirator against equity, the enemy of the good, common people. Those who have descended from the African race have been called bruttish, ignorant, violators of women, and holding an indecent disrespect for all that is sacred. Of those whose race developed and grew in Asia, they have been called the deceivers, thieves to the good spirit of Democracy, culprits against the strength of the people. There is no doubt that these are despisable attributes; no good person will have these qualities, but will deplore them. The tenets of Nazism agree, but they have gone one step further, in accusing the non-white races of holding these attributes. The genetic characteristics are indicative of moral and personal qualities, so they have advanced.
The races of the world, as diverse as they are, representing a variety of cultures and ideas, have been targeted by the soldiers of Nazism. They have been called the ones responsible for the problems of the world. So, it is that the duty of every Nazi has been to convince the world that it is only right to fight the other races.
"The whole organization of education, and training which the People's State is to build up must take as its crowning task the work of instilling into the hearts and brains of the youth entrusted to it the racial instinct and understanding of the racial idea. No boy or girl must leave school without having attained a clear insight into the meaning of racial purity and the importance of maintaining the racial blood unadulterated. Thus the first indispensable condition for the preservation of our race will have been established and thus the future cultural progress of our people will be assured."
-- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (1925)
Does the Evidence Exist?
Can the claims that have been applied by Nazi ideology be confirmed? Of the Jewish race -- are they a particularly cruel and bitter people? I can find no evidence that supports this conclusion, and as my experience in the world grows, I am constantly observing otherwise. Baruch Spinoza, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Franz Kafka, all writers, philosophers, psychologists, scientists, were also all Jewish, either ethnically or culturally or religiously. I certainly cannot say that I agree with all the words spoken or written by these individuals, I understand that Spinoza genuinely sought out the truth, that Freud applied a new and innovating method of psychology, that Einstein's theories revolutionized physics, and that Kafka's contribution to literature was considerable. I have yet to discover a single source that attributed these figures with being merciless or thoughtless, and none either that would attribute them with these characteristics because of their ethnicity.
Of the African race -- are the White Supremacists justified in asserting that they are a barbaric and unrefined manner? In all my experience and observation, I have found that good qualities and bad qualities never develop out of one's racial background. In my travels across the United States, I have found depravity and cruelty in those of every descent, and I have found eternal comradery and brotherhood with people of every skin color. A strong sense of family and security existed among these friends of mine, and I felt safe among them, whatever race they happened to be. Whatever the differences we have, of culture or preference or background, I come nothing short of being confirmed that kinship is an emotion that knows no race. At times like those, I wondered how a Nazi could have developed their ideology. And the answer comes to me. It was from propaganda, from another person's writing, not
from actual observation, but from another person, whose observation was either limited or non-existant. So it would be, that a man can find goodness, and cruelty, in every race, had he employed the philosophy of observation. Lewis Latimer, W.E.B. Dubois, Roland Hayes, and Dr. Charles Richard Drew are all African in descent, but have contributed towards society in remarkable ways. Latimer pioneered the electrical and lightbulb industry, working with Edison. W.E.B. Dubois was a scholar and a visionary. Roland Hayes was a composer and an artist to life. Dr. Charles Richard Drew offered the knowledge of blood preservation and tranfusions, his work saving hundreds of millions of lives. In my understanding of the character of these men, I have found nothing to persuade me that they were of a corrupt or degenerate nature, nothing to convince me that they were particularly brutal or thoughtless.
Those who have descended from the Asian peoples -- is it justified that the National Socialist Party opposed them, their culture, and their rights and liberty? The Nazi followers have argued that the races coming from the continent of Asia are greedy, brutal, and hold no consideration for others. Those with racialist attitudes will hold distrust and animosity towards others based on their appearance, and so it is, that the Nazi movement has made an enemy out of the world's peoples. As I explained before, the attitudes a Nazi develops towards these other races is because of propaganda, because social attitudes that he was imbedded with. But to these claims, are they just? Was Lao Tzu thoughtless, careless with his observations, merciless? What of Sidartha Gautama or Confucius? It was the imperative of all of these philosophers to develop a method of society and living that would minimize suffering, not only of humans, but of all life. With millions of followers for every one of these philosophies, it can hardly be argued that these people are of a debased, inhumane nature. But then again, the fact that there are millions to serve in murder and execution squads, during the revolutions and counter-revolutions across Asia, the various religious wars between the different groups -- it proves just what I have asserted: that good and bad qualities can be found in all, despite racial background. One's parents do not determine the moral qualities of the offspring. Experience, observation, and demonstration prove that beyond a doubt.
I contend this... That no civilization was brought to rubble because of the loss of a "pure race," that no person is of a heartless or mindless character because of their ethnic background; the love of a person does not change because of the color of their skin, the pain and misery of an individual are not less or more because of heritage -- a treacher, brutal act is not pardoned or explained by the criminal's background; a beautiful, merciful act is not less poetic or less sincere because of the one reason that Nazis have applied. Every person is different in all sorts of ways, but physical appearance does not determine the moral sentiments, the mental strength, the kindness or villany of a person -- only actions do.
An Alternative
There is never a vice so destructive, that alternatives can't be found -- no act so merciless, that a change of heart and ammends are impossible. To Nazism, I state that the alternative exists. To those who have sided with the Nazi regime, the White Power and White Pride movement, the Ku Klux Klan, those who have emboddied Racist ideals, I offer them an alternative: to throw off the shackles of cultural prejudice and discrimination, and to adhere to justice, goodness, and charity among all living people. To walk with the knowledge that it is an act of duty to liberate the oppressed, not to walk with the lie that the white race is superior. To understand, inspire, hope, with a passion for improving the lives of all people. To allievate poverty, to end misery, to fight hunger, to do all that can be done to help the lives of all people, no matter what skin color they have.
The Anti-War sentiment, to live with the wisdom that killing people and destorying cities is but the epitome of barbarism. To believe that war is wrong is to affirm the very basic tenet of Humanitarianism: that to live by rapine and mayhem, to make your living off the pain and misery of others, is but the greatest injustice.
The Anarchist position... To understand and act, so that everyone's personal liberty is respected, that everyone is granted their right to opinion, through speech and thought. To hold that all political decision-making ability belongs to the people and the people alone, that military suppression of the population is a violation of truth and justice -- that is Anarchism.
Among all the alternatives that one could pose to the ideology of Nazism, there is one that stands out among the rest... To stand with the strength, the boldness, the courage, and oppose all forms of Racism and Sexism. To affirm to yourself that no man is made better or worse by his race, that no person should be denied freedom or rights because of their gender, and to stand by this and fight for it is a sign of goodness in character, an personal omen of genuine affection for the condition of mankind. The alternatives exist and I have presented them. To those who hold a grudge against the races of the planet, they must now show that they are strong enough to change.
"No League of Nations, or of individuals, can avail, without a change of heart. Reformers of all classes must recognize that it is useless to preach peace by itself, or socialism by itself, or anti-vivisection by itself, or vegetarianism by itself, or kindness to animals by itself. The cause of each and all of the evils that afflict the world is the same the general lack of humanity, the lack of the knowledge that all sentient life is akin, and that he who injures a fellow-being is in fact doing injury to himself. The prospects of a happier society are wrapped up in this despised and neglected truth, the very statement of which, at the present time, must (I well know) appear ridiculous to the accepted instructors of the people."
-- Henry Stephens-Shakespeare Salt, The Savour of Salt: A Henry Salt Anthology
Ignorance never set anyone free...
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry on social issues which have caught his attention for several years. His website www.punkerslut.com provides a complete list of all of these writings. His life experience includes homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of high school, getting expelled from college for "subversive activities," and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.
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