Yasushi Watanabe: America, Shaken by Racial Discrimination—Deciphering "White Nationalism"

August 11, 2020

In late May, I published my book "White Nationalism: The 'Cultural Reaction' Shaking America" (Chuko Shinsho) . This coincided with the fatal assault on a young Black man by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the book went into a second printing within two weeks of its release.

This is my tenth single-authored book in Japanese, but this time, unusually, I received a great response from high school students, including several emails. I have had many opportunities to lecture at Mita-kai (Keio alumni associations) across the country, and some of the responses were from the children and grandchildren of the Keio University alumni I met there. I am once again deeply grateful for my connections to Keio. I was impressed by the sincere efforts of the younger generation to understand the background of this incident and the trend of white nationalism, even as they were bewildered by it.

One of the characteristics of these protests is the central role played by the younger generation. In recent years, young people in the U.S. have been actively involved in social justice issues such as gun control, climate change, economic inequality, and the rights of LGBTQ (sexual minorities) people. Incidentally, it was also this generation that enthusiastically supported Senator Bernie Sanders, a radical leftist and self-proclaimed "democratic socialist," in the Democratic presidential primaries.

There are good reasons for this. The quagmires of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, job insecurity from the Lehman shock, widening inequality, soaring tuition and medical costs, a succession of mass shootings in schools and elsewhere, and extreme weather. And now, the COVID-19 pandemic and the issue of racial discrimination. For many young people, the "American Dream" has become nothing more than a "myth."

In addition, it has become commonplace to see white and Black people interacting as friends and colleagues in schools and workplaces. Consideration for diversity has also become the norm in television, movies, and advertising. Therefore, for the younger generation, the shock of this incident was immense, and small acts of solidarity born on social networking services (SNS) grew into a major groundswell. This is also why there were many white protesters.

This younger generation—the so-called Millennials (ages 25–40) and Gen Z (ages 10–24)—will be the largest voting bloc in this fall's presidential election, and in 10 or 20 years, they will form the core of American society. This generation's sensitivity to social justice is shared by young people in Japan, although the background and degree may differ. Keio University students are no exception.

Another characteristic feature of these protests was the succession of statements of support from major corporations. Although the U.S. has a stronger culture of making political statements compared to Japan, this has not traditionally been so widespread.

It is easy to imagine that this was a protest from an ethical standpoint, given the utterly inhumane nature of the fatal assault. However, for private companies, there was likely also a calculation that not taking a stance on this issue would risk being misunderstood as "abdicating social responsibility" or "condoning racial discrimination and human rights violations." The younger generation is particularly important, as their share of the total U.S. population is increasing and their influence as "customers" and "consumers" is growing. In addition, securing talented young personnel is essential for future corporate growth. In other words, it seems that both ethical and business considerations converged.

There is no need to be cynical about this. For example, I believe one of the biggest changes in American society over the past 20 years has been the expansion of LGBTQ rights, and similar dynamics were at play then. While there were complex factors such as debates over faith and ethics, political maneuvering, and court decisions, it is undeniable that corporations sensed the shift in public opinion, and their decisions further bolstered that shift. In other words, the market played a role as a mediator of social change. For more on these points, please refer to my book "Libertarianism" (Chuko Shinsho), published last year.

However, the story is not so simple.

As sympathy for "Black Lives Matter" (BLM, a movement to protect the human rights of Black people) spread across the nation in the wake of the incident, wariness toward the protests also became apparent. And as the movement to remove statues and names of figures associated with the Southern Confederacy of the Civil War (1861–65) gained momentum, going beyond demands for police reform, backlash grew, primarily among white conservatives.

Voices from moderates can be heard saying, "They should be preserved so as not to let a negative history fade away." However, there is the counterargument that "battle sites and graves are sufficient for preservation. The period when Confederate statues were erected is closely linked to the rise of white nationalism." Furthermore, some are even calling for the removal of statues and names of Thomas Jefferson (the third U.S. president), citing the fact that he owned slaves.

To this, however, there is the rebuttal that "Jefferson was a man who worked to found the United States. The 'heroes' of the Confederacy, on the other hand, were 'rebels' who tried to overthrow the Union. They should not be discussed on the same level." This is truly an American version of the historical perception problem, and it is taking on the appearance of a "culture war."

From the perspective of white conservatives, statues of Confederate heroes do not necessarily signify an endorsement of slavery. Rather, they also symbolize resistance to the tyranny of the Union Army (= the federal government), in other words, the "Lost Cause of the South." To remove these statues is tantamount to having their own dignity denied.

Is white history something to be merely denied and forgotten?

My book "White Nationalism" traces the origins of this sentiment and its radical development today.

Of course, it was impossible to predict this fatal assault incident at the time of writing. However, I did not write the book on a complete whim. Since the last presidential election, I have been continuously concerned with how to understand the unconventional President Trump and the socio-political background in the U.S. that propelled him to the White House.

A one-man-show businessman who sees everything in terms of profit and loss (a deal). A popular reality show host skilled in theatrical methods. Both of these descriptions are likely correct.

However, what always struck me was the strength of President Trump's consciousness as a "white" person. It is well known that in the last election, he appealed to voters with claims that "South American immigrants are criminals" and promises of "building a wall on the Mexican border." He also frequently used coded language thought to galvanize white conservatives, such as "the forgotten people" and "law and order." The prominent Black author Ta-Nehisi Coates described this version of him as "America's first white president."

And in the last election, this "race card" or "divisive tactic" worked. Therefore, given the success of four years ago, I expected that he would resort to the same card or tactic at some point in this election campaign. Seeing President Trump repeatedly invoke "law and order" at every opportunity since the incident, I cannot help but sigh.

To be frank, another motivation for writing this book was a certain frustration I felt since President Trump's inauguration, as I was asked daily for my views by the media and related organizations. In other words, I did not choose the path of a researcher to react to his every move, desperately follow U.S. news, offer reflexive commentary, and revel in it. If I am not to consider the underlying tectonic shifts in American society, and indeed in democratic societies, then there is no reason for my existence as a scholar in the first place.

With these thoughts in mind, the more President Trump engaged in flamboyant words and actions, the more my own mind drifted away from the daily information space and the world of current affairs commentary. Perhaps this was my own self-defense mechanism as a researcher. In a sense, I have President Trump to thank for being able to publish two books, "Libertarianism" and "White Nationalism," in the last two years. And I have nothing but gratitude for the publisher who embraced my ideas.

Needless to say, my book does not glorify white nationalism. However, it does not intend to reject it out of hand either. I have focused on "understanding" their worldview from the inside and have tried to refrain from hasty value judgments or commentary.

On the other hand, according to a joint poll conducted by Reuters and others two years ago, while 57% of Americans answered that "minorities are under attack in the U.S. today," 43% also said that "white people are under attack." Surprisingly, 8% also said they "support white nationalism." 73% of domestic terrorism in the U.S. is committed by extremist white nationalists.

And white nationalism is not just an American problem; it is also deeply linked to the rise of far-right populism and "nation-first" ideologies in Europe. A common thread is that demographic compositions and social orders centered on white people are being forced into major restructuring by globalization. The politics of identity and values are becoming more radicalized and gaining weight.

My book uses a method of building upon fieldwork with white nationalists, fleshed out with documents and other materials. Students worry and ask me, "Weren't you scared?" but many white nationalists are pro-Japanese, and not a few were intelligent and gentlemanly. A narrative that unilaterally denies them and places oneself on a moral high ground seemed utterly disingenuous.

One white nationalist asked me this: "If millions of foreigners came to Japan, wouldn't the Japanese people feel a sense of unease? And if you objected to it, how would you feel if you were labeled a 'Japanese supremacist' or a 'racist'?"

How would you answer?

While repeatedly interviewing them and writing my book, I was constantly thinking about myself and about Japanese society.

To understand others is to understand oneself; it is nothing less than finding oneself in others and finding others in oneself.

I would be happy if my book could serve as a catalyst for such an internal dialogue.