Racist outbreak in Perth, Australia.

The Western Australian newspaper reports:

(Full story here: http://www.thewest.com.au/20040719/news/general/tw-news-general-home-sto128317.html )

"Racist attacks spread across city

Racist graffiti sprayed across Perth has devastated the city's Jewish community and forced an elderly woman from her home.

The anti-Semitic, Asian, African and refugee graffiti in Menora, Mt Lawley, Bayswater and Bassendean at the weekend - much of it bearing the name and logo of Jack van Tongeren's Australian Nationalist Movement - have appeared just days after a similar incident in Winthrop."

I was interested to hear that such a beast as this "Australian Nationalist party" existed - who are they, I wondered.

Ah - good old-fashioned neo-Nazis it seems.

Here is a website which they seem to frequent: It is an international white supremacist website.

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=138622

It seems to be led by David Duke - who I had never heard of - but he may be familiar to our American members - as he was a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Clan in the seventies.

Here is his bio:

http://www.adl.org/Learn/Ext_US/duke.asp

Ah the joys of the information age! Racists in Oz meeting on the website of an American Ku Klux Klansman.

We are having a debate on Germany's anti-Nazi laws on another (excellent) thread ( http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27761&start=0 ) which has included some discussion of anti-hate laws.

Here is the opinion of these folk on anti-hate laws:

http://www.davidduke.com/hatecrimes/hatecrimelawsexplained.shtml

Extremely disturbing, Deb. But why Perth, I wonder?

These people are just sick. I once send an e-mail to a member of the KKK, asking why he was doing such things, and his reply was that he really believed those 'negroes' and 'Jews' should be destroyed, or else they would destroy the 'Aryan, white, superior race'. It just made me sick

absolutley alarming.

Is my supposition right, that Perth is a stronghold of the rascims?
I read about rascims in Australia anytime, but I don´t remember clearly.

Here is (an admittedly Green Left!) account of some other such groups in Oz - including my own state's National Action.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1998/329/329p14.htm

Their faces are quite familiar to me, because I have been involved in lots of situations where people gathered peacefully to oppose their doings - like, a group I sang with was organized to entertain at a weekly silent vigil organized for the life of an exhibition they (National Front) organized to deny the holocaust.

It was in my state's Constitutional Museum - and lasted for several months. It was there because this group was allowed to peddle its poison because of the right to free speech.

They generally gather to intimidate (and beat up stragglers) at anti-racist/pro-multi-cultural/pro-refugee etc events. They also harass and try to intimidate folk who speak out on such issues - though they went quiet when their leader, Michael Brander (sp?) was imprisoned for a while.

Hmmm - something else I didn't know existed - the Australian Nationalism Movement:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~natinfo/

And - most topically - the tale of Jack van Tongeren - former leader of the Australian Nationalist Party - whose paraphernalia found at the scenes of the recent outbreak of racist vandalism in Perth seems to implicate the it:


Full story here: http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2002/2711/jack-jim.html

"November 2002

The Tale of Jack and Jim
Infamous Aussie racists back in business

By Matthew Collins

The August issue of the Review?s Lunar column dealt with the supporters of one Jack Van Tongeren, at the time the incarcerated former leader of the Australian National Movement (ANM). Later that month, Mr Tongeren left WA?s Karnet Prison Farm as unrepentant as when he was sent there in 1990 for terrorising, via waves of fire bombings and burglaries, Perth?s Asian community throughout the late eighties.


Halcyon Days: Jack Van Tongeren before his arrest in 1989
Van Tongeren was initially a leading light in the Sydney based National Action (NA) neo-Nazi group in the early eighties. As with every almost other member that NA has ever had, Jack quit and went off to form his own organisation, believing NA were being soft on Jews, and not Nazi enough to lead the rebirth of the supreme Aryan being. Despite what followed, some in National Action, those with "radical" beliefs, felt in turn that Van Tongeren had been a little soft on the Asian question. Jack?s parents had previously disowned him, not surprisingly as it turned out, given his Asian ancestry."


And more: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s682037.htm


There was even a film made:

http://www.big.com.au/film/supergrass.html













Anywho - just a wee journey into Oz's - and, as it turns out, the world's underbelly!

Well, see about wee Jack and the events of 20 years ago - it is everywhere, I think.

But Perth - isolated? Lots of migrants from white and disaffected South Africa, I hear.

But - this is international, sadly.

I think racism is everywhere, Thok.

It feels to me that Australia is more racist than, say, the USA (they have a longer history of very open immigration) - but I don't think it is an especially racist country - but it is hard to tell when you live somewhere.

I cannot tell you if Perth is any more so. There has been EXTREMELY strong community condemnation of this awful stuff, though.

well, of course. I meant a stronghold of rascim from Australia.

alright.

I was wondering if it might have something to do with S.A.

It is very sad; but racism is everywhere. The disturbing thing is that, in quite a few places, more people are racist than equalitarian. Over here, it is in the Northern multicultural towns, like Leeds, and Oldham, where it is spilling like a poison. People are voting in mass for real terrorists (attached to various pub and restaurant bombings) disguised as politicians who want to 'put the British first.' 808,200 votes for the fascists were cast in the European elections, 750,000 or so in the locals. But what can be done to demean racism in the eyes of the bigotted?

My sister in law lived in Perth for about 20 years (I have an Australian niece ).
She lives now in Spain.

Neither her nor her Spanish husband were fully integrated into Western Australian society IMO, but they never told any racist tales (and neither of them looks Anglo at all).
They hung out with Chileans (lots of them in Perth, they say), Argentinians and Mexicans, from one cultural side, and with Italians (lots of them, they say), Spaniards and Yugoslavs, from the other.
They are very conservative (he always was, she became like him). He says Australia "is a Greenpeace dictatorship".

From what they say, Chileans, Argentinians and Mexicans in Perth looked down on Salvadoreans and other Central Americans ("they are no-good bums who life on welfare and give Latin Americans a bad name").

Racism is pervassive, indeed.

Lol! If your relative sees Oz as a "Greenpeace Dictatorship" - he is a rightie indeed!

'Tis sad about the groups of new immigrants looking down on each other.

The Vietnamese who arrived as boat people in the late seventies and eighties - and who were welcomed (life is odd) tend to be extremely racist about the current crop of asylum seekers - such is life.

Stormfront.org is not a white supremacist site. It is a white nationalist website, as it says on the home page. I know the distinction between the two is often not made by anti-racists, egaliltarians, or the media, but there is a major difference.

David Duke was a member of the KKK but left the organization due to the few rogue groups that participated in illegal activities. The KKK never had it's name copyrighted, or whatever it is you do for group names, so basically anyone can start a group called the KKK and do whatever they want without any fear of reprisal. That is why he left, he didn't like being associated with illegality.

The website actually belongs to Don Black. David Duke is just a member there.

For those who are interested, you can register there and ask David Duke a question yourself on Sunday nights, 10PM EST. The board is moderated so trollish posts and hateful posts will not make it through to the board.

Stormfront.org

Please delineate for me the difference between a white nationalist and a white supremacist - paying close attention to the effect of their policies...

Perhaps I may assist?

here is a snippet of Wikipedia's take:

(Full page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nationalism )

"White nationalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Viewed in the most benign light, White nationalism is the attempt to create racial identity groups which advance the social and economic interests of White or Caucasian people. While the political and economic elites which rule the earth can (with the exception of the Japanese) fairly be described as "White", these elites do not rule exclusively for the benefit of White or Caucasian people as a group. These ruling elites have, on the contrary, extended civil rights and economic opportunities to those of other racial and cultural backgrounds who from a White nationalist viewpoint can be viewed as competing for opportunities with less favored members of the White race.

A negative view
Viewed in a more negative light, White nationalism can be viewed as a reaction by disenfranchised Whites against the rise of a global multicultural civilization which is tolerant and inclusive. While posturing as civil rights groups advocating the interests of their ethnic group, White nationalist groups frequently draw on the traditions of Nazism [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1412785.stm), fascism and the racist and nativist traditions of the American Ku Klux Klan and the British National Front [2] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1507680.stm) cloaking themselves with symbols of patriotism, Christianity and Western civilization."


There is much more.

And here is their take on white supremacy:

(Full version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy )

"White supremacists are vehemently opposed to racial mixing, especially interracial relationships and marriages. Keeping white "blood" pure is a major tenet of the movement. White supremacists make many claims about the intellectual, ethical and spiritual inferiority of blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Asians and homosexuals. (See also: Race and intelligence, The Bell Curve.) Some White separatists claim that they do not wish to harm non-white people, but rather they only wish to keep their blood or genes pure.

These beliefs have much in common with Nazism. Some white supremacist groups, particularly in German-speaking countries, actively proclaim themselves Nazis, and the groups are commonly collectively labelled neo-Nazi.

In the United States white supremacy movements are sometimes linked to fundamentalist Christianity or Christian Identity, but most Christians, even those who identify themselves as "fundamentalists", denounce the movement as fundamentally non-Christian. Some white supremacists consider violence to be a legitimate way to further their cause. White supremacy groups are usually led by men.

Some white supremacy groups claim to be Odinists. The white supremacist version of Odinism has little to do with Christian Identity but there is one key similarity: Odinism provides dualism - as does Christian Identity - with regard to the universe being made up of worlds of light (white people) and worlds of dark (non-white people). The most fundamental difference between the two ideologies is that Odinists do not believe in Jesus Christ. However, there are enough similarities between the myths and legends of Odinism and the beliefs of Christian Identity to make a smooth transition from Christian Identity to Odinism for some racist individuals.

Many white supremacy groups do not necessarily adhere to Christian Identity or other religious doctrines. White supremacy groups such as the American Nazi Party are largely politically, rather than religiously, motivated. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), one of the most recognized white supremacist groups in the United States, proposes racial segregation that is not generally based on religious ideals."

Yes - I see a smallish differing emphasis - but I would really like to see you argue that white nationalism is more benign.

"The board is moderated so trollish posts and hateful posts will not make it through to the board."

And hateful is in the eye of the beholder - I had a bit of a look at Stormfront - and found hatefulness all around...

White Nationalism
an Introduction

White Nationalism is racial nationalism for white people. White Nationalists believe that white people should have an identity as a group (or meta-group) sharing a relatively common genetic and cultural heritage, and work towards common interests. These include, inter alia, advocacy for policies favored by a majority of white people, and the establishment of advocacy blocs to promote issues important to white people, similar to advocacy groups already existing for other racial groups such as the NAACP. Specific policies may include defending the teaching of European history and culture in schools, opposition to affirmative action and similar policies on the basis that they discriminate against white people, anti-discrimination laws on the basis that they abrogate the right to freedom of association, and the like.



White Nationalism vs. White "Supremacism"

White Nationalism is linked in the minds of many to white "supremacism". Many modern White Nationalists explicitly deny being white supremacists, arguing that they merely wish for each group of people with shared heritage, including white people, to be allowed to promote and preserve its heritage, and do not desire to oppress or dominate other races as racial supremacists do. Many of their critics charge that White Nationalism is simply white "supremacism" in disguise.

There is of course an exceptionally easy litmus test for distinguishing between White Nationalists and white supremacists: white supremacists are by definition unable to accept at face value any data that evince non-white superiority (e.g. relatively higher East Asian or Ashkenazi Jewish average IQ, lower East Asian propensity for violent crime, West African dominance in short distance running, etc.).

Critics of White Nationalism (or, more accurately, those who smear White Nationalism - honest criticism is hard to come by in the mainstream media) often tar all White Nationalists with the same brush, conflating a wide range of thought and opinion with into a single demonized "group," when in fact the lion's share of White Nationalist thought is not currently generated by National Socialists or the likes of the Aryan Nations, but by conservatives such as found in the links section below.

Read more here