Ku Klux Kan I Hear a White Power?

A member of the KKK helping 

the solidification of the order's beliefs.

Offensive isn't it! To the right of this sentence, i have provided an image of a Ku Klux Klan, also known as the Hooded Order, member. He is seen performing the "Nazi Salute" or the "Sieg Heil" in front of a burning cross, both actions for which they were well known. The "Sieg Heil" was thought to have originated in ancient Rome. The "Roman Salute" was done in the same way and it was first strongly recognized in 1784 from Jacques-Louis David's painting, The Oath of the Horatii. Adolph Hitler was thought to have "stolen" the gesture and reformed it by giving it a new name, one more suited for his purpose.

If one was to open a history textbook, they would see that the word "European" appears quite frequently and often in a negative light. While the actions committed in the past may have very well been horrid, many modern stereotypes have been born that seem to have originated from the days of the colonizing Europeans. "White Power", a common phrase used by the KKK, is horribly offensive because of it's roots in history. Furthermore, the term "white" was deemed inappropriate and was replaced by the more politically correct term, "Caucasian". This term was used to represent the physical type of some of the populations in Africa, Asia, and Europe, meaning that it had no reference to skin colour. It was first used by Christoph Meiners, a German philosopher, who used it to develop two racial divisions, Mongolian and Caucasian, based on facial beauty. Overtime, the American government decided to make the PC term for white, Caucasian, despite the problems that were presented. It was said that the term, "European" may be more PC, however, for this post i will be using the term, "Caucasian".

Throughout the journey that is life, one can come across various Caucasian stereotypes seen in the media. Some of these stereotypes include: Caucasians cannot dance, they are all snobby and racist, they are anti-miscegenation, they are all red necks and they all receive white privilege. Some of these are mentioned in the video presented above so please take some time to watch it. While i do understand the points "TheDreadMan" is making, be advised that he is a self-proclaimed comedian and even though he states some valid stereotypes, he explains them in a comedic tone. I would like to take some time to talk about three of the stereotypes that i stated. The first stereotype of all Caucasians being racist is obviously untrue. While some of them are racist, this does not mean that internally all of them have a deep-seated hatred towards other races. Moving onto the stereotype that says all Caucasians are anti-miscegenation, this is totally untrue. While this may have been valid in the past, the belief in racial segregation on the level of interracial marriage/relationships does not apply to our current society. Finally, the stereotype of all Caucasians receiving "white privilege" does not apply to the majority of people.There may be some who still act on favouring "their own kind" but generally speaking, you don't see this on a day to day basis. That is true, unless we delve into technicalities and "under-the-table" talk (ex. conspiracies). However, that will lead us astray from the main point of this post.

In the medium of music, there is a genre called "White Power Music." It features sub-genres which include nazi punk and National Socialist black metal. These genres present music that promotes white nationalism and encourages racism against non-white races. However, "white power music" did not only resonate throughout the punk/metal/rock scene. It was also seen in the genre of Country from the racist artist Johnny Rebel (a pseudonym for Clifford Joseph Trahan). He was outright with his "white supremacy" thoughts and did not not hold them back in his songs. Two of his tracks included, "Nigger Hatin' Me" and "Kajun Ku Klux Klan".

Above this paragraph, i have provided you all with  two videos that i would like you to watch. Let's take a moment a lightly deconstuct them. It is a commercial for the Toyota Sienna Minivan which is dubbed, the "Swagger Wagon", by the couple. The commercial presents the typical Caucasian family, surrounded by their Caucasian friends, perfect car and house. The attitude of the couple is very arrogant with a hint of humour. Keep in mind that i know that this is a comedic commercial used to attract people. By using the word "swagger" they are able to be seen as people who are up-to-date with urban lingo. This means that naive people might be interested in buying this vehicle because they think it will make them feel like this (alive, happy, exhilarated). Only the foolish would fall for such marketing schemes. While they are amusing, the message behind them is not the best. The target audience that Toyota holds can be said to be Caucasian families who are in their 30s-40s and who are looking to be "cool" (....looking to gain swagger). The second video consists of a rap song that is "sung" by the same couple. The main difference is that in this video they are acting like "wiggers", a group that TheDreadMan talks about in his video. They are portrayed to be the ideal family.

To end off this post, i would like to state something that i found interesting. From what i have seen, the general idea of what a European is has changed since the days of colonization. Nowadays, when one says someone is "white" they are normally thought of to be from Canada, Australia or American. However, when one says they are European, the typical idea is that the person is from countries such as Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Poland ect. Also, keep in mind that i have only presented some of the prominent stereotypes  that the dominant discourse perpetuates in the media. There are many more. I feel that it is necessary to always look through the lens of the person being stereotyped and try to empathize with them. Remember that anyone (the race and ethnicity of the person does not matter) can start to generate a stereotype. It starts with one person and from there it can build on. While one cannot rid the whole world of it's negativity and terrible stereotypes, in the very beginning, the change starts with the "man in the mirror" (MJ). I feel that it is only appropriate to end this post and bring a close to all of my posts with this quote:

"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite"
- Nelson Mandela

I would like to leave you all with these questions. Ponder upon them, derive an answer and spark a discussion below. Thank you all for reading. Please forgive any grammatical errors and if i need to correct/clarify anything, please tell me (comment).
1. What is your opinion on the quote shown above?
2. What other Caucasian stereotypes do you know about and that i haven't mentioned?
3. What are some other problems that you see with the Toyota commercial?
4. How do you think the past influenced present stereotypes?
5. How do you define the term "wigger"? Do you think calling someone "white" is inappropriate?
6. Why do you think some people have "white supremacy" ideals?
7. What do you think of Christoph Meiners's racial divisions?
8. What do you think about the idea of "white privilege"?