My central focus this will be the piece by Dutta and Vats, entitled, "Locating freedom of speech in an era of global white nationalism." The essay discusses the racist histories and subtexts buried within our language, connecting language to critical race theory, the article discusses how the power dynamics of racism and white supremacy are baked into the underlying systems which create our modern world. The struggles of minoritized and non-privileged groups today are not the fault of these groups for their increased difficulty in attaining the same results as privileged groups due to (as the ideas of white supremacy would lead you to believe) due to some inherent, racial "inferiority," but rather this struggle is due to the foundational nature of racism in our modern world, and how practices such as policing, generational wealth and austerity politics fundamentally benefit those who are of privileged identities. The article discusses how white supremacy uses language to harm marginalized groups and individuals, how a system of slurs and backhanded compliments has been engineered to be used as weapons against the minoritized, complimented by a system of dog whistles, which typify the speaking style of white nationalism; seemly innocuous statements which would go unnoticed to audiences unaware of their own participation in systems of white supremacy, but simultaneously signal allegiance between white supremacists.
Another way in which white supremacy uses speech can actually be seen in the article on a metacontextual level. One common tactic employed by white supremacists, in order to make their ideas of racial privilege and hate more acceptable to the complicit and uninformed audience, is the taking one one person or concept which becomes symbolic of an entire group or movement, and attacking it relentlessly. The article features discussion of Critical Race Theory, which conservatives and white supremacists engineered as a kind of fearmongering effigy to convince those privileged and accepting of white supremacists power, but not openly racists themselves, that teachers were telling their students to "hate America." For the white supremacist, CRT represents all progressive theory and ideas about systemic racism, through its assault, the white audience can be primed to react with hostility to all discussions about race or systemic issues, insulating white privilege. The conversation around CRT has come to largely eclipse the theory itself, and although the false claims are easy to debunk, they are so numerous as to eat up much of the focus of relevant scholars. Entire industries exist to insulate white power and its proponents form systemic critique, which is yet another reason why we must elevate the voices of those critiquing our system's underlying inequalities and racism.
Vats, Anjali & Dutta, Mohan J. "Locating freedom of speech in an era of global white nationalism." First Amendment Studies, Routledge, 2020. pp 156-180, DOI:10.1080/21689725.2020.1838843
I think you bring up a very interesting point, that much of the theory that was used to contextualize this paper has now been caught up in the very systems of inequality and white supremacy which the paper describes. CRT has become, in some sense, a dog whistle for all and any systemic critique of white supremacy in the United states, so much so that the conversation of whether or not it is being taught in schools has entirely overshadowed the implications of systemic racism and how they need to be addressed. This is one of the strategies of white supremacy; taking a valid critique or attempt at progress and associating it with unrelated topics, so as to shift the focus of the conversation from the actual content and aims of progressive programs to a debate so baseless as to be unwinnable by any position, thus freezing any real progress. It is also interesting that the "debate" was framed not around the idea that a complex and systemic theory was being taught to elementary school children, but that children were being "brainwashed" into "hating America" which is extremely telling that any critique of white supremacist systems and a refusal to uncritically venerate the unequal status quo is treated as the coerced position by those who uphold white supremacy and its associated systems.
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