Daily Dose in the Pod: The White Nationalists Sense That Their Moment is Coming. How Does That Make You Feel?

Yep, this is a heavy topic for a lovely Tuesday in mid-July. But it’s part of that set of topics that have been piling so high, becoming too huge for me to tackle, inuring me to the normalcy of it all, and that’s how they win. So here I am, writing about it, and here you are, having clicked and read this far, the very acts of which are small yet important ways to stand up for the health of our society and democracy and basically who we ARE.

Am writing on this now just to be sure that you caught the latest from this past Saturday, July 6, when about 100 members of the “Patriot Front” – a group of white nationalists – marched through the center of Nashville in broad daylight, wearing white ski masks, blue polos, and khakis, and brandishing American and Confederate flags. (See a compilation of the imagery here.) It may seem fringe to you. Maybe it didn’t even make the news where you live. But I encourage you to pay attention (if you aren’t already).

Because since the prospect of a Black president became a real thing in 2008, they’ve been on the move, turning over rocks to find each other writhing in the dark, joining forces, strengthening their rhetoric and their numbers, buying up more and more guns, hell bent on putting themselves back in charge of a nation they’ve always regarded as “theirs.”

They’re coming for those they think of as parasites and invaders, including all non-White, non-Christian, non-straight/cis folks, and more specifically: African Americans, Asians, Hindus, Immigrants, Jews, Latinos, Muslims, LGBTQ+ Folx, and Native Americans. Oh and Women. They want us back in “traditional” roles and express admiration for how the Taliban controls women and girls in Afghanistan.

I’m pretty sure you either ARE a member of at least one of the groups they seek to harm, remove, or control, or you love someone who is. So if the rise of white nationalism is not already feeling personal to you, my guess is that it someday will, and I fear that day may come sooner than you think.

Ask yourself What will I feel called to do if they come to my town or threaten someone I love?

Here in Palo Alto, California, the heart of Silicon Valley, folks gather at the corner of Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real to protest and/or feel some sense of solidarity amid atrocity. Sometimes drivers honk in agreement. Sometimes they flip you the bird or call you a nasty name or both. Street corners are not for the faint of heart.

Do you have such a gathering place where you live? If so, when and why have folks gathered there lately? Is there something more you yearn to do to protect the rights, freedoms, and people you hold dear?

xo

PS/I wrote my memoir Real American in 2016 and in it I very carefully used the term ‘white supremacy’ and noted that it was on the rise. Very few people were calling it out then. And here we are. Check out Real American – my experience in a country that has consistently tried to make me feel like ‘the other’ – wherever books are sold or loaned, including here.

🤗 Here’s a hug for anyone who thought all of this was behind us after the Civil Rights Movement. If you’re looking for inspiration on how to structure your response, the Southern Poverty Law Center has a great resource called “10 Ways to Fight Hate” which you can find here.

🗞️ The Daily Dose is a facet of the Pod where I’m devoted to a new discipline of writing daily(ish) on whatever small subject seems relevant. Prior topics include why does Biden get to decide if Biden is unfit for further service (here), the aspects of our parents’ upbringings we cherish and those we don’t (here), stopping to check on the person at the side of the road (here), my struggle with Alopecia (here), why I’m so competitive (here), the Biden v. Trump debate (here), letting the elderly be who they are (here), my difficult encounter with the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC when I was a congressional candidate (here), and the progress of the 20th Century being thrown into the dumpster by conservatives (here).

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