So recently I wrote about Ryan Smith calling Stephen McNallen a racist, because McNallen said something about wanting armed groups of Germans paroling their streets to keep their people safe from “Migrants.” You can read what I said in this post. I’m not really going to get into it much here.

So Joseph from Joh Upsal’s Garden replied to Smith as well, because Smith had dragged him into it. It’s a pretty fare response, I suggest everyone read it because it’s valid, but I have to admit I’m a bit disappoint.

Mostly because Jo spent his entire post basically saying “I’m not a racist and it sucks to be called one.” Which is true, but there were so many, many glorious opportunities to take Ryan Smith down a peg for basically being an Islamic Rape Apologist. Instead of trying the age old, and ultimately unsuccessful, tactic of refutation he really could have done more damage to Smith and more for the AFA by pointing out that the man screaming RAPIST was basically saying a non-physical emotion is more important to challenge than physical sexual assault.

But that’s me. I’m guessing Jo was trying to take the high road and assuming people would be rational about shit. Frankly, having dealt with too many people of Smith’s political bend and their followers, rationality doesn’t work with them. And as for the rational people, well, they’ve already probably figured the AFA is not a racist organization, McNallen isn’t a racist, and that HUAR is full of bullshit.

Which in fact brings me to my topic today. McNallen is basically the face of Folkism in Heathenism. A lot of people like to consider Folkism nothing but Racism. Those of us who have been upon the folkish (I think in the cultus it would be a more “nationalist” but that’s a different topic) road have long tried to insist it isn’t anything like racism…and we’ve had little success.

Still, while pondering the situation, I have come to a realization. There is another ideaology out there much like Folkism which is widely regarded as good, just, and desirable. And it is called….(drum roll please)…

Diversity.

From Wikipedia:

Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, as in the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural decay. The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other’s differences. The phrase “cultural diversity” is also sometimes used to mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. The culturally destructive action of globalization is often said to have a negative effect on the world’s cultural diversity.

Basically, everyone has their own culture, these cultures are to be celebrated and protected, and it is good to have a multipliticy of cultures vs a mono-culture which erases cultural identities.

Now, let’s look at the AFA’s Declaration of Purpose (which I believe was composed with McNallen).

The belief that spirituality and ancestral heritage are related has nothing to do with notions of superiority. Asatru is not an excuse to look down on, much less to hate, members of any other race. On the contrary, we recognize the uniqueness and the value of all the different pieces that make up the human mosaic…

…The AFA supports the efforts of all cultural and biological groups to maintain their identity and opposes the plans of the world-managers to reduce all of humanity to a lowest common denominator. People of all cultures and races must stand united against the forces that would transform us into perfectly interchangeable economic units dominated by a financial or governmental elite.

Or basically, everyone has their own culture, these cultures are to be celebrated and protected, and it is good to have a multipliticy of cultures vs a mono-culture which erases cultural identities.

So when you get down to it, Folkism and Diversity are…pretty much the same conceptually. Both support the existence and preservation of diverse cultures, largely indigenous cultures, as opposed to an enforced, large scale mono-culture.

Indeed, I would suspect that Ryan Smith is a proponent of Diversity as he claims to hate racism. Most anti-racist people I’ve met tend to support diversity and ideas like it. Indeed, that’s why they tend to fight against “Racism” by and large.

So if the two ideologies are the same…and McNallen can point to a well documented history of supporting other indigenous cultures not just by himself, but even with aid from the AFA, how then is it that he is a racist and Smith is “not a racist.”

Because of, as best I can tell, two small differences.

1. Folkism views “White” people and their indigenous cultures to be worthy of preservation. Where as most “diversity” believers feel that any white culture’s existence is an act of mono-culture and a threat to “diversity.” (Mostly, it seems by either having been oppressive, or by in fact being oppressed themselves and delegitimizing claims that only PoC cultures were oppressed).
2. Folkism in its egalitarian view feels that all peoples should have the same chances to thrive, as well as the right to defend themselves. “Diversity” believers feel that this right exists only for “non-whites.”

I recently read an article (and sorry, lost the link) by a Universalist Heathen who couldn’t get their head around Folkism (and felt that it was kind of racist). Now, this person basically holds to a monocultural ideology. Heathenism is for everyone, everyone can be a part of heathenism. Much the same way that Christianity or Islam are Monocultures. Now, having lost the article and unable to ask any questions, I am left to wonder if they would hold the same universality view towards Native American or Native African beliefs being universal.

Given my work on Cultural Appropriation, however, I am not sure they would. Apparently universal ism is okay if it’s a “white cultural thing.” Despite the fact that Christianity was Jewish, and Islam is Arabian. And the only reason with think of Christianity as white is because it so completely destroyed the indigenous, diverse cultures of the Native Europeans.

So the irony is not lost on me, that most, if not all the people, calling McNallen a racist in fact hold 95% of the same viewpoint when it comes to the value of indigenous and diverse cultures. It’s just that 5% that manages to be so killer. And in the end…kind of points to his detractors as being the real racists, when you think about it.

It’s a story I’ve been hearing more and more. “Diversity” means everyone except “those people.” Those peopele primarily being white people. There was a lady by the name of Bahar Mustafa who recently drew some attention for doing this…but she is hardly the first or alone.

In fact, I have even heard talk of things like restrooms, movie theaters, restaurants (or at least areas in restaurants) and so forth which would be for People of Color Only to help them escape the microagressions of white people and have a safe space to be black in.

At which point Jim Crow becomes less about racial hatred and more about “who wrote the bill?” You will note that the date says March 1921. In reality though it might as well have said March 2015, been put by a person of color. The only reason I would say it wasn’t is because we really don’t do that quality of cast metal work anymore in this country.

The thing is though, when you get down to it….both Diversity and Folkism are…kind of racist. Assuming the goal of humanity would be to put our different races and colors aside and live in a Martin Luther King jr. land of where race and skin color doesn’t matter, both Folkism and Diversity run the complete opposite of a non-racist, colorblind ideology where we are judged purely on the merit of our skills and deeds, rather than the color of our skin.

Following the three paths of Racism, Folkism, or Diveristy, you do come to essentially a racialized future where everyone is judged by who their people are, what their culture is, and the completely viable action of separating, condemning, and discriminating based purely on race and ethnicity. Justify it by saying “we’re just protecting the identities of indigenous peoples” and you can or cannot include “whites” in that as you please, but at the end of the day you’re saying a person’s race or ethnicity is more important, if not most important.

The sad thing is…I am a bit folkish. Why? Because we do not live in MLK’s vision of the world. It is still as much a dog eat dog, black eat white, Muslim eat everyone world. The rest of the world doesn’t believe in a post-racial society. The rest of the world, Hela, it seems all of the world still believes in a racial society where their race has the right to triumph over the others in a zero sum game. And really, as long as that exists…I’m going to pick the side that means my “people” get to live and hopefully grow. In this case, that means Folkish.

Not because I think my “White” people are the better people. Not even the AFA believes that. But because my people have the right to exist and the free practice of their culture, same as anyone else does. I don’t want to judge anyone by their skin color, but I have to play realpolitik. Plenty of people, regardless of their race, are racists who want supremacy for their people by any means needed, including the suppression or extermination of my people and/or our culture. I long for the day when such things are not part of our reality.

And the grand irony is that most of the time, when you try to fight racism…you end up being a racist anyways.

So until then, I am at least going to hold my place in the shield wall of “my people.”

 

Hela Bless