A lot of extremism researchers in the recent outbursts of right-wing violence in the United States one alarming Trend is confirmed. Charlottesville obvious but also a new Dimension. Michael Knigge from Washington.
The hatred and the violence exercised by the extreme Right last weekend in Charlottesville, triggered in the United States and worldwide outrage. A woman was killed in an attack with a car against the protesters. Also, the public reaction to the US President Donald Trump, which many perceived as an unreasonably late and ill-advised, earning heavy criticism.
The extent of racism, violence and hatred is nothing New, says Cas Mudde, a political scientist at the University of Georgia, conducts research on the extreme right in the United States and Europe. The potential for Violence at events such as the “rally for the unification of the Right” in General. This applies particularly, if members of the extreme-right scene to meet on militant groups from the left of the spectrum, such as the Antifa.
“An evaluation of the crimes of extremists shows that in just the past 25 years, hundreds of people from violent right-wing extremists in the U.S. are also adherents of the “White Supremacy” (Anm were killed, including. d. Red.: “white Superiority”), as supplemented extremism researchers Jeff Gruenewald Indiana University who is involved in the national Association for the terrorism research and response.
Also, the efforts to unite the various groupings of the extreme right of the political spectrum, were not new, the experts emphasize. Nevertheless, they observed three significant differences, the Charlottesville of previous violence against the excesses stand out.
In Charlottesville, marched to the extreme Right with swastika-flags on
1. Great Attraction
First of all, the extreme Right in Charlottesville, various splinter groups of the movement. Before Try, different circles together, always failed.
“Pretty much the whole spectrum was gathered, which is otherwise uncommon in the United States, neo-Nazis, members of the racist Ku Klux Klan and Identitarian occur together”, says Mudde. Also Gruenwald says: “The sheer size of the Demonstration and the presence of various groups from the extreme right of the spectrum appear to be new.”
2. A car as a weapon
Secondly, the use of a car as a tool of violence seems to be new. “Supporters of the ‘White Supremacy’ in the United States have traditionally resorted to firearms and other conventional weapons to kill,” says Gruenwald. The use of a vehicle, to commit a deadly attack, had not yet occurred.
3. Delayed reaction by the President
And thirdly, it is also delayed the time and the weak response from President Donald Trump on the right of the excesses of violence in Charlottesville remarkable. Trump was hesitant at first to speak explicitly of racism and to condemn this.
In his first Statement denounced Trump only fanaticism and hate “from all sides”. Trump condemned, in his words, neither racism nor the right-wing radicals – and earned sharp criticism, even from within the ranks of the Republicans.
The White house issued a day later, a terse statement in which it was stressed that the President had scolding with his fanaticism-“of course,” the Right-wing meant, even if he hadn’t explicitly mentioned. But the criticism continued. Finally, Trump said on Monday again, and condemned racism and right – wing extremism, but only after songs of praise on the current development of the US economy and its own role.
The departure of the President after the press conference on the violence in Charlottesville
No Tweet is also a message
“Normally, this President is responding within seconds, and with clear words – and now he took so long,” asks extremism researchers Mudde. That Trump has not responded in this case, just quickly, is therefore of importance. “Many of the extreme Right-wing thinking, the show that he sympathizes with them”, says Mudde. “I do not think, however, that Trump is not identified with any of these groups, definitely with the neo-Nazis, or the “League of the South” (Anm. d. Red.: a white nationalist, a Christian group that advocates for the independence of the southern Confederacy), of which he has probably never heard of.”
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From the belated reaction but one could deduce at least that the topic of trigger anything in him, concludes Mudde: “And that is remarkable for a man who responds otherwise to everything. Any kind of attack from an immigrant without papers or a Muslim, or violence in the context of the “Black Live Matters”movement – and he tweets in a matter of minutes, because it triggers him.”
Mudde is of the view that behind trump’s Tweets – or, in this case the Lack of Tweets – no strategy, which had been previously by the President or his advisors considered. Rather, the Tweets showed simply how Trump ticke personally. “That he does not respond well to this attack from the Right, reveals a lot”, says Mudde. It will show how insensitive Trump against racism. It was already during his election campaign very clearly, as Trump told multiple racist content on Twitter.
Right-wing-Minded in the middle of the White house
That Trump was hesitant to call the violence by its name, has perhaps even more reasons. Peter Simi, one of the researchers at Chapman University, political extremism and violence, also sees a connection in order that several persons from the extreme right-wing spectrum of work in the White house: “It is certainly not too far-fetched to suspect that this has something to do with his restraint,” says the scientist.
More still: “Trump courted these voters and goutierten the by supported him, as not a single other “Mainstream”politicians in the past 20 years,” added Simi.
Right-wing extremism researcher Cas Mudde holds, therefore, Trump is also morally responsible, because he had encouraged the extreme right in the United States. His campaign had focused only on white identity and the white victim role, and therefore, resentments stoked. Trump had failed to distance himself from white nationalists. “In the result, these groups feel encouraged and have the impression to have in the White house, a friend”, says Mudde.
This image of Trump, probably the late condemnation of the extreme right-wing violence will change only a little. “That he would respond more, have all expected, also the Right. You are about to rate it as a strategic decision-making Trumps, which he has taken for political reasons – not out of genuine Conviction,” says Mudde.