Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Please Stop with the David Duke Videos

Lately, many people have been spreading videos, quotes, and articles featuring David Duke via email, Facebook, blogs, etc. This is a tangential issue, because it's not something Alex Jones is doing himself. It's something that has become mysteriously popular among certain fans of Jones, particularly Truthers and Canadian "Freemen". I have to say something about it because I hate racism more than just about anything else on this planet, and I realize that (strange as this may seem to Americans), a lot of Canadians seem to be unaware of David Duke's history and motives. They like what he has to say about the Israel-Palestine issue, or Zionism, or what-have-you, so they think it's perfectly acceptable to share his "work" for the enlightenment of others.

Here's the deal. I've watched these videos and read these articles, and I can tell you in perfect confidence that everything David Duke has to say about Israel and Palestine has already been said elsewhere, by far more credible (and far less racist) people like Gwynn Dyer, Robert Fisk, and Norman Finkelstein - to name just a few. Duke is not doing original research. I doubt he's even been to Israel or Palestine, as there would be no impetus for a Christian white racial supremacist to hang out with Jews and Muslims (unless it's at a Holocaust denial conference or a PR event). I believe that Duke's recent moral support of Muslims is a ploy; he doesn't actually care about their rights and issues, but it benifits him to align himself with them in the short term, to promote his anti-Semitism.
So by using Duke's words, his videos, his image to spread a certain message, rather than going to the source material and putting together your own presentations on the conflict, you look like a total asshole. I guarantee that anyone who knows you're disseminating David Duke literature and vids will look askance at you for the rest of your life, wondering if you're secretly a racial supremacist. It will damage your credibility and reputation beyond measure, no matter how many times you say something like, "I don't like David Duke, I just liked what he had to say in this clip."
The attitude seems to be that it's OK to learn from and collaborate with racial supremacists as long as they're not being overtly racist. It's the same attitude I saw among Truthers who worked openly with Holocaust deniers, arguing that if you're united on one issue, it doesn't matter what else you believe. Maybe that's true, but look how much damage was done to the Truth movement by its affiliation with anti-Semites. The bottom line is that by failing to challenge racist disinfo and supremacist propaganda when you're directly faced with it, you are basically aiding and abetting it. You are giving your tacit approval to it. And if you are helping racists spread their message by sharing their videos and literature - for whatever reason - you are actually participating in it.

With the current attitude, it shouldn't be a surprise that white supremacists and white separatists have been making some major headway lately. The separatist movement has its own syndicated radio show, Political Cesspool (on which perennial Jones favourite Paul Craig Roberts has been a guest). And now David Duke, of all people, has somehow managed to dupe certain members of the public - once again - into believing that he has changed and that it's time to stop mentioning his "past" as a Klan leader and racist. If you have fallen for this, I strongly urge you to review even the most basic information about Duke, even just his Wikipedia entry. He does, beyond any shadow of any doubt, believe that the Christian white man is morally, spiritually, physically, and mentally superior to any other race on earth, and that he has a God-given mandate to spread this message to as many people as he can. This is not past tense. David Duke is not appearing on TV and giving radio interviews to offer you unbiased, helpful information about Israel and Palestine; he is using public forums to subtly denigrate non-Christian and/or non-white people so that you will begin to think of yourself as superior to them and jump all the way onto his bandwagon. He is a propagandist. He is a popularizer. He is a recruiter. If you're comfortable with this, go ahead and share his information with everyone you know. If you're not, take a stand. Stop being a vector of thinly veiled racist propaganda.

13 comments:

tshsmom said...

Atta girl!!!

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B_xBWsDpz0

Alex Jones tells it like it is. Wake up fools...

S.M. Elliott said...

Anon, I think you might have ADD or something, but thanks for trying to stay on-topic. Maybe it'll work out next time.

the_last_name_left said...

Well said, Ms Elliott.

Of course, Troofer involvement with organised racism and fascism extends far beyond the example of David Duke. For instance, Jones regularly featured Jerome Corsi, whom also appeared on the political cesspool IIRC. Jones also promoted Reverend Pike and his campaign against extending the "hatecrime" bill - Pike has a gig at both Willis Carto's AFP and Duke's WhiteCivilRights website. Jones also idolises characters such as Eustace Mullins, a man with ties to organised American Nazism reaching back over 50 years.

Until very recently Jones (and 911 Troof) were also promoting Mike Rivero, a man whom promoted the racist killer Curt Maynard; a man whom promotes the far-right; a man whom cynically exploits the Palestinian issues for the anti-semitic value alone; a man whom promotes David Duke, Willis Carto, Holocaust denial, racism, cynicism, conspiracism. Etc.

The links between Jones, 911 Troof, racism and the far-right are very extensive. The extent of the connections is matched by the unpreparedness - nay, refusal - of 911 Troof, Alex Jones and the rest of the self-declared Troofers to deal with it critically. They don't deal with it because 1) they refuse to recognise it, 2) and/or they agree with it.

-----

What do you think about Rivero and Jones' dustup? Any thoughts? Most obviously it would seem maybe Rivero's overt anti-semitism and collaboration with the far-right is problematic for Jones et al. The anti-semites are blaming Israel/Zionism/Jews, of course. Jones is getting leaned on by the Jooos whom finance everything, apparently. (BTW do Jooos really finance Rivero? Carto? Stormfront? News to me.)

the_last_name_left said...

At Lies Visible's smokingmirrors blog (linked to by Mike Rivero) there was a discussion about this parting between Jones and Rivero. (Largely "It's the Jooos!")

One of the comments was particularly interesting in light of my own criticism of Jones as an anti-semite (I suggest Jones promotes anti-semitism, but is very careful how he does it.) HEre's a supporter of Jones, arguing exactly that (at smokingmirrors):

DH said...

I've never believed this garbage about Jones being an Israeli shill. If it were true, then Jones is a terrible agent for controlled opposition.

I can't say that Alex woke me up, but he was a big part of it...no one was telling me at the time, that Israel was behind anything. I figured it out on my own.

I always assumed that was the intention.

Alex can't get on the radio, as the visible mouthpiece for opposing the power elite, and rant about Jews. That would be just too easy for his critics to shred him and keep otherwise intelligent people from getting to the truth.

So he avoids focusing too much on Israel, because if you're not completely ignorant and need every little thing spelled out for you - you will get to that destination eventually.

Alex has done some stupid things in the past, but I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Alex Jones is like a gateway drug to deeper truths. He unlocks the minds of masses, and it is then their responsibility to keep going towards the truth.
3:58 PM

http://smokingmirrors.blogspot.com/2010/08/man-with-bullhorn-is-lying-sack-of-shit.html
---------------

This commentator is making a very good point imo, one that's usually missed. Jones can't be seen to get too close to Nazis, nor anti-semitism, holocaust denial nor white supremacism. He very carefully walks a line and that's what often upsets the more overtly hard-right wing of his constituency imo. The discussions which Paplowski the cop-killer had at Stromfront about Alex Jones' anti-semitism made that clear: Paplowski "wasn't 100%" about it. Once Paplowski had killed and his background emerged - including connections to 911 Troof, Jones and Prisonplanet - Jones and PP quickly claimed that these discussions at Stromfront were evidence Paplowski disagreed with Jones' views! (Not 100% = "disagreed"?? Hardly.)

I think it suits Jones to be considered as someone whom won't subscribe to hardcore anti-semitism. All the better to grow his audience to whom he feeds anti-semitism with sugar-coated metaphor instead. It's the same result only the method is safer and more popular. more effective. Or maybe he really is just too dim to understand how his words are taken? Maybe he doesn't understand that some people take his NWO schtick as a euphemism for an essentially anti-semitic conspiracy? I find that hard to believe.

S.M. Elliott said...

@TLNL: I've chronicled Ted Pike's appearance on the show and his blatant anti-semitism, the origins of American Free Press (founded by Willis Carto and cohorts), Eustance Mullins' ties to fascism, G. Edward Griffin's work for George Wallace's presidential campaign, and the fact that Corsi and Paul Craig Roberts have been on the white-supremacist Political Cesspool program (which David Duke has praised as "the only voice the white man has in radio today", or something like that). So, yes, he's heavily affiliated with anti-semites, racists, racial supremacists, and the like. Though as you point out, he was wise enough to drop Rivero. I also suspect he has finally dropped Texe Marrs, "the man who taught me more than just about anyone". (Not only has Marrs' anti-semitic rhetoric gone far beyond the pale in the last few years, he started to diss Ron Paul)

But, is Jones a true fascist in the mold of other populist ultranationalists? I don't think he's gone that far (yet?). He seems to be a confused Jacksonian democrat who either doesn't know his guests are fascists and racists, or adopts the attitude (common with Truthers) that it doesn't matter what else someone believes so long as you're in agreement on a few key issues. "Sure, you're a Holocaust Denier, but we need all the Truthers we can get right now." It's very much akin to the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell. But yes, he flirts heavily with anti-semitism by declaring that the WASP work ethic was destroyed by "the Zion", allowing Jordan Maxwell to describe Zionism as a "Teutonic death cult", etc. I've pointed out these and other examples to those who insist that Jones utterly rejects anti-semitism in all its forms.

BTW, there are a quite a few Truthers out there who don't even know the backgrounds of Mullins, Duke, Griffith, et al. A Canadian friend who posted one of Duke's sound bites didn't even know he once belonged to the KKK. This is how ignorant Truthers can be about the extremists who lurk at the edges of their movement (or in some cases jump right into it).

the_last_name_left said...

thanks for the reply. I do appreciate you've been banging that nail about Jones, 911 Truth and anti-semitism. I didn't mean to suggest you hadn't - I was listing some more evidence for any remaining skeptical readers. ;)

Sorry, I don't have a clue what 'JacksonianDemocrat' means. Andrew Jackson? Indigenous killer, Jackson?

I initially found it very hard to consider Jones as a fascist but the more I look at Griffin's definition, and the more Jones excludes himself from other definitions, the more I have to consider it. Granted, Jones has room to go a lot further towards fascism but, at essence, I think fascism really does best describe his beliefs and that of the movement he (likes to think) he fronts. My conception of Jones is as a crypto-fascist, so any apparent lack of fascist qualification can be explained as being a willful effort to hide the extent of his fascism. For commercial and propaganda reasons imo.

Anyway, last night I endured most of two recent Alex Jones' Radio Shows in which he featured Mike Rivero and discussion of the Israeli flotilla affair. One can hear the difference in their positions and even some antagonism - remarkable from Jones, as he never entertains those with whom he disagrees (in my experience).

Rivero gives it his usual anti-semitic, anti-Israeli rationale, concluding everything is down to Zionists, whom *always* start *all these wars*. One can hear a certain tension in the air through the discussion, with Jones desperate to maintain the ubiquitous "we all agree" meme which Jones loves to maintain even in the face of genuine disagreement.

But, I was quite impressed with Jones actually - he said a number of things which must have really upset a lot of listeners on his more anti-semitic and fascist wing. "I don't believe Israel is the source of all the evil in the world!" etc. "For the people who hate Jews and blame Israel for everything, it's like a religion...." etc.

Well done, Alex! About time!

the_last_name_left said...

And so presumably Jones has recognised Rivero as a figurehead and purveyor of anti-semitism within 911 Troof, and has sacked him? Well done for taking a stand, Alex! Well done! I'm amazed, but at times Alex sounded just like his critics, even as he tried to convince his listeners (and himself?) that he and Rivero were both still "on message".

But Jones said what needed saying, and has seemingly sacked Rivero. Good for him! At last - someone taking a positive stand against this rampant anti-semitic drivel that is percolating through 911 Troof - to the extent it's become a defining characteristic.

Too little, too late, but better than nothing. It's a start.....

However, we do still have the facts that Jones promotes Eustace Mullins - hardly someone whom stands in contrast to Rivero's anti-semitism. Likewise Willis Carto, Rev. Pike and all the rest -- Jones hasn't renounced all that lot, has he?

And yet now he has earned himself a position of being considered an opponent of anti-semitism/'the jooos did it'. A completely undeserved position considering the rest of the facts about Jones and what he says, whom he promotes, etc.

And so it seems very useful for Jones to make this stand against Rivero - to gain a reputation as an opponent of anti-semitism - so then he can continue as before - promoting anti-semites just as he's always done but armed with fresh ammunition against the charge.

Jones is being castigated by some for his position "defending zionism" over this Rivero thing. But what about Eustace Mullins, Pike, Carto, AFP and all the rest? Jones has opened himself up to the charge of hypocrisy, of facing both ways. Doesn't he know what these people he promotes and idolises stand for? OF course he does. What is he going to do about it? Nothing, probably. So judging him on this Rivero thing is premature, and inadequate. But I for one, am very pleased he did it. It's something. Now let's see if Jones can avoid the reputation of hypocrite now he's taken this position with Rivero. (If he has)

S.M. Elliott said...

Even Alex Jones sees the folly of blaming the Jewish people (or any other specific racial, religious, or ethnic group) for everything. I think he's actively fighting his own dark side, and I do have to give him some snaps for that.

S.M. Elliott said...

P.S. I'll have to look more deeply into this Rivero thing...

Unknown said...

Now why is there people name calling David Duke a "racist" when clearly he's not, perhaps it's left-wing/communist whites, who knows?

I think David Duke is ok he's just not as good as Kevin Macdonald though.Alex Jones is clearly a liar connected with zionists so don't fall for his tricks.

Anonymous said...

I wish I had the time to go through each error in this David Duke "warning" or what have you. Even simple things like his views on Islam (lifelong, not last week, and expressed clearly in "My Awakening" which is now in free audiobook form but was published over a decade ago) stand out and let the reader know that you haven't done enough homework to spill out as much (what's the best word here aside from hate?) dislike regarding Duke. I'll give you some fun trivia: Duke has been to Israel. He was a young man sweating bullets because he knew that if the authorities found any of the swastika-bearing Buddhist items he had picked up in India he would be charged, jailed, and probably tortured- since the Mossad are about as nasty as it gets in terms of "Nazi-Types" ...
As I said, I do wish I had the time, and am willing to debate for Duke here or elsewhere over a reasonable amount of time after having stumbled upon this page.

the_last_name_left said...

What on earth is there to 'debate' about Duke?

About Me

My photo
I'm a 30ish housefrau living in Canada

Followers