What is White Supremacist Ideology?
At its core, white supremacist ideology is built upon the false and harmful notion that white people are inherently superior to those from other racial groups. This belief system is often accompanied by a distorted view of history, which seeks to justify and glorify white dominance. White supremacists often adhere to the following key tenets:
- Racial Hierarchy: White people are positioned at the top of a racial pyramid, with other racial groups deemed inferior based on fabricated notions of intelligence, morality, or physical prowess.
- Preservation of Purity: White supremacists are obsessed with maintaining a fictional “pure” white race, often fearing the so-called “white genocide” – a baseless conspiracy theory that people of color aim to outbreed and replace white populations.
- Scapegoating and Dehumanization: Minority groups are blamed for societal problems, portrayed as threats to white safety, or even dehumanized to justify violence and discrimination against them.
- Authoritarianism: White supremacists often yearn for a strong authoritarian leader or rule who will enforce a society where white dominance is unquestioned.
While there are variations within white supremacist thought (such as white nationalism or neo-Nazism), these core tenets serve as the foundation for their poisonous worldview. Their ideology draws on pseudoscientific historical revisionism and often distorts religious narratives to further their claims of racial superiority.