Eric Olsen of Blogcritics, who often writes about music, was repulsed when he encountered news about the audio accompaniment to the neo-Nazi branch of America's racist Right.
There has been music for racists since the eighteenth century. In fact, the state song of Maryland, "Maryland, My Maryland," is a tribute to the Confederacy. Racist music celebrates white supremacy and denigrates people of color. Most of it is too stupid to pass scrutiny by well-informed persons. Olsen learned about an up-and-coming leader of neo-Nazi music, Panzerfaust. St. Paul's Pioneer Press, the hometown newspaper of the label, has the story.
Byron Calvert is co-owner of Panzerfaust Records, a small label that has become a major force in the neo-Nazi skinhead movement. Only 6 years old, the company — a smattering of operations throughout the metro area — already is contending to be the premier producer of white-supremacist music, observers say.
An ex-con with a record of violence, the 33-year-old is now banking that a low-key approach — combined with the music of rebellion — is the most effective way to convert teens to the white-supremacist ranks.
The company's latest and most ambitious move came last week when Calvert announced "Project Schoolyard USA," a plan to make and distribute 100,000 copies of a "pro-white sampler CD" to teenagers across the country.
. . ."Our target audience," Calvert said, "is 50 million white kids who have never heard of us."
The denial of racist sentiment in the blogosphere is common. A blogger will post an entry claiming that lynching had nothing to do with race and occurred as often in the North as in the South. Another will assert that black people are so inherently inferior they will never be equal to whites, citing H.L. Mencken, a white supremacist, as a source. David Horowitz's blatantly bigoted claim that slavery was a benefit to African-Americans has been embraced by more Right Wing bloggers than I can keep up with.
Article comments
1 - SFC Ski
Well, I don't like the White Surpemacists any more than you do, MD, but I am white, so I am already guilty by association.
The sad thing about the music is that some of it has a real hard rock or metal edge that appeals to a lot of young kids, and if there is no other influence to counteract or refute the message, they might not question what it is they are listening to.
2 - sungoddess
This is some scary stuff... I got into this quite phenomenal argument about reparations and slavery with a group of members over at Backwash, and I don't think they understand that reparations means funds to fight these kinds of efforts. Unless money is put aside to counteract these kinds of attitudes and efforts, you will be shocked how many converts to this neo-Nazi ideal will occur due to these kinds of propaganda motivated brainwashing techiniques. I for one don't believe every white person is racist. I have white ancestry and black ancestry in equal parts with amerindian ancestry, and I have chosen to honour and accept all parts of my heritage in equal measure and recognise them all for their glories and failings. However, I am aware of a certain kind of complacency that exists in popular culture, that allows racism to seep into it independent of fringe lunatic groups like the one you've mentioned above. These deficient individuals and organisations like the one mentioned above are merely overt in their efforts and choose not to counch their language.There is much more devious and insidious work going on in secret and fed into the popular media than can brought to light here. Thank you for this post though. It's a heads up for sure.
3 - Eric Olsen
thanks Mac, this is a grave issue and one that needs to be highlighted and exposed so that kids aren't drawn unwittingly into this kind of thinking.
4 - Mac Diva
According to a subsequent news story, Panzerfaust will direct mail the white power CD to people if they request it online. Even at media rates, that would cost the label. Maybe they think they will recoup their loss in new purchases.
On the bright side, I did not find any of their stuff at Amazon, which has become the most common venue for racist books other than the publishers themselves. Seems that someone there decided to draw the line when it comes to the music.
5 - Eric Olsen
good for Amazon
6 - Steve
Hey i need to know if there is any more panzerfaust C.D.s out there if aso let me know
7 - andrew
People have a right to belive what they want,im glad white supremist are around,shows we still have freedom of speech....for now.
8 - Richard Brodie
these efforts to brainwash the young
And what about the all pervasive brainwashing, that is a million times more powerful in modern culture than what you're worrying about here, which leads to the attitude that black pride is perfectly fine but white pride is a cardinal sin - that there's nothing wrong with members of any racial or ethnic group being openly proud of their people's heritage, except for members of the white race.
9 - kevin
lets see if i got this right, it's ok for the ghetto boyz to sing about killing cops, it's ok for black rappers to sing about humping white girls to piss off the whiteman. but it's not ok for white pride music to sing about white pride. hypocrites
10 - Pissed Off At This Bullshit
Look to start off i'm white im a supremist and i'm proud to be white i'm 17 and i think that teens should be encouraged to have pride in their race. and who r u to say no you are wrong? nobody! people can chose what they want, they have the a mind so let them decide if u want to be a supremist.
11 - don
there's a big difference in having pride and crapping on other's heritage. and as a fan of rap, i've never heard blacks encourage harming white people. they don't take shit from white people, but they never set out to harm white pride.
12 - annoyed
i can't beleive that it's fine for blacks to have there own music. but as soon as a white people do we are racist. get a life music is music everyone has a choice to turn of their stereo or change the station.
13 - kenny
leave your opinons to your self.its time to rewrite the history books and all the cover ups of mainstream bubble gum.tell owr young the truth white power.