Race & Murder

[EmaChissit at cs.com]

In a message dated 4/27/99 11:29:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
rcollins at netlink.com.au writes:
> how this relates to the discussion on the shootings I'm not at all sure.  
but
>  I would think that this is not a particularly outrageous set of claims.   I
>  am also not sure why you would want to obscure the historical and
>  political-economic connection between races and racialisation in favour of
>  insisting that racism is confined to racism toward black people, which I
>  think is a reification all its own.   downplaying the importance of racism
>  against black people is surely something to be deplored, but I do not think
>  this is what has been happening on list

My reason for mentioning it was that I tired of sloppy usage of the terms 
fascism and nazism.  I find this disturbing.  I also tired, as do you, of the 
tendency to reduce racism to racism toward blacks and only blacks.  This is 
simply not the case and that sort of talk reflects the peculiarity of race 
and racism in the U.S.  There isn't quite enough information to know if these 
young men subscribed to any sort of organized or coherent set of political 
beliefs that can be labeled Neo-Nazi.  This doesn't mean that they weren't 
racists.  However, it does mean that we need to be a bit more cautious when 
we describe them as such.  It seems to become an empty category after a 
while.  

Emma Chissitt