Chaz,
can you see a difference between claims that 'racism is overused' and arguments over whether the charge of racism is applicable in certain instances? I would hope that you can, but often, when there is an argument over the latter, you seem all too ready to denounce this as an instance of the former. that is, unless it is you who happen to be arguing that racism not an accurate assessment of a situation or issue... that does not seem to me to be an honest way of conducting a discussion, since what it does is seek to shut any debate down.
you and I have disagreed over whether anti-immigrant politics is necessarily racism, and you have argued that immigration and colonisation can be seen as two ways of designating the same thing - an argument which seemed to me to be reaching for a way of justifying anti-immigrant politics on the terrain of an anti-imperialist discourse. that the slogans of anti-imperialism and self-determination can indeed imply racism has not been taken very seriously by those who insist that these are concepts reserved for anti-capitalist politics. it seems americanfront has put paid to that illusion*.
perhaps it is a discourse without much purchase in the US, I don't know. here in australia it is quite central - but I would add a cautionary note: no one thought it was central ten years ago when multiculturalism was regarded as an established discourse. the upshot being: the new racism is indeed very multicultural, as Doug noted in relation to americanfront's crap. there was no dramatic break, the themes 'equal but essentially different' just became more acute, more viciously explicit and more focussed on territorial integrity (self-determination and anti-imperialism you could say).
now, whether or not we will ever agree on this remains open, and it perhaps has as much to do with the different marxist currents to which we subscribe than with anything else. but it is the case that we have disagreed - and I would not think of accusing you of belittling racism or of resorting to the charge you've made against others when they've disagreed with your analysis of, say, the militias or the shootings in Littleton.
Angela --- rcollins at netlink.com.au
___________ * the citation from americanfront: "The People's of every Nation have an unalienable right to self-determination - to preserve their own culture and traditions and have control over their future and the future of their children. We believe that European (White) people represent distinct Nations in American, Canada, and Quebec, linked by ties of culture and history. Common ancestry is the main determining factor in Nationhood. We feel that culturally mixed societies cannot form a true Nation and are inherently unstable. No one race or culture is "superior" to others, but they are all different. Racial integration threatens all Peoples. Humane efforts towards separation and self-determination are better for us than endless repression, tension, and racial violence."