28th. The seminar is specifically being hosted by the German and European Studies Department. While the focus appears to be on Neo-Nazis and skin heads in Europe, it appears that there will be some discussion about the Tea Party activities in America.
Skinheads
Does Brandeis think there is a connection? Check out the links below. The first is from The Fox Nation, and the second is from the university web site announcing the seminar.
-http://www.thefoxnation.com/brandeis-university/2010/04/21/university-lumps-tea-parties-nazis?page=2
http://www.brandeis.edu/cges/
I take particular notice of one of the panelists, a certain Professor Chip Berlet. This gentleman's chief scholarly pursuit seems to be on the right-wing in America. That is his right, but what I detect here is an attempt to link neo-Nazis and skin heads in Europe with tea partiers in America.
That would be an outright lie.
As one who has lived in Europe and follows events there, I share the panelists' concern about people like skin-heads and neo-Nazis.
Neo Nazis
I condemn any attacks (which are referred to) on "brown-skinned" immigrants. They also mention attacks on Jews. I am deeply concerned about that as well. My sneaking suspicion is, however, that they will ignore the daily harassment and assaults (verbal and physical) on Jews by Muslim immigrants and concentrate solely on the native punks who engage in that activity.
That would not only be politically-correct, it would be a gross distortion of reality.
I sincerely hope that someone with our point of view who is in the area will attend that seminar and report on it. Tea partiers are not neo-nazis, nor are they skin-heads. It only takes a brief glance at all three to know the difference.
Tea-partiers
Below is my e-mail to the organizers of the conference at Brandeis.
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Dear Ms Von Mering and McAllister,
My name is Gary Fouse, and I am an adjunct teacher at the University of
California at Irvine. I should add that I am writing to you as a private citizen
and not as a representative of the university. I also write a (conservative)
blog at:
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com. (fousesquawk).
I write in connection with your up-coming conference on right-wing extremism in
Europe. As one who has spent three years in Germany and has extensively studied
German history and written a book on the history of Erlangen, Germany, I share
your concerns about neo-nazi and skin- head movements in Germany and
Europe-especially as they pertain to attacks on immigrants or Jews.
I have gotten the impression, perhaps erroneously, that your conference will:
1- concentrate on attacks upon Jews in Europe by neo-Nazis and skin heads
without addressing similar attacks upon Jews by Muslim immigrants-which is, in
my view, a more serious problem that can be easily documented in places like
London, Paris, Malmo, Sweden, Berlin and several other places..
2-Will draw links between Neo-Nazis and skin heads in Europe with tea-party
activists and demonstrators in the US.
I note in your web site announcement that the tea party is mentioned, as well as
the listing of one panelist (Chip Berlot), whose works apparently center around
right -wing extremists in the US.
First of all, I think that to connect tea-party activists with skin heads and
neo-Nazis in Europe is grossly inaccurate and unfair as any photographs of the
three groups will illustrate. To my knowledge, there has not yet been one
incident of violence in the US instigated by tea-party demonstrators or town
hall protestors. The handful of incidents where violence has occurred, such as
in St Louis, Tampa or Thousand Oaks, California, were instigated by counter
tea-party protestors, for example SEIU counter-demonstrators.
I would hope that your seminar will be fair-minded and balanced-not dictated by
political correctness. Though I am not Jewish, I am gravely concerned about the
resurgence in anti-Semitism in the West as a result of the Israel-Palestinian
conflict. If you are going to talk about racism in Europe without mentioning the
hatred being perpetrated by Muslim militants and try to connect it to tea-party
activists in the US, your seminar would be guilty of a gross distortion of fact.
I also believe that you would ignore the connection between the far-left in
Europe and North America with the pro-Palestinian side that has led directly, in
my view, to a resurgence in anti-Semitism both in Europe and North America.
Sincerely,
Gary Fouse
Adjunct teacher
University of California at Irvine
5 comments:
I read an article a while ago about how some white supremacist group was hoping to go to the Tea Party rallies in order to recruit and/or find some like-minded people. They wound up not having a lot of success with it.
Do I think that there are some racists who are in the Tea Party? Sure. Are some of their signs and slogans pretty racist? Sure. I do think that it's a mistake to call them a racist organization though. Those kinds of signs make for more sensationalist news though, so that's the kind of thing we see more often even though it probably doesn't represent the majority point of view.
That's a fair minded assessment. One fact is that in all the town hall meetings and tea party rallies is that there has not been one violent incident that I am aware of by tea party members. The only ones I am aware of were instigated by those opposed to the tea parties (SEIU types). The one that I went to recently was like the films you see; middle-aged to elderly average folks.
Chip Berlet is known for a propensity to accept any anecdote he finds convenient and propagate it as well documented fact. I think the whole "Tempest in a Tea Party" thing is overblown. About 18% of the population are voicing more or less the opinions they have always held, and will have about the impact on national and local elections they have always had. Analogy is always a poor means of characterization. Hitler was Hitler, even Mussolini was a different brand of evil. American Aryans and neo-Nazis would not even get much respect from the SS, if they were placed side by side. I'm kind of dubious about big academic conferences, unless there is some serious research to be presented which will tell us something we don't already know.
Siarlys,
Thanks for helping confirm my impression of Berlet. My objection is if they try to compare tea-parties to skin-heads and neo-Nazis. If so, that is a canard. As for academic conferences, I agree. When they hold a conference where all the panelists agree, what kind of balance is that? It's like the one I went to at UC-Irvine Jan
2009, where everybody hated Israel. Not one voice on the panel spoke up in defense of Israel. Out of several hundred people in the audience, one spoke up. Yours truly. You can read my report in January 09, on the "Whither the Levant" conference at UCI. (Where I teach).
Great letter!
I have to say that the notion that the Tea Parties are filled with "dangerous" Right Wing Whackos is fairly well accepted by the average well informed DemocratsI know. At least those who know the talking points that come from the DNC.
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