Racist vikings???

[B. de Corbin]

We know, and sometimes even run into, white supremacists who lay claim to Norse culture as part of their excuse for being what they are.

This has never set well with me because it suggests such an astonishing lack of historical knowledge, and such an astonishing wealth of adolecent fantasy that it just becomes silly-stupid.

Here's a short article of interest on the subject: White supremacists love Vikings. But they’ve got history all wrong.


From the article:

In fact, the whole notion of a pure white medieval Europe, so important to white supremacists today, is false. The fixation on skin color is largely a modern phenomenon, alien to a Europe dependent on a Mediterranean world composed of people with varying shades of brown skin. It’s not that medievals lacked prejudice or hate, but our hang-ups and divisions were not theirs...

[Fenrir]

They're Jesus loving Christians willing to throw black suns on their shit and pretend like any god/deity/whatever would be willing to offer them protection.

[Medusa]

I'll never understand this about the KKK and their kin.

We are TRUE CHRISTIANS!

Burn the jews!


(pst...Jesus was a Jew jackasshole)

[ThePaganMafia]

I was involved in a few online Norse/Asatru groups before I lost interest in being religious. There was a lot of white supremacist overtones. It's really disturbing and honestly I don't think I've run across any Norse groups that didn't have that problem. Not to say that everyone who follows that path is a white supremacist but it was enough of a problem to make me not want to have anything to do with the community.

[iris]

I was involved in a few online Norse/Asatru groups before I lost interest in being religious. There was a lot of white supremacist overtones. It's really disturbing and honestly I don't think I've run across any Norse groups that didn't have that problem. Not to say that everyone who follows that path is a white supremacist but it was enough of a problem to make me not want to have anything to do with the community.

We have the general group 'forn sidr' here, it kind of collects several smaller groups around the country. They have very strong rules about what is acceptable and will not associate with any group even suspected to be of that nature. I only have personal experience with one group and they're extremely aware of the problem, but are very good at 'screening' and turning away people who are, as they put it, not compatible with their own views. I know it's a thing, but the people I know are very actively fighting that idiotic white supremacy notion. It's my impression that the community as a whole has come together to combat that reputation.
It might be very different in the US, I could easily believe it...
I vaguely know of some who have arranged 'viking' fairs and stuff for refugees and immigrants to show them our history and let the kids have some fun.

[Rae'ya]

Not actively raining on anyone's parade here, but when two of the first four responses have overt anti-Christian tones in a post about white supremicism in Northern paths... well I feel compelled to warn everyone that I will not tolerate anti-anything in this thread. By all means, discuss the hypocrisy of modern extremists, but please keep it civil and do not generalise.