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haptalaonSomeone I follow on tumblr has written two very good responses to fascists in heathenry
but in short, "real heathens aren't racist" is a statement that feels like an avoidance of responsibility, and that disempowers the speaker from being proactive.
- https://thorraborinn.tumblr.com/post/640287829023391744/waywardtravelerfart-check-in-from-out-of-home
- thorraborinn.tumblr.com/post/634065934218313728/hi-in-your-answer-about-the-concept-of-mythic
but in short, "real heathens aren't racist" is a statement that feels like an avoidance of responsibility, and that disempowers the speaker from being proactive.
I really want to endorse this, and especially:
“But I think what heathens are missing is that we’re not as unconnected to this guy as they think. While I don’t know the details of what he says or believes or where it comes from, the roots of modern heathenism include syncretic Christian mysticism, Theosophical spiritual racism, and conspiratorial occult revisionist history. The most (or at least second-most) influential author of books about rune magic (Thorsson/Flowers) is keeping alive the theories of a nationalist (Johan Bure) who thought that an order of masters of the “runic mysteries” had guided the transition from pre-Christian heathenry to Christianity such that the important parts are the same in both. We really don’t have the luxury of not knowing this stuff, and if we want to convince others that we have nothing to do with the Q-shaman we better make sure we’re auditing our own influences.
On a different note, I think it might be helpful for heathens to start thinking less in terms of “racist vs. anti-racist” and more in terms of the three-way fight between us, the fascists, and the neoliberal settler state.”
I really dislike “actually, real heathens are not fascist” - although I understand the comfort and temptation of the phrase. I feel like this is an attempt to put a distance between ourselves and it, as a way to sort of, ignore it entirely, and get back to the easy stuff. Again, an urge I understand completely.
This is kind of a semantic complaint, but I much prefer conversations which start from the understanding that lots of “real heathens” are, in fact, fascist. In part because a key appeal of paganism is that we don’t have an central organising body.
But mostly because, I don’t feel able to distance myself from fascism in Paganism just through my good intentions and a statement of intent: I think it’s got to be more ongoing and conscious than that.
A lot of people in our communities, past and present, and a lot of the lore which we draw from, was fascist or had quasi-fascist undertones/longings. These people keep showing up in our communities for a reason!
My friends in the folk horror fiction community also have this problem, and have to conscientiously block these folks from their blogs; the people in the folk (music/tradition/history) community have this problem, and intermittently release statements about how fascists have no place in morris dance and fiddle, and so on.
So it is just a slight change-of-perspective, a different lens or angle on the issue, to say - actually, plenty of real Pagans, Heathens and Occultists are fascist! Because it helps me be more proactive about what I’m writing and who I’m reading and associating with.
It also helps me maintain a critical distance from my own ideas; last week, I collected together some pagan podcasts, and I chose to include ones with topics like:
- nationhood
- monarchy
- heritage
- Englishness
- pastoralism
- history as a practice
because otherwise, one tends to start thinking about King Arthur without ever really thinking about actual kings; and one thinks nostalgically about the past without considering the implications of National Heritage; and one thinks about the lore of the land without remembering who shaped your history, how, and why; and one fetishises a vague sense of Pastness without really reflecting on how we know and interpret the past.
I do British traditional folk craft; I’m not a fascist; but to make both of those things true, it’s good to be constantly checking in with oneself and asking...”well, if a fascist was doing this, what would it look like, what ideas would be promoted - and is what I’m doing meaningfully different?” If it isn’t, that’s an alarm bell to interrogate a little deeper, and change what I’m doing.
I’ve also found this has also made my craft far more rich, because I’m looking for these alternative narratives (what could be more Landweird than that?), and because it’s actually pretty cool to sit with some academics and learn more about Englishness As A Concept. I find that I understand fascism in a deeper way, also, because I’m starting from the point of things I find appealing; by this I mean, fascism is like Hitler and stuff is another very “distanced” cultural understanding, one which refuses to admit the possibility of contemporary fascism until one can see actual uniformed SS blackshirts like you’re in a movie. I feel I can see the strands that underpin fascism far more clearly when starting from, say, my own pastoral longings, or my interest in the history of the place I live. I feel far more politically competent now than I did before, at spotting the dog whistles, and again I’m going to use the word longing, because there’s a fascist imaginary that I feel I can recognise now that I couldn’t before. It makes me feel stronger in faith, and it makes me feel considerably more empowered to tackle these quasi-fascist ideas when others promote them.
(although I want to stress that. Debate with actual fascists is fruitless; it can be good to critique and discuss the troubling implications of fascist-adjacent ideas with friends who are probably OK; but for actual fash, no less than a firm, blanket ban and zero tolerance will do)
(but I guess part of me is also trying to question the notion of “actual fash”; we need to see fascism as a behaviour, not a kind of person, because otherwise it’s too easy to say I am not that kind of person; part of what I’m trying to say is, because fascism is ideas + behaviour, it actually can show up in your craft quite innocently, and it’s right to keep an eye out for it)
Anyway, yeah. I want to encourage the reader to push back on “real heathens are not white supremacists”, because I think the politics of that is fundamentally off-kilter. I’d encourage instead, putting it back on a human-to-human basis: “Many of heathens are active white supremacists, as part of a wider society that is broadly a white supremacist one; its a real problem; here’s what I’m doing to combat that in my ideas, social spaces, and craft”.
Because beyond a point, it’s not really a pagan problem - but the same ole cultural problems wearing a novelty hat and cloak. When you recognise that, it’s easier to step back from the passive shield of “Odin hates racists”, to a more active and productive stance: “I don’t know what Odin thinks; but I think you’re a cunt; fuck off and don’t come back”
(& I want to add that, this is not just a heathen problem. Occult/Western Esoteric traditions have a persistent anti-Semitic streak; rural craft or anything that talks about the Old Ways, When Things Were Better often shades into xenophobia and a mono-ethnic cultural nationalism; many of my pagan acquaintances are into conspiracy theories, a scene which can rarely be separated from reactionary beliefs or anti-Semitic tropes; and there’s also the New Age crowd, whose anti-science chops morph into anti-expert, fear-of-the-other, purity narratives. And this is just talking about race. Paganism, as a whole, is a counter-cultural space - and that attracts a lot of people who don’t feel fully at home in the cultural mainstream. Unfortunately, that’s not only the cool folks, that’s also the extreme right wing.)
no subject
Date: 24 January 2021 17:59 (UTC)no subject
Date: 25 January 2021 04:52 (UTC)Extremism of any kind is always an internal problem, since outside interference can make it very much worse. Which just means that the only people who can safely handle it are the people in the same community.
The problem of course being, just what needs to be done to handle it properly. The only thing crystal clear is that the only way to deal with the problem is to engage with the problem.