White power

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White fist icon
Symbol of a Celtic cross

White power (in the sense of: white power ) is a key term that is often used in the neo-Nazi scene . The term White Power and the symbol of the White Power Fist originated as a provocation by the Ku Klux Klan against the Black Power slogan of the civil rights movement of African Americans in the USA . It was picked up by the British neo-Nazi Ian Stuart , the singer of the band Skrewdriver , who established it as a comprehensive motto for the National Socialist and racist theory of the predominance of the "white race".

The white, upward-pointing, mostly right clenched fist is one of the most frequently used symbols in the neo-Nazi environment worldwide. The fist is often enclosed by the white lettering White Power ( WP ), Supreme White Power ( SWP ) or White Pride World Wide ( WPWW ). In the right-wing extremist skinhead scene, the fist is also often shown in a laurel wreath .

Another symbol that is often associated with white power is the Celtic cross . Since November 14, 2008, wearing the stylized Celtic cross (as shown on the right) has been a criminal offense in Germany.

Alleged interpretation of the OK sign as a white power symbol

Since 2017 the OK sign, in which the thumb and index finger are formed into a circle and the remaining fingers are spread, has been used by the white power scene. This goes back to a hoax called "Operation O-KKK" from the Internet forum 4chan , which aimed to get the media to interpret a harmless, widely used hand signal as a right-wing extremist symbol in order to draw attention to the alleged hysteria in the media on this topic close. The distribution took place via false flag accounts on the social medium Twitter . The accounts said the hand sign, which is reminiscent of the letters “W” and “P”, stood for “white power”, an association that did not previously exist.

After the sign's alleged new meaning went through the press, it was picked up by many conservative and right-wing populist media personalities and politicians, such as Mart and Martin Helme , Mike Cernovich , Donald Trump , Milo Yiannopoulos, and many more, often to troll media and their overreaction to represent. Actual right-wing extremists such as the Christchurch assassin Brenton Tarrant also used the symbol. Here, however, it is controversial whether right-wing extremists actually use the symbol as a distinguishing mark or whether the use is purely ironic to fool the media into an alleged relevance in the scene and thus further promote the 4chan hoax. The Anti Defamation League officially classified the OK sign as a hate symbol in 2019, but notes that it cannot be clearly classified as right-wing extremist. The vast majority of uses of the symbol are still completely harmless. The classification soon drew a great deal of criticism from people who viewed the hate symbol rating as ridiculous.

Several people have been fired or otherwise reprimanded by their employer for using the OK symbol since 2017, which is often criticized as further hysteria or evidence of the hoax's success.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Decision of the 3rd Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice of October 1, 2008, Az. 3 StR 164/08 (PDF file; 105 kB) , cf. also press release No. 209/2008 of the BGH of November 14, 2008
  2. ↑ a b When is the 'OK' gesture not OK? In: BBC. May 16, 2019, accessed on May 21, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Okay hand gesture. In: adl.org. Anti Defamation League, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Michael Andor Brodeur: That hand symbol you're seeing everywhere? Not OK - The Boston Globe. In: The Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC, September 20, 2018, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Emily Shugerman: Two members of alt-right accused of making hand sign linked to white supremacy while visiting White House. In: The Independent. Independent Digital News & Media Limited, April 29, 2017, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  6. ↑ https://www.br.de/puls/themen/netz/ok-symbol-emoji-alt-rights-memes-kolumne-100.html
  7. ↑ The Christchurch 50 Time Murderer shows no sign of remorse. In: BZ Axel Springer SE, March 16, 2019, accessed on May 21, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Holmes Lybrand: Fact Check: Were Four Police Officers Suspended for Alleged White-Power Gesture? In: The Weekly Standard. Clarity Media Group, July 17, 2018, accessed on May 21, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Tessa Högele: The okay hand sign is now officially listed as a hate symbol. In: ze.tt. ze.tt GmbH, October 2, 2019, accessed on May 21, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Valerie Richardson: 'OK' sign, 'bowlcut,' anti-antifa logo added to ADL 'hate' list. In: The Washington Times. The Washington Times, LLC, September 26, 2019, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  11. ^ Douglas Ernst: Cubs investigate fan's 'offensive gesture that is associated with racism' during broadcast. In: The Washington Times. The Washington Times, LLC, May 8, 2019, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  12. ^ Joel Shannon: Coast Guard member reassigned after he flashed 'offensive' hand gesture on TV. In: USA Today. Gannett, December 5, 2019, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Universal Orlando actor fired for making racist hand gesture. In: AP News. The Associated Press, October 2, 2019, accessed May 21, 2020 .