The Rise Of Nazi Sentiments In America: Does It Affect Us?

A look at reverse westernization and how it could potentially bring peace

This Just In

With each passing day the news just seems to get more and more grim. I often hear people say that the world has always been this dark, we just have access to more information now than we did before. Even if that is the truth and the human race has always been responsible for violence and unrest, there is still a lot to worry about considering the political climatic of our world at this time. We may have the news at our fingertips, but we also must be worried of becoming a statistic ourselves.

I think another universal truth might be that most people are unhappy with their governments, but how that feeling of unhappiness is channeled can lead to change in subtle or impactful ways. The rise of neo Nazism in America marks a significant time in modern history, and even though our government has yet to formally provide statement on the unrest brewing in the superpower, there is something to be noted about their silence as well.

The relationship between Prime Minster Modi and President Trump does seem to be amicable and harmless.  And how can a third world government really find time to comment on, or even pay heed to, the internal affairs of a first world superpower when our own country is embroiled in floods, loss of innocent lives over oxygen supply cuts in hospitals and the unending problem of rape, and that is just the news of this week.

Perhaps it is difficult to point out the flaws of the biggest kid in the schoolyard, but we cannot sideline the fact that westernization has impacted our culture massively, and in particular the influence of American lifestyle has been profound. As I write this article on a MacBook, I am sure that most people who will read this, will do so on a device bought from an American company. Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Instagram are all American products that we start and end our days with. From the KFC lunch breaks with colleagues, to discussing Kylie Jenner’s lip kits, we are constantly consuming products from the United States. Our homes and offices are dotted with products that originate in the country the world loves to hate, so should we be worried when large groups of people in American cities are organizing protests and chanting phrases like “ Jews will not replace us”, “blood & soil”, and “unite the right” among other things?

Racists in America, what is new about that

As a writer, I shouldn’t write statements without providing statistical facts to back me up, but as a POC, I can safely say that most people of color residing in the U.S have, at some point, been in the presence of racist behavior. Whether it is in an airport, supermarket, or a nightclub, it doesn’t matter- feelings of racism seem to be lurking under the surface whether you are waiting to collect your suitcase at the baggage belt or waiting to purchase flowers at a bodega.

But in India, we live in a country that is not racially very diverse. Besides we have our own brand of internal racism to deal with. Indian citizens from the northeast might be able to provide a better insight to that than I could. So when it comes to Caucasian vs. POCs, should we really bother with it?

Lets also remember that it is 2017, and many Indian- Americans live in the United States, because that is the world today, a world where people travel, assimilate and can be a part of multiple cultures at once. For the many Indian-Americans that live in the States, whether temporarily or permanently, the issue of belonging and identity are complex enough, without the recent return of Nazi sentiments. It also doesn’t help that the leader of their nation seems shifty in his comments about the issue.

As young kids we read in history textbooks accounts of the British Raj in India, how Indians were made to feel like second class citizens in their own country, incidents that seemed so bizarre and removed from reality that even to read about them was troubling.

African American kids in the US, among other oppressed groups probably felt a similar disgust in learning about their own history with racial violence.

Most of us in the 21^st century probably never thought that the things we learnt in history classrooms, and saw in Oscar winning movies would ever actually happen in the real world, again.  Yet here we are.

Prejudice and stereotypes have always existed in America, perhaps they always will. But for that prejudice to be marching in the streets with Tiki torches, that is something else.

Reverse westernization

The United States has always benefited from the global economy, by providing us with their movies and cola drinks, they have turned most of the world into their consumers, so perhaps now is a good time to extract some other things from us as well. The end of the British Raj in India was marked by two very significant movements- non-violence and civil disobedience.

Even though Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy is complex one, and many conspiracy theories exist about the person he really was, the fact that he made his way to every single bill of currency in this nation and that so many streets are named after him, are indicative of his influence on our nation. He dedicated his life to this country, and we probably wouldn’t have an independent nation without him.

Despite being a victim of racism he preached non-violence, and non-violence is necessarily the absence of anger. To defy and not disrespect is an important part of our history. Maybe reading up on these lessons can make the tiki torch wielding groups realize that it is possible for people of various religions and races to co exist and thrive without anyone having to replace anyone else.

President Trump wrote a tweet encouraging his followers to read up on the activities of a particular General Pershing. Maybe instead he could take a page out of other eminent leaders like Gandhi, and leaders like Gandhi in other nations, who fought for equality and freedom without violence, and were successful.

The last time Nazi sentiments gained momentum; the Second World War took place- the scars from which are still prevalent all over the world. With the modern weapons of today, should these sentiments make a re-appearance, our world may experience wounds that might not even heal into scars, and another world war will definitely affect us all.