Racial supremacism under social democracy | Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution

Racial supremacism under social democracy

ID:	HARP-182
Title:	Racial supremacism under social democracy
Source:	Canadian Ethnic Studies, v.27(1) 1995 pg 1-17
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Year:	1995
Pages:	0
Author(s):
Keywords:	Canada, discrimination, human rights, non-discrimination, racial discrimination, racism, British Columbia, civil and political rights, racial supremacist, Ku Klux Klan, minority rights
Abstract:	This paper examines racial supremacist groups in Canada, and explains how they can persist in a social democratic society. Racial supremacist groups are organized social groups committed to racial supremacism, and their members engage in activities to dehumanize target victims and exclude them from equal participation in society. Racial supremacist groups first surfaced as anti – Oriental organizations in British Columbia in the late 19th century; by the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was well established in several provinces. The influence of the Klan declined in the 1930s, but by the 1970s and 1980s, racial supremacist groups grew substantially in Canada. Prevailing racism in social institutions and everyday life of Canadian society has helped racial supremacist groups to persist. As long as “race” continues to provide a meaningful ground for people to make sense of problems around them, the general public is vulnerable to racial supremacism. By comparison, milder versions of racism appeared as reasonable. In economic hard times, racial hatred becomes more appealing to people as it allows them to blame non – whites for social maladies. Racial supremacist groups have also benefited from the right of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Charter. Racial supremacists have used the right to free speech to propagate racial hatred. The analysis suggests that contradictory forces within a social democratic society provide support to racial supremacy.
Secured:	False
Download Article:	harp-182.pdf