A short THREAD which attempts to summarize the interesting & informative paper: 'MORBID SYMPTOM: IMMIGRATION AND THE RISE OF FAR -RIGHT POPULISM IN WESTERN EUROPE', by Ayaz Rzayev.
It contains pragmatic suggestions for stemming the rise of the Far Right, which deserve a hearing.
ALL Far-Right parties across Europe:
▶️Emphasise 'nativism' rooted in myths about an idealised past, & hostility towards immigration
▶️Have programs directed toward making the nation more ethnically homogeneous & returning to 'traditional values' of Western civilization.
ALL Far-Right parties across Europe:
▶️Accuse the establishment of favoring their own narrow self-interests over the interests of the people
▶️Try to avoid explicit #racism by emphasising 'the Muslim threat' & welfare costs of immigration.
ALL Far-Right parties across Europe:
▶️Have a distinct identity sharing a unique perception of reality based on a fear of an invading foreign culture destroying Western civilization from within
▶️Try to turn back the clock to a more ethnoculturally homogenous & familiar time.
However, there are core features that many on the far right & the 'far left' share.
They both:
▶️Feel that established institutions that traditionally provided & sustained collective identities are (from different perspectives) becoming eroded, or are being destroyed.
The far right AND far left:
▶️Oppose many economic & social changes brought about by globalization, which have 'left them behind'
▶️Believe the political establishment serves global corporatist interests, is dishonest & corrupt, & doesn't care about the opinions of the majority
To defeat the far right & prevent history repeating, it isn't enough to simply demonize them & expose the often awful & polarising things they say & do, including their use of inflammatory rhetoric - we urgently need to find ways of decreasing the demand for far-right populism.
Mainstream parties should consider abandoning the dismissive elitist discourse of constantly questioning the moral-intellectual competence of indigenous populations, which only marginalizes them further, & instead engage non-extremist natives on the merits & flaws of their views.
Such an engagement could decrease the perception of political elites as being aloof & unaccountable, & weaken the appeal of far-right populists in the long run.
Many elites hesitate - sometimes understandably - to address valid concerns about immigration & national identity.
Too often when political elites do take up these concerns, they brand them as motivated *solely* by racism or Islamophobia, which may sometimes be true, but is counterproductive.
Elites should adopt a nuanced approach on immigration, & take positions more grounded in pragmatism.
As well as any economic effects of immigration, the Left should not be scared to acknowledge the cultural impact of mass immigration, & directly address the issue of how we talk about class, ethnicity & integration, as well as suggesting concrete measure to reduce polarization.
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Echoing objections to social-media fuelled violence from the government of the UK & others, the Chamber of Progress, a tech business advocacy group, is urging delusional adolescent billionaire Musk to take his leadership role at @X more seriously - or resign if he cannot do so.
Since July 29 when right-wing influencers made false claims on Twitter/@X & other social media platforms that falsely blamed the murder of three children on Muslims & asylum-seeking immigrants, dozens of far-right #FarageRiots erupted around the nation.
The #FarageRiots started with a lie – a fake name and false information that suggested the teenager alleged to have killed three young girls in #Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker. He was neither.
There is an uncomfortable hypocrisy at the heart of this story, which is that people didn’t react the same way when, earlier this year, a white man killed a 14-year-old black boy, Daniel Anjorin, with a sword.
While that perpetrator was treated as a horrific anomaly, the Southport attacker was viewed by racist rioters as representative of migrants & Muslims, despite being neither.
A psychologist explains the cognitive biases and psychological responses behind this disparate treatment.
Researchers have developed & articulated the concept of “everyday extremism” to acknowledge that extreme narratives derived from non-mainstream sources can become a part of mainstream political discourse via social media.
As usual, @elonmusk takes a half-truth, removes important context, then selectively presents a misleading claim implying something about contemporary society, in this case mobilising a 'white victimhood' racist dog whistle narrative to fuel anger, division, & engagement.
Musk presents the claim that the etymological origins of the word word slave derives solely from the exploitation of 'white people', rather than, say, emphasising how religious texts from Judaism, Islam & Christianity all recognise slaves as a separate class of people in society.
Before examining Musk's misleading claim, it's worth knowing that the word 'Slav' refers to a member of the most numerous ethnic & linguistic body of peoples in Europe, residing chiefly in eastern & southeastern Europe but extending also across northern Asia to the Pacific Ocean.
#NEW opinion poll: "73% of the British public say that the riots are shaming rather than standing up for Britain, & the public overwhelmingly believe that those helping clear up after the riots (87%) represent British values." - @Moreincommon_ 🇬🇧
Rather than attitudes to the riots sitting in two contrasting pro- & anti-riots camps, public opinion is akin to Russian Dolls: small groups are willing to condone the riots but much bigger groups with opinions cited as motivation for the violence condemn it without hesitation.
The smallest group are those who express support for the unrest: 7% of the public say they are ashamed Britain is a multi-ethnic country; 8% think violent demonstrations outside asylum seeker accommodation are acceptable; & the 11% who have a positive opinion of Tommy Robinson.