But we’re not neo-Nazis! Honest! (You want fries with that?)

It’s a common lament among local members of the far right that they’re constantly being represented / lampooned / ridiculed, quite unfairly, as neo-Nazis. From Dr James Saleam to Darrin Hodges, David Innes to Luke Connors, the denial is as predictable as it is vociferous. For some, the problem is that they misapprehend the nature of Nazism / National Socialism, both in terms of its past (most notably in Germany, of course: see National Socialist German Workers’ Party [Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei] or NSDAP; the Nazi Party) but also in terms of its more contemporary manifestations (hence the appellation of ‘neo’ or new). Thus it was that only a few short years ago it had to be explained to Perth-based racist David Innes (formerly of Stormfront, now of the New Right) that ‘Nazi’ generally means ‘National Socialist’.

For others, the problem is not any failure of comprehension, but an all-too keen awareness of the function of the ‘Nazi’ label as a kiss of death to any political project to which it is legitimately applied. Thus Saleam finds that photographs of himself wearing a swastika, in addition to his continuing association with die-hard neo-Nazis like Ross ‘The Skull’ May (and er, Saleam’s criminal conviction for arranging an attentat upon a political rival) constantly serve to undermine his claims to be a ‘legitimate’ political organiser. By the same token, the fact that the Patriotic Youth League had to contend with the fact that it shared its address with — and one of its members was the leader of the local branch of — an organisation such as Volksfront, meant that even the meatheaded likes of Luke Connors were eventually forced to admit defeat and move on to less browner pastures. Which, in Connors’ case, continues to be Stormfront; this, despite his apparent refusal to wear the tinfoil helmet other members pretend is made from titanium — and which is supposed to protect the wearer from the evil machinations of the Zionist Occupation Government (brought to you by the Elders of Zion).

Of course, over the last few years, and the last few months in particular, it’s been far from clear sailing on The Good Ship Übermensch. Following the departure, under a cloud of suspicion, of David Innes and Emma “Lilith” Peterson, a new moderator has been appointed: a 19-year-old Novocastrian named Rhys McLean (’AustralianEuro’). Appointed in June 2007, Rhys has been notably quiet of late, leading some to wonder if he’s not a little tired of the whole ‘white nationalist’ malarkey. Me, I dunno, but I genuinely hope that one day he’ll realise that Hitler wasn’t such a Top Bloke after all, and that wearing a swastika is just plain… well… silly. Certainly, it’s something that Herr Doktor, leader of the rump of the NSW branch of the Australia First Party, understands — to his bitter regret.

Oh, and did I mention that Rhys is also a senior organiser for Australia First?

Murray pegged Hitler’s personality as “counteractive narcism,” a type that is stimulated by real or imagined insult or injury. According to Dr. Murray, the characteristics of this personality type include: holding grudges, low tolerance for criticism, excessive demands for attention, inability to express gratitude, a tendency to belittle, bully, and blame others, desire for revenge, persistence in the face of defeat, extreme self-will, self-trust, inability to take a joke, and compulsive criminality. Dr. Murray concluded that Hitler had these characteristics (and others) to an extreme degree and lacked the offsetting qualities that round out a balanced personality… ~ From the Introduction to Dr. Henry A. Murray’s 1943 essay ‘Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler: With Predictions of His Future Behavior and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany’s Surrender’

Slackbastard · 26 September 2007 · Discussion