Trend Watch

Nationalists, of the 'White' and 'Supremacist' variety

Trending in 2017

Both white nationalist and white supremacist were among our top lookups on August 12th, 2017 following multiple reports of clashes between groups referred to by these terms and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

After a morning of violent clashes between white nationalists and counter protesters, police ordered hundreds of people out of a downtown park - putting an end to a noon rally that hadn’t even begun.
—Joe Heir, The Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2017

“People are angry, they’re scared, they’re hurt, they’re confused,” said the Rev. Seth Wispelwey of the local United Church of Christ. “White supremacists rallying in our town is an act of violence.”
—Hawes Spencer & Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times, 11 Aug. 2017

Our definitions observe certain differences between these two words; white nationalist is defined as “one of a group of militant whites who espouse white supremacy and advocate enforced racial segregation,” while white supremacist is “a person who believes that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races.” 
 Of the two white supremacist appears to be somewhat older, being in use from the late 19th century. White nationalist began to appear some decades later.

The White Supremacist….In the light of the election held last Tuesday “The Champion of White Supremacy” appears in rather bad shape.
St. Landry Clarion (Opelousas, LA), 2 Apr. 1892

The white nationalists point out that the bulk of the nation will interpret the failure of the German delegation on these points as a return with empty hands.
The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, MN), 14 Oct. 1925


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