Alien Nation

This blog post is about a horrific book entitled Alien Nation by a conservative journalist named Peter Brimelow. It was a bestseller when it was published in the year 1995. It is no coincidence that the harsh and discriminatory immigration laws that were passed in 1996 and 1997 were implemented after the publishing of this book. There are a few other wealthy white men who propagated xenophobia at this time, and I will discuss their contributions in a future blog post. However, I argue that Peter Brimelow was the most influential white nationalist at this time because he found a venue to present his message of hate to a substantial portion of the general population.

Studies have shown that xenophobia and racism increase during hard economic times. More competition for fewer jobs creates an atmosphere where it becomes acceptable to marginalize a larger percentage of the population based on race, sex, class and creed. Being the opportunist that he was, Peter Brimlow exploited the recession that hit in the mid 90's and preached an ideology of white supremacy and nativism to a public plagued by strife and uncertainty-- and thereby susceptible to hate and fear mongering.

Interestingly, Peter Brimelow was an immigrant from England; a white immigrant to be specific. Apparently, he did not object to an influx of white/European immigrants However, he could not abide an onslaught of--what he termed-- "unassimiable" black and brown immigrants into this country. Such an onslaught, he argued will "make America an alien nation... a freak among the world's nations because of the unprecedented demographic mutation it is inflicting on itself." (p. XIX)

He goes onto to relate the following:

"...the American nation has always had a specific ethnic core. And that core has been white. A nation, of course, is an interlacing of ethnicity and culture. Individuals of any ethnicity or race might be able to acculturate to a national community. and the American national community has certainly been unusually assimilitive. But nevertheless, the massive ethnic and racial transformation that public policy is now inflicting on America is totally new--and in terms of how Americans have traditionally viewed themselves, quite revolutionary. Pointing out this reality may be embarrassing to starry-eyed immigration enthusiasts who know no history. but it cannot reasonably be shouted down as "racist" or un-American." pg. 10

Throughout his maligned narrative he claims he is not a racist. However, arguing that America has always been white and making inflammatory statements that imply that diverse, multi-cultural societies have always been violent, unproductive and chaotic can only be classified as racist despite his camouflaging rhetoric. Apparently, Brimelow is considerably ignorant about science. Researchers of biology, genetics and sociology have all come to the same conclusion-- diversity makes living organisms stronger and more able to survive in changing environments.

He goes on to say:

"Race is destiny in American politics. It's importance has only been intensified by the supposedly color-blind civil rights legislation of the 1960's--which paradoxically has turned out to mean elaborate race-conscious affirmative action programs. Any change in the racial balance must obviously be fraught with consequences for the survival and success of the American nation. It is simply common sense that Americans have a legitimate interest in their country's racial balance. It is common sense that they have a right to insist that their government stop shifting it. Indeed, it seems to me that they have a right to insist that it be shifted back." p. 26

One can only reluctantly imagine what he meant by shifting "it"--the white majority--back. No doubt he influenced a whole generation of law makers who have maligned immigrants by incarcerating, abusing , raiding their homes and workplaces, and deporting them by the millions. Just how far white nationalists will go to purge the country of "unassimiable" black and brown immigrants is yet to be known.

Those of us with reasonable and enlightened constitutions must be vigilant in the quest to prevent human rights violations against immigrants, a particularly vulnerable population in contemporary American society. Within this current economic downturn and increasing moral panic against immigration; any imagined atrocity, humiliation or castigation is plausible-- and has happened to some immigrant somewhere in the country.