For Blood and Honor: An Analysis of Contemporary American Hatecore Lyrics

• In Event: 3451 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 5. Far-Right Movements

Abstract

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that, over the last 20 years, there has been a steady rise in hate groups. These groups range from the alternative right, Neo Confederates, White Supremacist to Odinist prison gangs and antiMuslim groups. These White Power groups have a particular race-based ideology that can be understood relative to their music—a tool that provides central recruitment and cohesive mechanisms. White supremacist rock music, called Hatecore, presents the contemporary version of the legacy of racist music such as Oi! and Rock Against Communism. Through the years, this genre produces an idealized model of white supremacist, while also speaking out against the perceived threats, goals, and attitudes within white supremacist spaces. In this article, I demonstrate how Hatecore music creates an in-group of aggrieved whites, paints elements of multiculturalism and racial diversity as the culprits, and describes specific calls to action to remediate perceived social ills. Hatecore lyrics in the data show an increasing trend in their focus of Islamic and Asian influences. This data also shows how gendered constructs of idealized masculinity and femininity are essential aspects of whiteness. Finally, Hatecore music prioritizes racial solidarity and violent activism as avenues of social activism to achieve the goals of white supremacist ideology.

Author

• Roberto Fernandez Morales, Ohio State University