In his 2002 article entitled "Wagner and power chords: skinheadism, white power music, and the Internet," Les Back begins by providing the reader with a very detailed description of the origins and history of the White Power movement. Before reading this article, I knew very little about the movement, as it's not extremely prevalent in the area I live in (or so I thought...two men mentioned from the "Aryan Singles" dating site in this article live very close to my hometown). I do remember reading this article a few months ago, and being shocked at the life that this man had previously led.
After this introduction to the racial supremacy movement, Back begins to discuss how the internet functions as a means of recruitment and communication for people within this movement, and especially how their music has been disseminated through the web. Most simply, the internet has allowed different "pockets" of white supremacists to contact each other and unify their goals. Interestingly, the types of music associated with these White Power groups have diversified in recent years; the movement is still associated most closely with punk/metal bands, but some in the group have discussed the need for music that can appeal to a wider audience.
Discussion question: In what ways have these White Power groups used the internet to further their goals? Are there ways in which the internet has held them back?
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