White supremacists: Our racist scapegoats

White supremacists may not be attending plays about racism, but they sure are cropping up on television. In the Mar. 22 issue of Newsweek, reporter Joshua Alston examines the prevalence of these white-power radicals on primetime television:

--The new FX series Justified centers on a U.S. Marshall who returns to his childhood home, only to find that his childhood friend now leads a violent white-supremacist group.

--Sons of Anarchy's second season focused on a battle between a motorcycle gang and the white-separatist "League of American Nationalists."

--The serial killer drama Dexter now features a white supremacist hanger-on.

--Law & Order--all three renditions--dealt with crimes precipitated by a white-power organization.

Why so much white bigotry? Alston hits it right on the mark:

"The reason the card-carrying white supremacist lingers in the public imagination is not just because he's scary, but because he fortifies our self-regard in an area where we all occasionally need some convincing."

To some extent, Alston says, we are all racist:

"On some level we all recognize this, and to acknowledge—-or even inflate—-white supremacists is to assuage our guilt with the knowledge that there are people out there far more prejudiced than most of us could ever be."

White supremacists are a catch-all for white guilt. We can look at the white KKK robes and say, "How awful!", without registering our own biases. White supremacists on TV gives us a means to cast aside our own white guilt. We can argue, "I'm not THAT bad," and ignore the bigotry within us. With enough exposure to these characters, we begin to think THEY are the problem, and we erroneously believe our comparably small prejudices are inconsequential.

While I tend to take a cynical view of Hollywood and say that producers are in it for the money, making shows with least common denominator content with the broadest appeal, I will try to be hopeful. If TV producers truly want to help us understand the ills of white supremacy, which Alston says is on the rise in America (a result of a black president, illegal immigration and an economic recession), I suggest they de-radicalize these groups. Showing viewers that radical bigotry exists not only at KKK rallies, but at the neighborhood barbecue, the office party or even the local book club meeting can do wonders to curtail white scapegoating. TV execs should not show us the "glorified worst," but they should incorporate into their programs a more mundane, dare I say relatable conceptualization of white power.

TV producers take note: Not only are you perpetuating whiteness, but you are endorsing its worst brand. We cannot confront our own biases until you bring racism to our level.

Photo Credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi