The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently performed a study where researchers examined the results of thousands of white supremacists who had sought out genetic testing and posted their results on the Stormfront forum. Stormfront is a popular white supremacist website that acts as a focal point for their community. Members would often seek out DNA testing and post their results online. Researchers from UCLA examined these posts to gain insight into how this process went for many of the users.
The answer is ‘poorly’.
Researchers report that many of the users found that they were not ‘exclusively white’. Officially the white supremacist website defines ‘white’ as “non-Jewish people of wholly European descent. No exceptions” but after many users repeatedly discovered that there were ‘exceptions’ in their bloodline arguments broke out over this definition.
Many users were forced to go on the defensive after ordering and receiving results that showed non-white ancestors. Results that essentially put them on the receiving end of hate they had often spent their whole lives pedalling. Many were forced off the site entirely.
The story is also reminiscent of the white supremacist Craig Cobb who, in 2012, created his own community in North Dakota comprised entirely of like-minded people. The town celebrated their white supremacist views and proudly displayed Nazi paraphernalia as part of their heritage. Hilariously, when Craig Cobb appeared on a UK talk show and took part in a DNA test it was revealed he had 14% sub-Saharan African heritage. Cobb soon found himself unable to return to the very community he had created and has since spent his time being excluded by the very white supremacists he once led, all the while trying to prove he is actually white.
