The Cope Of Anti-Americanism

America is not the real enemy of Europe

The Greenland situation inspired a wave of anti-Americanism across the Atlantic. Leftists and rightists in Europe seemed to find a common ground in bashing Uncle Sam and declaring America the great malefactor in the world. This sentiment was echoed by some European leaders, who relished the opportunity to smugly denounce the Yanks and claim Europe can defend itself.

It’s no surprise this happened. Whenever Donald Trump rocks the boat, Eurocrats descend into hysterics. This same happened last year when Trump sought to make a peace deal over Ukraine.

But it wasn’t just the establishment up in arms. Many right-wingers across the Atlantic were also angry over Greenland and embracing anti-American rhetoric. Anti-Americanism is not a new phenomenon for Euro nationalism. It’s a well-established tradition. It’s also insufferable and wrong-headed. A number of Euros rely on anti-Americanism to absolve themselves of any blame for their problems. It inspires them to think that all their issues will be resolved if they simply tell the Yanks to go home. It’s cope.

That’s not to say there is no reason for Euro nationalists to be skeptical of America. It’s natural to suspect a foreign power, especially one that displaced your own empires in the last century. There are legitimate complaints to be made about American influence over the continent. One example would be the Biden administration likely orchestrating the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline. Others would be America historically supported decolonization, and a number of its cultural exports being rather bad. Germans and Danes loving rap music isn’t a high mark in American cultural imperialism.

European nationalists want their countries to be stronger and more independent of globalist influence. It’s understandable that they would want to get rid of American military bases and extensive political influence. We would want the same if China had bases on our land and interfered with our politics.

But this natural impulse often leads to them thinking that everything bad in Europe is the result of America. In this view, America becomes the real enemy of Europe and the primary focus of the European Right should be doing everything it can to stand against the Yanks.

This view was articulated by the likes of Francis Parker Yockey (a mentally unwell American), Alain de Benoist, Jean Thirart, and many other figures of the European New Right. Yockey’s anti-Americanism made him into a supporter of the Soviet Union and communism. Benoist’s anti-Americanism made him into a supporter of Third Worldism. The anti-Americanism of some Euronats today makes them into supporters of the Chinese Empire.

The European New Right’s obsessive anti-Americanism was criticized by fellow ENRist Guillaume Faye and paleoconservatives Sam Francis and Paul Gottfried. Faye wasn’t bothered by criticism of America. His books are filled with remarks noting the problems with U.S. foreign policy and culture. But he argued Europe’s real enemies were Islam and multiculturalism. These are the direct threats to European existence and require greater attention than America’s apparent cultural degeneracy. This anti-Americanism would lead some New Rightists, such as Benoist, to sympathize with Islam and the foreign invaders. They would delude themselves into seeing these forces as potential allies against the evil Yankee, a fact noted by Gottfried.

Both Gottfried and Francis thought Euro rightist criticisms of America relied on a caricature of our country and a poor reading of our history. Francis concluded that the “sneering and snorting about America is really not much more than an affected European snobbery and resentment of a more successful and more powerful political order.”

All of these voices felt it was more appropriate for European nationalists to focus on their terrible leaders and the direct threats to their homelands rather than echo the ayatollah in declaring America the “Great Satan.”

Euronats will counter that, absent American influence, the continent will easily resolve all its problems. Immigrants will be deported, hate speech laws will be lifted, liberalism will be cancelled, and a mighty imperium will rise from the ashes. While some things will certainly change, it may not be for the better. Leftism is not a foreign import from the Yanks. The French Revolution and Marxism both emerged from Europe. Social democrats were popular well before the Marshall Plan and NATO. Europe was not living in BASED and Redpilled harmony–complete with universally popular monarchies and beloved hierarchies–prior to 1945. It has a strong leftist tradition of its own, and it will continue to exist regardless of US influence.

European leaders are perfectly capable of carrying on terrible left-wing policies independent of America. In the midst of the row over Greenland, the EU proudly announced an “Anti-Racism Strategy” to zealously curb this menace. The EU also recently instituted a draconian censorship bill, the Digital Services Act, that would further limit “hate speech” and “misinformation” on tech platforms. The DSA is fervently opposed by the U.S. government. In Germany, prominent lawmakers wish to ban the nationalist Alternative for Germany, an idea vocally criticized by the Trump administration.

There’s also the matter that an anti-American Europe may even be more constrained to keep liberal immigration policies. In freeing itself from America, the EU will need to seek new allies. Europe will likely expand its relationships with China and India. During the spat with Greenland, European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that the body is on the cusp of a historic deal with India. Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders announced that they would be inviting China to invest more in Europe.

Both India and China have a vested interest in keeping immigration open. Both countries have demanded the Trump administration to continue to allow their respective peoples to immigrate in large numbers to the U.S. Administration policy, regardless of Trump’s odd comments on the matter, has reduced Chinese and Indian immigration. Europe, being in a much weaker position than America, would be less likely to resist the demands of these Asian powers. As America moves towards immigration restriction, China and India could see Europe as the new outlet for its students and excess population.

It’s not irrational for Europeans to throw a fit over Greenland, but it is strange that this issue seems to draw more ire from normie Europeans than that of immigrant crime. The line that the Greenland issue will ruin nationalist parties on the continent seems to indicate Euros will suddenly forget about immigration and vote for establishment parties that opened the borders to stick it to Uncle Sam. Fortunately, I don’t think that will be the case and there will be minimal damage to nationalists. But it is notable that an obsessive anti-Americanism could make this possible.

It’s far more comforting to believe an outside power is responsible for a nation’s woes. A number of American conservatives tried to blame the George Floyd riots on China because it was easier than admitting our own libtard problem. The same can be said of Europeans wishing to blame America for its many problems. It would be one thing if increased anti-Americanism made Europeans more inclined to vote for nationalist parties and build up a strong continent. But it seems to be utilized by Eurocrats to get their peoples to rally to the EU flag and the crooked establishment.

Like in America, Europe’s problems are internal and deserve the primary focus of its right-wing movements. It would be idiotic for Americans to see Europeans as their enemies and to embrace anti-Europeanism as a rally cry. It should be rightfully mocked as this would ignore our actual issues. The same can be said for European anti-Americanism.

It’s fundamentally a cope to avoid addressing internal problems and to deny agency for your own people. Europe will never be great again if it’s only united by petty resentment of the U.S.

[Editor’s note: You can now preorder Scott Greer’s new book, “Whitepill: The Online Right and the Making of Trump’s America,” from this link.]