Mo Asumang – The Aryans

Mo Asumang’s Die Arier (The Aryans) focuses on the question “What does Aryan mean?” and the origins and reasons behind the usage of the word. She is told by many Germans that Aryan simply means ‘German-blooded’, but these same people refuse to call her an Aryan regardless of her German roots, because of her skin color. The more probing Mo does, the more bigotry she faces. In German Nationalist zones, she experiences a culture where people of color, LGBT+ people, and disabled people are not welcome. And still, these people claim that Aryan means German citizenship and an acceptance of German values and ideals. Linguistically, the word Aryan has roots in the East, in India and Iran; not Europe. A kind of ethnogenesis occurred, where German citizens chose to identify as ‘Aryan’ to elevate themselves over races of people who they considered to be inferior. Upon this discovery, Mo travelled to Iran herself to speak with the true Aryan people, Iranian shepherds. These people were kind and sympathetic and ashamed of how their culture had been twisted into racist ideology. At this point, Mo travelled to the United States to speak with the SPLC about Aryan hate groups within America. Dozens of so-called ‘Aryan’ groups dotted the lists of the SPLC. Speaking with one of the racist leaders of a prominent hate group, Mo was told that she was a product of ‘gene-hijacking’; i.e. when a black person seeks to improve their genes by intermarrying with a white person. Members of the Klu Klux Klan told her that ‘Nobody is a racist in the Klan’. The end of the film showed the beginnings of a transformation of a Nationalist Aryan supporter as he saw his mistakes and began to right his wrongs.

In all of this, Mo Asumang has the firm belief that people are not inherently racist and that their hearts can change. Her own grandmother raised her, abandoning her racist views for one of love towards her granddaughter. Mostly, she experienced subtle racism within Germany, not constant radical racism. Due to racism, she has been kicked out of her home, had her head bashed in, and not known how to identify for most of her life. Only recently has Mo been able to call herself German. She dealt with the racism as if it were within her family, because in reality, Germany is exactly that. Her family.

When I asked Mo about the current civil rights movement within America, she had some very poignant words on the subject. She said, the in the United States there is so much suppressed anger, hundreds of years’ worth. Anger that has been carried over generations. But people cannot deal with that anger and hate, because that is exactly what the racists want. If you rely on anger, they will use it to ‘justify’ their racism. Instead, you must look for any possibilities to be creative. Be creative with your person and your thoughts, be innovative in ways that suit society. We cannot be lazy. We cannot wait for others to change. We have to be the positive change for others.

Continually, Mo Asumang stresses that there is no blonde, blue-eyed master race. We are people. All of us.

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