Of Expats and Proud Boys

Before living in Latin America, I wouldn’t say I was ashamed of being white. But I didn’t think it was special. And growing up in the 90s, anything but white had a moment as special. Maybe they’re still having a moment. But living in Latin America will make being white feel special.

It’s impossible not to notice the premium placed on light skin in Latin America. You see any country’s most revered actors and actresses, the models used in advertisements for consumer products, the news anchors, everybody in the limelight except maybe the soccer players. If you only watched popular media, you could believe you’re in a white-majority country. Living in Latin America led me to embrace my whiteness more than the United States ever did.

I’ve learned that mentalities change quickly, but in the 2000s it was common for the old friend or friend of a friend you had in whatever country to parade you around town, showing off their gringo contacts. It was a status symbol. Just being white was a status symbol. Maybe it’s not like that anymore, but it was a common phenomenon.

One of my first experiences once settled in was at the Peruvian office. One of the women working there was a tall ginger. Skin as fair as mine and hair even redder. She wasn’t bad looking at all, but nothing special in the States. But the Peruvian men just drooled over her. It was hard for me to believe in my rookie year. I used to push back against the word, “exotic,” but a Peruvian redhead absolutely benefits from, as one dictionary defines the word, “[being] strange or different in a way that is striking or fascinating; strangely beautiful, enticing.”

Latinos have a saying, “mejorando la raza” – improving the race. It generally means when gringos procreate with their countrymen and countrywomen. In their mind, introducing white blood is improving the bloodline. It’s thrown about casually. I’ve had cab drivers say it to me, almost in a grateful way.

The only men who I’ve known in the States who “embraced their whiteness” got that mentality in prison, where it’s a tribal, survival strategy. For me, it wasn’t out of necessity. It was receiving first-class treatment in Latin America.

Live in that kind of society long enough and you’ll start to appreciate your whiteness too. You’ll start to scrutinize the features of everyday Latinos. How white are they? I’d say I was fairly colorblind in Gringolandia. Not so after a decade in Latin America.

But the seeds were always there. Who didn’t love Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York? None of my ancestors were in the States then, they would have been the object of Bill’s scorn. But I’ve marveled at Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal and I’ve recited The Butcher’s lines over decades.

The character of Bill the Butcher certainly inspired Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys organization. To be clear, I don’t agree with the Proud Boys’ politics. But on paper, their oath is, “I’m a proud Western chauvinist, I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.” My proud Western chauvinism is a prominent feature of this blog, and I don’t apologize for it.

I would take issue with the last bit, “creating the modern world.” I did not create the modern world any more than I fought for American independence. I didn’t fight to free the slaves, or own slaves for that matter. I didn’t brave the dangerous sea on a boat over here to pull myself up by bootstraps. But I am proud of American and European history. I have that in common with the Proud Boys.

Everybody has a little racial pride too. Especially in the fight sports, fans cheer for fighters who look like them. It’s human nature, and it’s not just white people who feel that way.

Do you know a fake patriot who owns a little too much American flag gear? Have him watch Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder fights. Who does he cheer for, the (black) American or the (white) Englishman? I’ll bet dollars to donuts that nine times out of 10, if not 10 times, the MAGA patriot cheers for the Englishman to defeat the American.

When I first got to Peru, I was surprised to learn how crazy people thought it was to drink a glass of milk. Some Peruvians open a can of evaporated milk mix a few ounces with water for a recipe, but they would never drink a full glass of cold, pasteurized milk. I researched ethnicities’ lactose tolerance and learned, throughout the world, only white nations had centuries-old traditions of drinking cow’s milk. Particularly northern European regions.

So when I was in a bulking phase in Colombia, I would make a big show of myself at the store or in the gym drinking a full liter bag of milk (on the GOMAD diet). I later learned of a neo-Nazi group that chugged milk as a ritual. Weird. At 6’3 and a sturdy heavyweight, I used to take pride in my northern European stature.

Readers who have been around since before my marriage may recall an affair with a Colombian woman who I wondered was affiliated with white supremacy. I was only barely aware of the Colombian Nazi scene at that time. She played black metal and had a full-sized SS flag in her room. Her roommate had short blonde hair like a boy. They were both blondes. And racist comments were bandied about.

In hindsight, I was completely naïve. Of course she was in the Nazi scene. And of course a gringo who looks like me walking around Bogota would get snatched by one of them eventually.

It’s probably politically incorrect, or at least creepy, to say I’m proud of my whiteness. But people of every race want to be proud of who they are and what they look like, and their genetic kin. It’s human nature. Latin America brought it out.

I was associated with the “alt right” scene because I was allies with many in the manosphere. I wasn’t into any of their political ideas though. I was just a proud Western chauvinist who didn’t want to apologize for my culture.

The problem is that when white people get too into the race question, they can cause atrocities. Genocides. If it ever came down to a worldwide race war, we know who wins. And that is exactly why true proud boys exercise restraint toward our fellow man. Truly strong white men should be vigilant against white supremacy, because the real world is not a prison.

In today’s strongest societies (which were set up by white men), all races, religions and ethnicities can get along and thrive together. And I am proud of that.