Desarrollo del proyecto

In general, the main Satanic churches’ relationship to racism and anti- Semitism is best characterized as systematically ambiguous. It is a pattern already seen in the Temple of Set’s racialist reading list, LaVey and Gilmore’s consistently mixed messages, and Gilmore’s endorsement /nonendorsement of racial neo-pagan occultism. It is a tradition continued today by Church of Satan Magister James Sass (aka Magister Svengali), another former Charles Manson pen pal who flaunts his links to the incarcerated killer and promotes James Mason’s Siege from his blogs. Like many Church of Satan members he maintains a neither-confirm-nor-deny stance toward controversial issues. In a blog post titled “Am I a Racist? Do I Care?” Sass declares: “I love ambiguity, especially because most people can’t handle it”:

My pureblood peckerwood ancestors owned slaves in North America. What do I think about “reparations” for slavery? I demand “reparations” . . . I want my slaves back! [. . .]

A lot of so-called “racism” in the world is justified, because most people look, think, and act like caricatures of themselves drawn by their worst enemies.

I’m also not someone to hide behind “misanthropy” saying “I hate all people equally”, like some kind of half-assed politically correct loser trying to be “edgy”. I do detest the human race as a whole, but some groups are more deserving than others, at different times and for various reasons, and I won’t hesitate to “call a spade a spade” if the shoe fits. I don’t care what color your mammy was, her offspring should suffer the swift consequences of their own idiocy.40

Sass’s emphasis on ambiguity allows controversial claims to be addressed with- out clarification. The issue of slavery is addressed with a joke, racism is largely “justified,” yet excused as part of his general prejudice and misanthropy, and any clear articulation of his views becomes ensnared in a bottleneck of clichés. Although controversial topics have been raised, the reader is left more baffled than informed: “some [racial] groups are more deserving than others,” but just which ones is left unanswered. All of which fits well with the magister’s per- sonal motto: “Admit nothing. Deny everything. Make counter-accusations.”41

This refusal to state a clear position is evident throughout Satanism and is a common defense against charges of Nazi and fascist leanings, racism, and

anti-Semitism. Rather than present a clear position on any of these issues, Satanists instead issue spurious, noncommittal denials that are inevitably fol- lowed by contradictory or mitigating comments.

A similar phenomenon is evident in the widespread appropriation of Nazi iconography such as the Wolfsangle, sig runes, Black Sun motif, and Toten- kopf ( Death’s Head). In defending their use, Satanists draw attention to their historical origins, as most have origins that precede their Nazi application, some stretching centuries back into the past. The swastika is a prime example, as its different forms have a lengthy history and are still used extensively in Eastern faiths. What this defense fails to explain is why, of all the traditional runes and symbols available, Satanists almost exclusively adopt those with well-established Nazi associations. More specifically, they adopt the primary iconography of the SS, the Nazi’s own elite order. With these symbols, many of the pre-Nazism connections are questionable. Of the numerous permuta- tions of the Wolfsangle, Satanists adopt the form used by the SS and contem- porary fascist organizations. Likewise, the Totenkopf used in the nineteenth century by the Prussian military was markedly more cartoonish than the SS’s Death’s Head version, which is the version Church of Satan members use. The Black Sun motif is even less ambiguous. Though based on medieval German symbols, the Wewelsburg mosaic is a unique design commissioned specifically for Himmler, and its primary contemporary association is Nazi occultism, for which Nazi Satanic groups and esoteric neo-Nazis adopt it. Furthermore, Nazi symbols are frequently used in combination with each other, such as the popular image of a Totenkopf superimposed over a Wolfs- angle. When the Church of Satan Emporium (its online store), for example, advertises its Wolfsangle rings backgrounded by a Black Sun motif, there can be little doubt of the reference being made by two primary symbols of the SS. Despite the systematic exploitation of ambiguity, any denial that Nazi sym- bols are being used as Nazi symbols is both disingenuous and unconvincing.

The result of these evasions is that more moderate Satanists accept the denials at face value and are unable to assess them objectively. British Satanist Gavin Baddeley addressed the Church’s far right involvement with apparent distaste in his book Lucifer Rising. Although obviously uncomfortable with individuals such as Schreck, Rice, and Moynihan, Baddeley however fails to address—or recognize—why Satanists find themselves drawn to fascist im- agery and Nazi ideology. Baddeley’s primary concern, evidently, is to protect the reputation of LaVey, which he continued in the short 2006 documen- tary The Devil’s Disciples. “Even if you think that LaVey is a complete fraud, even if you think that he preached proto-fascism . . . the fact remains that he is a fascinating character who clearly had his finger on a particular pulse at a particular point in history.” The fact that LaVey is an interesting character is evidently more important to Satanists like Baddeley than his popularizing of

fascist doctrines. The fact that neo-Nazis have their fingers on the same pulse doesn’t occur to Baddeley, who regards The Satanic Bible as “largely common sense with a good dose of blasphemous outrage,”42 _{“a manual for productive}

misfits and creative outsiders.”43 _{Baddeley, it is worth noting, has few preten-}

sions of objectivity—he acknowledges prominently that LaVey made him a priest of the Church of Satan while he was researching Lucifer Rising.