In this article, we explore how talk about Nazis is used in Internet discussions regarding asylum seeking, and the issue of whether or not opposition to asylum seeking is racist. Discursive analysis was conducted on discussions about asylum seeking from the social networking website Facebook, where references to Nazis were made. Three strategies were identified: (1) people supporting asylum seeking accuse asylum opponents of being racist by referring to Nazis; (2) opponents of asylum seeking deal with such accusations by arguing that the debate is being suppressed because of references to Nazis; (3) in the final, and most striking, strategy, opponents of asylum draw upon ideas associated with the Nazis and Hitler to bring about their anti-asylum position. These findings are discussed in relation to how the link between Nazis and racism is emerging in the asylum debate.
AtkinsonJ (1984) Public speaking and audience responses: Some techniques for inviting applause. In: AtkinsonJHeritageJ (eds) Structures of Social Action: Studies in Conversation Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 370–409.
2.
AugoustinosMEveryD (2007) The language of ‘race’ and prejudice: A discourse of denial, reason, and liberal-practical politics. Journal of Language and Social Psychology26: 123–144.
3.
BilligM (1978) Fascists: A Social Psychological View of the National Front. London: Academic Press.
4.
BilligM (1988) The notion of ‘prejudice’: Some rhetorical and ideological aspects. Text8(1–2): 91–110.
5.
BilligM (2001) Humour and hatred: The racist jokes of the Klu Klux Klan. Discourse & Society12(3): 267–289.
6.
BilligM (2002) Henri Tajfel’s ‘cognitive aspects of prejudice’ and the psychology of bigotry. British Journal of Social Psychology41: 171–188.
BlochASchusterL (2005) Asylum policy under New Labour. Benefits13(2): 115–118.
9.
BombergerA (2004) Ranting about race: Crushed eggshells in computer-mediated communication. Computers and Composition21(2): 197–216.
10.
CapdevilaRCallaghanJ (2008) ‘It’s not racist, it’s common sense’: A critical analysis of political discourse around asylum and immigration in the UK. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18: 1–16.
11.
ClouderDGoodmanSBluteauPJacksonADaviesBMerrimanL (2011) An investigation of ‘agreement’ in the context of interprofessional discussion online: A ‘netiquette’ of interprofessional learning?Journal of Interprofessional Care25(2): 112–118.
12.
CrawleyH (2010) Chance or Choice? Understanding Why Asylum Seekers Come to the UK. London: The Refugee Council.
13.
EdwardsD (2003) Analyzing racial discourse: The discursive psychology of mind–world relationships. In Van den BergHWetherellMHoutkoop-SteenstraH (eds) Analyzing Race Talk: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Interview. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 31–48.
EveryDAugoustinosM (2007) Constructions of racism in the Australian parliamentary debates on asylum seekers. Discourse & Society (18)4: 411–436.
16.
FiggouLCondorS (2006) Irrational categorization, natural intolerance and reasonable discrimination: Lay representations of prejudice and racism. British Journal of Social Psychology45: 219–243.
17.
GoffmanE (1981) Forms of Talk. Oxford: Blackwell.
18.
GoodmanS (2007) Constructing asylum seeking families. Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines1(1): 36–50.
19.
GoodmanS (2008) Justifying the harsh treatment of asylum seekers on the grounds of social cohesion. Annual Review of Critical Psychology6: 110–124.
20.
GoodmanS (2010) ‘It’s not racist to impose limits on immigration’: Constructing the boundaries of racism in the asylum and immigration debate. Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines4(1): 1–17.
21.
GoodmanSBurkeS (2010) ‘Oh you don’t want asylum seekers, oh you’re just racist’: A discursive analysis of discussions about whether it’s racist to oppose asylum seeking. Discourse & Society21(3): 1–16.
22.
GoodmanSBurkeS (2011) Discursive deracialization in talk about asylum seeking. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology21(2): 111–123.
23.
GoodmanSSpeerS (2007) Category use in the construction of asylum seekers. Critical Discourse Studies4(2): 165–185.
24.
GuerinB (2003) Combating prejudice and racism: New interventions from a functional analysis of racist language. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology13: 29–45.
25.
HynesTSalesR (2009) New communities: Asylum seekers and dispersal. In: BlochASolomosJ (eds) Race and Ethnicity in the 21st Century. Aldershot: Palgrave Macmillan, 39–61.
26.
JeffersonG (1990) List construction as a task and resource. In: PsathasG (ed.) Interaction Competence. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 63–92.
27.
KushinMKitchenerK (2009) Getting political on network sites: Exploring online political discourse on Facebook. First Monday, 14November.
28.
LeudarINekvapilJ (2004) Media dialogical networks and political argumentation. Journal of Language and Politics3: 247–266.
29.
LewisM (2005) Asylum: Understanding Public Attitudes. London: Institute for Public Policy Research.
30.
LynnNLeaS (2003) ‘A phantom menace and the new apartheid’: The social construction of asylum-seekers in the United Kingdom. Discourse & Society (14)4: 425–452.
PomerantzAM (1986) Extreme case formulations: A way of legitimizing claims. Human Studies9(2–3): 219–230.
33.
PotterJ (1997) Discourse analysis as a way of analysing naturally occurring talk. In: SilvermanD (ed.) Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and Practice. London: SAGE, 144–160.
34.
PotterJWetherellM (1987) Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour. London: SAGE.
SpeerSPotterJ (2000) The management of heterosexist talk: Conversational resources and prejudiced claims. Discourse & Society11(4): 543–572.
37.
StewartE (2005) Exploring the vulnerability of asylum seekers in the UK. Population, Space and Place11(6): 499–512.
38.
TajfelHTurnerJC (1986) The social identity theory of inter-group behaviour. In: WorchelSAustinW (eds) Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Chicago: Nelson Hall.
39.
Van Der ValkI (2003) Right-wing parliamentary discourse on immigration in France. Discourse & Society14(3): 309–348.
40.
Van DijkTA (1991) Racism and the Press. London: Routledge.
41.
Van DijkTA (1992) Discourse and the denial of racism. Discourse & Society3(1): 87–118.
42.
Van DijkTA (1993a) Denying racism: Elite discourse and racism. In: SolomosJWrenchJ (eds) Racism and Migration in Western Europe. Oxford: Berg, 179–193.
43.
Van DijkTA (1993b) Elite Discourse and Racism. London: SAGE.
44.
Van DijkTATing-ToomeySSmithermanGTroutmanD (1997) Discourse, ethnicity, culture and racism. In: van DijkT (ed.) Discourse as Social Interaction. London: SAGE, 144–180.
45.
VerkuytenM (2005) Immigration discourses and their impact on multiculturalism: A discursive and experimental study. British Journal of Social Psychology44: 223–241.
