At a press convention pronouncing that the suspect within the taking pictures of Charlie Kirk were detained, FBI director Kash Patel ended his speech with a private message to his “brother”, pronouncing: “We have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla.”
Many of us commenting at the press convention reacted to this complicated connection with Valhalla with a mix of amusement and disdain, with some mentioning the contradiction of eulogising a Christian nationalist on the subject of the pagan afterlife.
For students of the Vikings, Patel’s connection with Valhalla gave the impression of one thing way more sinister. To grasp why, we want to know each what Valhalla supposed to the Vikings, and what it manner in political discourse lately.
The Norse peoples had a advanced idea of the afterlife. The fascinating vacation spot for Norse warriors used to be Valhalla, the corridor of the slain, the place Odin watched over his band of selected warriors as they ready for Ragnarök, the world-destroying fight towards the giants. Best those that died a heroic demise in struggle have been delivered to Valhalla via the Valkyries.
Those that died via illness, previous age or coincidence – or who had dedicated homicide and different dishonourable crimes – appear to have been excluded from this martial afterlife. Some believed that that you must cheat the Norse gods via arranging to be buried with intentionally worn and broken guns as for those who had observed heavy struggle. There’s so much we don’t know.
Valhalla via August Malmström (1880)
from Wikimedia Commons
What we do know is that within the Nineteen Thirties the concept that of Valhalla, in conjunction with the picture of the heroic Viking and most of the symbols of Norse mythology, had a profound enchantment to Nazi concept leaders. They regarded to Norse mythology as a survival of a much wider “Germanic” tradition that were erased via Judeo-Christian dominance.
The Nordic “race” used to be held up because the Aryan very best. Norse cultural remnants have been used so as to add legitimacy to the speculation of a wonderful German previous. Heinrich Himmler particularly repurposed Norse symbols to be used via the SS.
Lately, many white supremacist and neo-Nazi teams proceed to logo themselves the usage of a widening vary of symbols taken from Norse mythology. One facet of Norse tradition that has won expanding prominence previously few a long time is the particular co-opting of Valhalla via those that are ready to kill, and die, in the reason for “protecting” an endangered white supremacy.
Valhalla in terrorist manifestos
Probably the most chilling instance of the co-option of the word “see you in Valhalla” is located within the manifestos revealed via far-right terrorists within the wake in their atrocities.
In 2019, Brenton Tarrant performed mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, wherein 51 other folks have been killed. He revealed a rambling manifesto wherein he tried to justify his movements, and touted the “great replacement” conspiracy principle which holds that Jewish elites are intentionally engineering the alternative of white populations thru immigration.
This has since develop into a far-right speaking level and used to be driven via Charlie Kirk on his display. Tarrant signed off his diatribe towards multiculturalism and “white genocide” via pronouncing “Goodbye, god bless you all and I will see you in Valhalla.”
Tarrant in flip influenced different far-right terrorists. One such terrorist, Peyton Gendron, used to be convicted of the Buffalo mass taking pictures in 2022 wherein ten black American citizens have been murdered. Gendron plagiarised a lot of his 180-page manifesto, and in a similar way ends his screed with the observation: “I hope to see you in Valhalla.”
Via invoking Valhalla, those terrorists are making an attempt to forged themselves as warriors within the Viking custom. There may be, in fact, not anything remotely heroic about gunning down unarmed civilians.
However the level is this reference doesn’t require any working out of the Norse custom. On this context it comes immediately from the Nazi’s fetishisation of violent demise to protected the racial purity of Germany.
From terrorists to the FBI
Slightly than borrowing from extremist discourse, Patel could have been influenced by way of “til Valhalla” via the United States marines to honour fallen comrades – together with those that died via suicide. This can be a use which has been traced again to the affect of Norwegian Nato forces in Afghanistan, who could have used “til Valhalla” as one of those fight cry. After all, the optics of the usage of an army honorific to commemorate the assassination of a civilian is problematic in itself.
FBI director, Kash Patel, speaks at Charlie Kirk’s memorial.
Patel’s “see you in Valhalla” used to be a lot nearer in its wording to the log out utilized by far-right terrorists – however even this phraseology used to be not likely to had been lifted immediately from extremists. It’s much more likely an instance of a phenomenon incessantly noticed within the learn about of the far-right on-line ecosystem, which is the seepage of utmost appropriate discourse into extra mainstream areas.
Neo-Nazi teams use memes, shitposting and humour as a planned option to seed increasingly more excessive concepts into teams amenable to their message.
It isn’t onerous to seek out references to Valhalla commercialised, repackaged as inspirational Viking quotes for Maga intake, referencing cancel tradition, and even the usage of Norse video video games as a gateway to white supremacy. On this manner, the extra mainstream appropriate incessantly finally ends up sharing and amplifying extremist messaging.
Patel’s connection with Valhalla used to be on the very least an enormous misstep via a central authority legit seeking to enchantment to the Maga base and carry Kirk’s tragic killing right into a heroic warrior’s demise.
Whilst he won’t have made his connection with Valhalla in wisdom of its affiliation with far-right terrorism, it nonetheless served as a sign to white supremacists. As reported somewhere else, there used to be numerous engagement from the intense appropriate on social media, however their posts tended to ridicule Patel.
His phrases triggered memes on social media enjoying at the obvious absurdity of any individual of Patel’s ethnicity cosplaying as a Viking. And amongst this racially tinged mockery, there used to be additionally some revelling in the truth that a inventory word of violent white supremacy had discovered its manner into the mouth of the director of the FBI.
