Young White Supremacists Build a “Whites-Only” Town, But They Can’t Agree on Who Gets In

Yesterday, Channel 5 released a documentary that quickly became one of the most discussed videos on the internet. It showcases a group of young white nationalists in rural Arkansas attempting to build what they call “Return to the Land,” a private community explicitly restricted to people of “European heritage.” The footage is uncomfortable and occasionally absurd. But buried in the cringe is a moment that cuts to the very heart of America’s oldest lie.

When the interviewer asks the community’s leader, Eric Orwoll, a seemingly straightforward question—"Who counts as white?"—he stumbles.

Can Greeks live there? “They’re European,” Orwoll replies. What about Central Asian Caucasians? He pauses, “They’re not European.” The interviewer discusses the idea that white people originated in the Caucasus, then asks about Italians from Staten Island who insist they’re “not white.” Orwoll begins explaining the “historical uses of the term white” before conceding that Italians and Irish were, for legal reasons, “always considered white.”

As the conversation continues, Orwoll discusses the application process and accidentally brings up another edge case. He admits that prospective members sometimes pass the interview only to mention, almost as an afterthought, “Oh yeah, but I have a Colombian wife.” That, he explains, is “kind of contrary to our values as an association.” The interviewer presses: what if the Colombian wife is 100% Spanish-blooded? Orwoll considers this for a moment. “Well, then it’s probably fine.”

“Probably fine”. The man building a whites-only ethnostate cannot tell you with certainty who qualifies. He’s making it up as he goes. And that, whether he realizes it or not, is exactly how race has always worked in America.

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The Myth of the Caucasian

The term “Caucasian,” which Orwoll and his followers invoke with an almost religious reverence, has a rather embarrassing origin story. In 1795, a