A profoundly new political movement has made its way to the political discussion. During the 2016 presidential election, a far right wing group made its home on the internet within the comment section of particular websites such as Youtube, Twitter, Reddit and mainly 4Chan.
This group is called the “alternative right (alt-right)” or as the internet has dubbed them: the “alt-right.” They first hit mainstream a year ago, when Hillary Clinton tied them to Donald Trump in a speech she gave during the general election on August 25, 2016.
They were here before that.
The “alt-right”, unlike the political left, dominate the internet with their memes and trolling comments. They even went as far as getting the notorious meme, Pepe the Frog to claim as a sort of banner, the being described as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL); a really dumb move by the ADL.
They have become the alternative to establishment conservatism, such as your Paul Ryan’s, Marco Rubio’s, John McCain’s and so on.
The “alt-right” believes that the color of one’s skin should determine certain outcomes of certain policy. They thrive off political policy that benefits the white race. This is nothing more than identitarianism, or simply put: “identity politics.”
Many in political commentary say that the “alt-right” thrives primarily in hatred, which is objectionable. Though there obviously is hate in their racist ideology, the primary emotion is fear — fear that a country that was once theirs (or their ancestors’) is being taken from them from a diverse group of people; a fear that western culture is being diminished by allowing migrants from south of the border and from non-European countries overseas; a fear that whites aren’t reproducing enough; a fear of what many of them coin as a “white genocide” is getting ready to happen.
Nothing more than inexpensive paranoia and crackpot conspiracy theories, victimhood and oppression is key in their rhetoric.
The “alt-right” does not believe in the ideas of the enlightenment, such as individualism. They believe everyone is part of a collective and that is determine by the color of one’s skin. They denounce the free market and the freedom of movement.
To them, “culture” is synonymous with race and skin color. They fail to make a distinction. They fail to acknowledge that culture is something that can be shared and that it is bound to change over time.
They carry cheap nationalism for the West, while simultaneously fearing and fighting against the melting pot that is the West.
They may be white nationalist or white supremacist, but the ideology that they hold is neither superior nor nationalistic. It’s a knock off of that which once was and that which will never be again. Their ideology will suffocate and die in the market of ideas.
Alt-right ideology must be, and will be, intellectually ridiculed, mocked and treated with contempt. No tiki torch holding march will stop that, no matter how high the flames on those torches are.
