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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat is the Alt-right?
Have you heard the term "alt-right"? Did you know the definition?
Hillary mentioned "alt-right" in her speech the other day. The term has been around for months and I never knew what it meant. So I googled it and clicked on Wikipedia. Here's what I got.
Joy Reid covered "alt-right" for an hour this morning on MSNBC. Good for her. This topic needs to have a very bright spotlight focused on it. They are the "white-supremacist" scum that infect our society. And one of their ilk is now Trump's main man, the ex CEO of the hate site called Breitbart.
Response to Cyrano (Original post)
kestrel91316 This message was self-deleted by its author.
Cyrano
(15,035 posts)Hillary brought it up in her speech. As I said, I didn't know what it meant. And to my surprise, most DUers were only now, becoming aware of the term.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)MicaelS
(8,747 posts)I had not paid any attention to them up until 2 weeks ago. I started reading up them and was shocked, disgusted and appalled by what these people believed. I simply am amazed that otherwise apparently educated and intelligent men espouse the visceral hatred these people do. I am utterly disgusted by them.
Response to Cyrano (Original post)
Post removed
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)It's my generation's version of the morons 20 years ago ranting about "liberal political correctness", same RW bullshit about "easily offended college kids".
If you don't think they are White Supremacists you have been fooled by their propaganda, they are virulent racists who hate blacks and Muslims.
Marr
(20,317 posts)This habit of casually labeling anything that doesn't mesh with your personal opinion as inherently racist, or misogynist, or somehow 'tainted' by right-wing thought, is off-putting for a lot of people.
I disagree with you on the origins and nature of the phrase 'social justice warrior', as well. I consider myself to be a very liberal Democrat, and the phrase doesn't connote right-wing politics for me nearly so much as a particular brand of safe-space-grown, social media-nurtured, hyper-delicate, perpetually outraged attention seeker.
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)did you ever notice how claims of "harassment" and "misogyny" are usually followed up with pleads for donations?
Funny that.
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)Is now questioning the harassment of women game designers.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Or are you so incapable of nuance that you confuse criticizing censorship and extremist identity politics with defending fascism and white nationalism?
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)I thought you were defending people who doxxed, threatened and spent several years harrassing female game designers.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Because you can't possibly have deduced that I condone criminal activity from any of the above posts.
Unless your inability to comprehend nuance is getting in the way again, and you're just attempting to poison the well because you have nothing substantive to say.
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)You are defending Gamergaters, saying that the women who were maligned and harassed by them were looking for handouts. It's a pretty simple deduction that you are sympathetic to the harassers, who were committing crimes, since you are implying that the women are being less than honest about the situation. You #notallgamer'd me about disagreeing with Anita Sarkeesian, who wasn't actually the subject of Gamergate (that would have been Zoe Quinn). But you did recognize that I was linking Gamergaters to the alt-right, because, for the most part they run in the same circles.
So yes, I question your motives for arguing that you'd prefer more nuance in arguments with racists while implying that "social justice warriors" are "censorship-happy, emotionally-fragile, entitled brats."
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Frankly, I think it's a little suspicious that Anita Sarkeesian raised over a million dollars for the purpose of producing videos--she's produced three over a two year period--and usually timed her fundraisers to coincide with the "harassment" she would get--usually in the form of people disagreeing with her and calling her a scammer.
And that's not to mention her and Zoe Quinn running off to Google and the UN to get them to start censoring their critics under the guise of "preventing harassment."
So, again, you'll have to point out where you got the idea that GamerGate is overrun with white nationalists and fascists, because the major figures identified with the movement are primarily liberals and libertarians.
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)Because it has been widely reported since the beginning that it is a right wing movement, part of the ongoing culture war. That's why people like Milo Yianoppoulos and Vox Day are involved with it. That's why it bubbles out of the libertarian cesspools like 4Chan, and I'm sure it wouldn't take too long browsing r/KotakuinAction (or its Sad Puppy inspired cousin r/TorInAction) to find plenty of alt-right talking points.
I'll take your word that you really do believe the women are not being harassed but are exploiting it for money (ignoring the contradiction there). I'll take your word that you're not really part of the alt-right movement - you seem to post a lot of stuff I otherwise agree with and have added some excellent discussions to the site.
But to deny the link between the alt-right and Gamergate is incredibly naive.
I saw the people that rose out of the cesspool of twitter during the Sad Puppies debacle in SFF Fandom - I know the prominent pups and gators, and there is a lot of cross-pollination that is openly endorsed by the alt-right. And they all seem to work nice anti-semitic memes about Anita Sarkeesian into the discussion.
So enjoy your company.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)...even if they are not.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)I'm a liberal, and I despise the censorship-happy, emotionally-fragile, entitled brats of my generation who base their entire worth on how oppressed and triggered they are rather than what they've accomplished.
Bradical79
(4,490 posts)white_wolf
(6,238 posts)It's the same political correctness bullshit the right has been going on about for decades. Anyone who dares call someone out for their bigotry is labeled a social justice warrior. Anytime a site writes an article discussing women's issues or racism, it's flooded with trolls complaining about social justice warriors.
Marr
(20,317 posts)and broadly as others apply words like 'racist' and 'misogynist'.
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)uppityperson
(115,677 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)I don't think this is a terribly religious bunch, that is probably what makes them "alt".
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)One is from alt-right HQ (to the extent that there is an HQ), but is full of good references and information, and yes, even some insight since they are embedded.
The other is moderated by large numbers of people who insist on clarity and neutrality and reliable reputable sources. No making stuff up ("original research" .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right
The alt-right has no official ideology, but various sources have described it as a loosely defined conservative movement that is associated with white nationalism,{7}{8}{9} white supremacism,{7}{10}{11} antisemitism,{7}{9}{12} right-wing populism,{13}{14} nativism,{15}{16} and the neoreactionary movement.{17}{18}
The alt-right has been said to be a largely online movement with Internet memes widely used to advance or express its beliefs, often on websites such as 4chan.{10}{12}{19}{20}
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/03/29/an-establishment-conservatives-guide-to-the-alt-right/
(from near the end)
The intellectuals are animated by a similar thrill: after being taken for granted for centuries, theyre the ones who get to pick apart some of the Enlightenments dead dogmas. The 1488ers just hate everyone; fortunately they keep mostly to themselves.
The really interesting members of the alt-right though, and the most numerous, are the natural conservatives. They are perhaps psychologically inclined to be unsettled by threats to western culture from mass immigration and maybe by non-straight relationships. Yet, unlike the 1488ers, the presence of such doesnt send them into fits of rage. They want to build their homogeneous communities, sure but they dont want to commit any pogroms along the way. Indeed, they would prefer non-violent solutions.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)The alt-right is a segment of right-wing ideologies presented as an alternative to mainstream conservatism in the United States.{1}{2} It has been described as a movement unified by support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump,{3}{4}{5} as well as by opposition to multiculturalism and immigration.{6}{7}
The alt-right has no official ideology, but various sources have described it as a loosely defined conservative movement that is associated with white nationalism,{7}{8}{9} white supremacism,{7}{10}{11} antisemitism,{7}{9}{12} right-wing populism,{13}{14} nativism,{15}{16} and the neoreactionary movement.{17}{18}
The alt-right has been said to be a largely online movement with Internet memes widely used to advance or express its beliefs, often on websites such as 4chan.{10}{12}{19}{20}
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)pampango
(24,692 posts)a long time. Not sure why they had to rename it "alt-right".
happydaze
(46 posts)All of a sudden, alt-right is popping up all over the place by corporate media and establishment politicians. To me this is a way for the establishment Republicans, who first propped up the crazies in their parties, threw tons of astro-turfing money behind these people, their crazy web-sites, and have used the "other" narrative to motivate party members to the polls and have them believe in wild-assed conspiracies. It's now not working for TPTB who really just used the Republican brand to prop up their business and profits, while thieving more from their own base. It's also given them candidates like Palin and now, even worse, Trump.
So, now, the alt-right will become like progressive liberals of the Dem base. They will be marginalized, they won't gain financial support by people like the Koch Bro's, and they will begin dropping "social" issues as a means to win elections because its not working for them anywhere outside of Middle America and the South (depending on region). Watch, establishment politicians begin this "re-brand" of working in "bi-partisan" fashion, creating immigration reform (that will benefit the wealthy in the best manner), work with the ACA to prop up the corrupt system of private insurance companies, pass free trade agreements, and essentially try to win back some of the youth of America who are more economically "conservative".
I don't like it. It's going to allow the Republicans to "come back".
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)with respect to our current situation. We have a hell of a time getting anything bipartisan to happen right now.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)It's pretty popular among the "Libertechian" crowd because any of the ideologists of the Alt-Right tell the techie libertarian types that they are superior to the "stupid normies".
HerrKarlMarx
(37 posts)At least traditional right wingers attempt to explain their hatred with some semi-logical excuses. The alt-right says 'I hate b*thches, n*ggers, and f*ggots, and I want as many people as possible to know.'
ansible
(1,718 posts)That's pretty much it.
Soxfan58
(3,479 posts)Or 4th reich take your pick
Stellar
(5,644 posts)Video: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/us/politics/alt-right-reaction.html?_r=0
Mrs. Clintons speech was intended to link Mr. Trump to a fringe ideology of conspiracies and hate, but for the leaders of the alt-right, the attention from the Democratic presidential nominee was a moment in the political spotlight that offered a new level of credibility. It also provided a valuable opportunity for fund-raising and recruiting.
Jared Taylor, editor of the white nationalist publication American Renaissance, live-tweeted Mrs. Clintons remarks, questioning her praise of establishment Republicans and eagerly anticipating her discussion of his community.
Come on, Hillary, he wrote. Talk about Alt Right.
In an ode to Mr. Trumps characterization of Jeb Bush, Mr. Taylor described her speech as low energy.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)Divisive assholes that have no shame at all.
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)Saw a clip of Hillary speaking about it today and then your post. The definition seems to fit what the Trump campaign has been about.
Albertoo
(2,016 posts)Many members of the alt-right are religious fundies who see Israel as associates.
The antisemitic part of the alt-right is roughly the Stormfront usual suspects.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)The whole point is that there needs to be a homeland for ALL the Jews to return to so that they can all be wiped out to kick off the Revelation. Many of them also believe that the formation of the modern state of Israel set off some sort of theological clock on the end times, though that argument is used less often as time passes and the world doesn't end.
But the two viewpoints are by no means mutually exclusive, and many of the people espousing them continue to have the same terrible beliefs about individual Jews even if they see the existence of a Jewish state as important to their theology.
For example the most prominent proponent of Christian Fundamentalist political support for Judaism, John Hagee, has made comments saying that he believes that Hitler was doing God's work in driving Jews out of Europe and thus triggering the formation of the Jewish state.
Trady catholics might have an even worse anti-semitism problem.
Albertoo
(2,016 posts)yes, that might be the fundie religious 'rationale'
(supposing religions have coherent rationales)
But in practice, I'd say it's a safe bet to say a solid half of the fundies support Israel as an outpost of 'judeo-christian values' -whatever this might mean-.
sweetloukillbot
(11,010 posts)Warning: Seriously offensive shit here...
http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/08/26/after-hillary-puts-them-in-the-spotlight-nazis-nazi-splain-the-alt-right-on-twitter/#more-24843
Kingofalldems
(38,454 posts)Albertoo
(2,016 posts)I suppose I'm missing on something, but hey, can't be reading everything
closeupready
(29,503 posts)JMHO.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)what they really are.
Amishman
(5,557 posts)and hurting people's feelings
The bigoted hate speech hits a nerve and gets attention, so they ramp that up
Clinton is on top, so they support Trump on the bottom. They don't actually believe in Trump, they just want to wreak shit.
marybourg
(12,631 posts)in her usual thorough manner this morning on NPR.