Alt-right

For the descriptive term used in several countries for various policies or groups that are right-wing, see New Right. For the online magazine publication based in the United States, see AlternativeRight.com.

The alt-right is a right-wing movement of ideologies that are an alternative to mainstream American conservatism.[1] It has "more in common with European far-right movements than American ones"[2] and is unified by nationalism,[3] opposition to multiculturalism and immigration, rejection of egalitarianism,[2][4] and support for Donald Trump.[2][5][6] The alt-right encompasses neoreaction, racialism, identitarianism, archeofuturism,[7] white nationalism, Southern-secessionism,[2] and other right-wing beliefs. The term was introduced by Richard Spencer’s AlternativeRight.com in 2010, gained prominence in 2015 after being identified by critics, and became more popular in 2016 after being mentioned on television.[2][5][8] The alt-right is younger than mainstream conservatism.[2][5][6]

Origin

The term "alternative right" or "alt-right" was used sporadically in 2008[9] and 2009[10][11] before becoming more frequent after self-described "identitarian". Richard B. Spencer founded AlternativeRight.com in 2010, a journal described by neoconservative Tim Mak as "sexist and racist",[12] and by the Southern Poverty Law Center as far right and racially focused.[13]

Definition

Some in the alt-right describe it as a big tent or collection of belief systems.[7][14] The alt-right encompasses neo-reactionaries, white nationalists, nativists, and many other political position. Commonalities shared across the otherwise loosely defined alt-right include anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist views, disdain for mainstream politics, and strong support for Donald Trump.[6][15][16] This support is largely based on the heavy value the alt-right places on strength and authority.[6][17] Adherents view mainstream conservatives with ridicule and have also been credited for originating and using the term "cuckservative",[2][18] a neologistic epithet described by some as racist.[19] In addition, sources like Newsday and the Cornell Review note the alt-right’s strong opposition to both legal and illegal immigration and their hardline stance on the European migrant crisis.[6][20] In addition, the alt-right has a strong focus on identity.[21] Members of the alt-right use social media and the internet to organize and share their beliefs,[21][22] particularly on image boards like /pol/. The alt-right rejects terms like racist and bigot as meaningless and displays a contempt for political correctness.[18][20]

Reaction

Greg Johnson, then-editor of The Occidental Quarterly, said that Spencer's concept of the "AltRight" was about bringing together a wide variety of intellectual perspectives that are outside the purview of the American conservative movement.[23]

In an article in Buzzfeed, reporter Rosie Gray notes the alt-right uses "aggressive rhetoric and outright racial and anti-Semitic slurs". Gray notes that the alt-right is largely based online, and both supports Donald Trump's candidacy while benefiting from his coattails. Gray quotes a prominent alt-right figure, 52-year-old vlogger Paul Ramsey, as saying that the alt-right are not neo-Nazis, although often some hold similar beliefs, such as Holocaust denial, which they also identify as historical revisionism.[2] Proponents are said to use culture jamming and memes to promote their ideas. Some adherents also refer to themselves as identitarian, and criticize National Review and William F. Buckley for "not openly espousing, among other things, white nationalism, or white identarianism".[24]

The alt-right has also been praised by some in the mainstream right, who see it as injecting youth and energy into the American right-wing. For example, Benjamin Welton of The Weekly Standard praises the alt-right as a "highly heterogeneous force" that refuses to "concede the moral high ground to the left".[18] Although some conservatives have welcomed the alt-right, others on the mainstream right and left[20] have attacked the movement as racist or hateful, particularly given the alt-right’s overt hostility towards mainstream conservatism and the Republican party in general.[2][18] National Review, for example, attacked the alt-right as "wanna-be fascists ... tweeting from their mom's basement" and bemoaned their entry into the national political conversation.[22] Another National Review writer, Jay Nordlinger, attacked the alt-right for their use of gallows humor, their apparent social Darwinism, their perceived artistic homoeroticism, and accused them of embracing Nietzscheanism in place of Christian values.[25]

Michael Dougherty writing in The Week describes the alt-right as radical working class whites dismayed by globalization and the contempt of "permanent members of the political class".[26] However, a Republican strategist who opposes Donald Trump, Rick Wilson, rejected this distinction, calling the alt-right "crazy ... childless single men who masturbate to anime", and who have "plenty of Hitler iconography in their Twitter icons".[27][28] Similarly, Cathy Young writing in Newsday called the alt-right "a nest of anti-Semitism" inhabited by "white supremacists" who regularly use "repulsive bigotry".[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "White Supremacists Relish "Cuckservative" Controversy". 2015-08-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gray, Rosie (2015-07-07). "How 2015 Fueled The Rise Of The Freewheeling, White Nationalist Alt Right Movement - BuzzFeed News". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  3. ↑ Michael Brendan Dougherty (2016-01-19). "How an obscure adviser to Pat Buchanan predicted the wild Trump campaign in 1996". The Week.
  4. ↑ Stevens, Greg (2015-10-31). "When Satanism Met The Internet". Breitbart.
  5. 1 2 3 Betsy Woodruff. "Rush Limbaugh’s Favorite New White-Power Group". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 The Cornell Review (2015-11-12). "STEWART | The 'Alt-Right' and Why You Can't Stump the Trump". Thecornellreview.org. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  7. 1 2 "What Is the #AltRight?". Radixjournal.com. 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  8. ↑ Jan. 20, 2016 2:41am Oliver Darcy (2016-01-20). "GOP Strategist Under Fire After Giving This Vulgar Description of Trump’s ‘Alt-Right’ Fans on MSNBC | Video". TheBlaze.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  9. ↑ "The Decline and Rise of the Alternative Right - The Unz Review". Unz.com. 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  10. ↑ Theodoracopulos, Taki (2009-07-27). "Economism in the Alt Right - Taki's Magazine". Takimag.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  11. ↑ Hunter, Jack (2009-11-03). "Whither the Alternative Right? - Taki's Magazine". Takimag.com. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  12. ↑ Mak, Tim (2010-03-08). "The "New" Racist Right". FrumForum. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25.
  13. ↑ Larry Keller (2010-03-15). "Paleocon Starts New Extreme-Right Magazine | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  14. ↑ Chiel, Ethan (2015-10-29). "A YouTube account is rewriting Disney tunes to be racist". Fusion. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  15. ↑ Powers, Darlene (2015-12-16). "And Bolder: Trump's Scariest Supporters Are Getting Meaner Voice Herald". The Voice Herald.
  16. ↑ "Donald Trump’s Hostile Takeover of the G.O.P.". The New Yorker. 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  17. ↑ "‘Cuckservative’ — the conservative insult of the month, explained". The Washington Post.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Welton, Benjamin (2016-02-01). "What, Exactly, is the 'Alternative Right?'". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  19. ↑ "Getting Cucky: A Brief Primer On The Radical Right’s Newest ‘Cuckservative’ Meme | Southern Poverty Law Center". Splcenter.org. 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Updated January 25, 2016 6:43 PM By Cathy Young (2016-01-25). "Donald Trump’s rant against political correctness is comfort food to racists". Newsday. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  21. 1 2 Chiel, Ethan (2016-01-29). "Online racists are very excited about The Angry Birds Movie". Fusion. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  22. 1 2 French, David (2016-01-26). "Donald Trump & Alt-Right’s Rise - Not Conservatives Fault". National Review. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  23. ↑ Greg Johnson (2010-03-02). "Richard Spencer Launches Alternative Right". The Occidental Quarterly. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  24. ↑ "A YouTube account is rewriting Disney tunes to be racist".
  25. ↑ "Donald Trump, Abortion, and 'Winners'". Nationalreview. 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  26. ↑ "The conservative movement has become the GOP establishment. Now what?". Theweek.com. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  27. ↑ Feldman, Josh (2016-01-19). "MSNBC Guest: Trump’s ‘Alt-Right’ Fans ‘Childless Single Men Who Masturbate to Anime’". Mediaite.com.
  28. ↑ TIMP Staff (2016-01-20). "VIDEO: Republican Strategist Calls ‘Alt Right’ Trump Supporters ‘Single Men Who Masturbate to Anime’". Truth In Media.
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