Posted on 08/25/2016 4:22:01 AM PDT by servo1969
Hillary Clinton is set to deliver an entire speech on Donald Trumps scary connections to a phenomenon known as the alt right.
If you paid deep attention to the news during this election cycle, you might have heard the term in passing during some CNN and MSNBC segments. When used by journalists, it basically denotes online white supremacists who love Trump.
Last week, the alt right earned its most attention yet after Trump announced Breitbart News CEO Steve Bannon was joining his campaign as its new executive. Breitbart has gained a reputation among some journalists as a platform the alt right due to the way it covers immigration, Islam, crime and its promotion of internet provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
Yiannopoulos himself wrote an extensive piece explaining the alt right to Breitbart readers which drew a large amount of outrage over the perception it painted a sympathetic picture of an extremist group.
Which brings us to the questions: What is this thing called the alt right? And why does the nominee of the Democratic Party think it is important enough to devote a major speech to it?
The alt right is an online movement opposed to political correctness, multiculturalism, feminism and mainstream conservatism. Its primarily comprised of young white men. While a large portion of its adherents are white nationalists, not all of the folks tweeting out the hashtag are concerned with enforcing Aryan supremacy. The alt right is an umbrella term which includes multiple ideologies everyone from anarcho-capitalists, neo-monarchists, American nationalists, mens rights advocates, identitarians, and even out-and-out neo-Nazis all claim to be apart of the alt right.
The main activity of the alt right is trolling. The Google definition of trolling is to make a deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them. The alt right getting a speech from Hillary Clinton is a sign their trolling is working.
Where does the alt right come from? The term comes from alternative right, which was first formulated near the end of the Bush presidency to describe the anti-Bush Right. Ron Paul fans, paleoconservatives and anyone else who opposed the policies of the Bush administration particularly the Iraq war could be placed under this umbrella in the beginning. That was how it was described by future Rand Paul adviser Jack Hunter in a 2009 article urging for the movement to take a more libertarian turn.
Instead, it became more white nationalist. Alternative Right became the moniker of a web publication run by Richard Spencer in 2010, which emphasized the racialist elements of the burgeoning movement while shedding itself of its libertarian elements.
Spencer eventually ditched AlternativeRight.com to head up the white nationalist National Policy Institute and oversee the identitarian (essentially an ideology in favor of white identity politics) Radix Journal.
What eventually became the alt right as an online phenomenon brought together white nationalist publications, most of Gamergate (a movement centered around a very convoluted controversy in video gaming), 4chans /pol/, mens rights activists and various trolls to support Trump and attack his opponents on Twitter.
Now theres a few things to remember what the alt right is not. Contrary to CNN contributor Amanda Carpenters assertions, the alt right did not arise from the birther movement, which was primarily older and more connected to the fringes of conservatism. If there was any connection to a larger political phenomenon prior to Trump, it would be to Ron Pauls recent presidential campaigns.
The alt right also does not encompass the so-called Counter Jihad movement, as asserted by Mother Jones. The mainstream anti-Islamists are very pro-Israel, tend to be older and are generally respectful of mainstream conservatism. The alt right, on the other hand, dabbles in anti-Semitism, veers younger and despises mainstream conservatism.
Breitbart isnt necessarily alt right proper either, even though it has done much to popularize the movements ideas and memes.
With the prospect of political correctness and radical left-wing movements like Black Lives Matter only growing stronger in the near-future, backlashes against these developments become a greater possibility. These elements give the alt right a chance to live on past this election cycle.
And the single event that what will do the most to popularize its ideas and memes is Hillarys Thursday speech. While the talk may do a little bit of damage to Trump, it would only legitimize an internet theme as a serious political force.
#altrightmeans trending on twitter, probably a Clinton plant but taken over by Trump supporters, It’s pretty good
#altrightmeans Trending on twitter ,taken over by Trump supporters, it’s pretty good
Excellent posts!
The main theme: as the left tries to use “ALT-Right” in the pejorative, reject their claims of racism, but keep the term to unify and name who we are!
Maybe let’s use “GALT-RIGHT”
It's pretty much the VRWC re-packaged and re-branded.
There is nothing new under the sun.
Most of her followers are going to search their keyboards for Alt-right.
What most of us believe is essentially constitutionalism, classic liberalism with a Judeo-Christian foundation.
The Left will try to associate that with skin color in order to drive a wedge and create a barrier against it; if you aren’t white, to accept these principles would make you a race traitor; if you are white then accepting these principles prove your racism.
Its a propaganda game.
I believe in a certain set of principles, not to mention the Living God himself. If you believe in those principles, you are my brother whatever color you are. If you don’t accept them, then we are not on the same page whatever color you are. Making this about race helps any and all to avoid dealing with the actual principles themselves which are accessible to anyone willing to use his “right reason”.
The Tea Party was nice. The Tea Party was polite. The Tea Party attempted to be reasonable. The Tea Party was back-stabbed by it's allies (Mitch McConnell et al) and attacked relentlessly by the Media and the Left. (Same thing.)
It looks to me like the alt-right is the more vicious and confrontational response to the failures of the Tea Party to Accomplish anything.
Glenn Reynolds of "Instapundit" points out that we tried "nice" with Romney, and that didn't work, so now we are going to try mean with Trump, and see if that works.
If *that* doesn't work, we may have to escalate our methods of dealing with the leftists who monopolize the airwaves, and through them public policy.
As Glenn Reynolds has mentioned: "If you make peaceful revolution impossible, you make violent revolution inevitable."
The left needs to consider the "Alt-Right" as a shot across their bow.
-JT
I've only heard this term "Alt-Right" within the last few months or so.
It's sort of looks like the meaner more serious/determined version of the "Tea Party."
I'm not liking what I hear about it's flirtations with Anti-Semitism or Racism, but I am starting to pay attention more to what these people seem to be about.
not too bad.
I, personally, would replace #14 with ‘Preservation and promotion of Western Civilization’
This is what I was thinking.
One sound bite on this morning is that Trump is bringing a hate group mainstream. So now if I support Trump am I part of a "hate" group? This needs to backfire big time on her imo!
This is the feeling I have been getting from looking at articles posted on "Takimag". There are several other sites that I have noticed (usually through links with each other) that seem to be following this flavor.
I've actually been thinking of posting comments on some of these sites declaring support for Israel and shaming people for promulgating those stupid "Jewish Conspiracy" theories.
Theres a fine line there - IMO authors like MciInness, Goad, and Shaidle spit in the eye of political correctness without crossing the line into outright craziness, but thats not the case for lots of those who comment there - they provide a view into the scary side of alt right.
I haven't been looking at any of these sites long enough to recognize any names. Still trying to figure out exactly what they are, and what sort of engagement (if any) that I want to have with them.
I had originally noticed "Takimag" because I found a John Derbyeshire (Fired from National Revue for writing "The Talk") there. John Derbyeshire had made the mistake of telling some ugly truths and he thereafter became the victim of political correctness.
I have seen some. Often it is crouched in code words, dog whistles and a focus on certain events and issues.
I haven't seen it from any of the Authors of articles, but from the commenters, yes.
It’s the new Vast Right Wing Conspiracy that is after Hillary. Terrorists, all.
If you don't accept liberal lunacy...you might be an Alt-Right.
Hillary will most certainly umbrella anyone that doesn't accept her or The Establishment as Alt-Right (except for those 'cute' Berner-Socialists ;/)
I'm Alt-Right-Lite, I don't like the deep cellar-dwellers of Alt-Right but much of what they are fighting we all here fight too.
What about Hilldog and Obumbler’s ties to known Islamic terrorist organizations?
What Is The Alt Right?
As opposed to Fascist Democrat? They can make up all the words they want but it remains they are Fascists and they prove it every day in every way.
For some reason, I am thinking of the stands they used in Victorian times to prop up dead bodies for photographs. This is probably because I saw a picture where someone was standing on either side of Hillary, seemingly holding her up.
Here’s the twitter feed for #AltRightMeans
It’s trending at the top of twitter right now.
Check this link often, as the day goes by...
https://twitter.com/hashtag/AltRightMeans?src=tren&data_id=tweet%3A768794074778402816
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