It’s actually a shame that the label “alt-Right” has been tossed about so haphazardly since Charlottesville, because by becoming ubiquitous, it’s lost its specificity. That specificity allowed it to be applied to a relatively narrow group of media outlets and blogs. It wasn’t always the nebulous catch-all that now includes the KKK and neo-Nazis. I mean sure, neo-Nazis are kind of “alt-Right” by definition, but you really don’t need to attach another label to “neo-Nazis” – just calling them “Nazis” tells you everything you need to know. It’s not like anyone thought they were fine as Nazis but then once they were identified as being also “alt-Right” people said “ohhh, wait just a minute – I was willing to put up with them being Nazis, but now that they’re also ‘alt-Right’, we’ve got to do something about this problem.”
I think “alt-Right” actually meant more when it was more narrowly construed. Because by being narrowly construed, it actually forced people to focus. You heard “alt-Right” with “#Pizzagate” and immediately you knew that “#Pizzagate” was bullshit. Now, “alt-Right” is something you hear and by virtue of its ubiquity, you just kind of tune it out. The same is true of “Black Lives Matter.” There was a time when “Black Lives Matter” being associated with a particular event (say, the death of an unarmed African American) made you focus on that event. Now, by virtue of becoming ambiguous and ubiquitous, “Black Lives Matter” does the opposite – you hear it and you just tune out because it’s now come to be associated with anything involving African Americans – some of the urgency has gone out of it.
Note that this dynamic, to the extent that it applies to both the alt-Right and Black Lives Matter, has been doubly bad for America. The ubiquity of the “alt-Right” label has actually served to distract from things that are bad. Something like this: “Oh God, another story about the ‘alt-Right’, whatever that means. Yeah, I’m changing the channel.” Meanwhile, the ubiquity of the “Black Lives Matter” label and the co-opting of that label by people pushing causes that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the original intent of the movement, undermines the inherent legitimacy of the cause. Something like this: “Oh God, another story about ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Yeah I’m changing the channel.”
So this has actually been a positive development for the alt-Right, in that by lumping too many things together under that label, people can’t focus. Whereas for Black Lives Matter, people can’t focus on the legitimate grievances the movement represents, because now everything is “Black Lives Matter.”
Additionally, when you lump the KKK and neo-Nazis in with the “alt-Right,” it moves the sticks. Suddenly, Alex Jones and Breitbart aren’t at the extreme end of the continuum anymore. Instead, they’re middle-of-the-road “alt-Right” because despite how cartoonish Alex is and despite how dangerous Bannon is, they aren’t showing up to marches wearing white hoods and waving the swastika.
Ultimately, we might all be better off if we restored some of the specificity to these labels. Nazis are just Nazis. Klansmen are just Klansmen. Putting them under the same umbrella as Alex Jones and Steve Bannon doesn’t make Jones and Bannon any “better.” It just obscures their agenda by i) making Alex seem like a relatively harmless cartoon and making Bannon seem like the lesser of two Nazis, and ii) creating a blindspot for the public via the saturation of stories about the “alt-Right”.
For Black Lives Matter, the movement would be better served if the label were more narrowly applied. If you’re an angry African American, you can’t just go out, start a riot, and call it “Black Lives Matter.” That doesn’t make any sense and it hurts the movement. Sure, there’s a loose connection there (part of the reason you’re angry and started a riot stems from persistent inequality and discrimination and those grievances are part of the movement), but you can’t go and burn down a city then turn around and call it “Black Lives Matter” anymore than I can go and burn down the local hunting enthusiasts club and say “I did it for PETA.”
Just some thoughts on a Sunday.
Agreed. H, I would suggest that the “Black Lives Matter” group re-brand themselves, a sequel of sorts. I give you “Black Lives Matter Too” which would immediately disarm the totally absurd message thrown around by Fox and other great thinkers that all lives matters. Well shit yea, but that is not BLM’s message. Also, I just read a great article by James Wolcott in “Vanity Fair” about life after Trump and the de-Nazification of America. I assume you have your fingers on the pulse of the nation but on the oft chance you missed it, you can read it here:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/10/will-we-ever-return-to-normal-after-trump
Almost forgot. There is a great photo of Trump in tennis shorts with a rather prominent ass (read “a very big ass”) that I’ve seen on “Last Week Tonight.” I would like to get copyright approval to use this photo, setup a “Go Fund It” page, and create billboards across the nation, especially in red states, with the caption “WHAT AN ASS.” I, with my meager net worth, would be happy to throw $10 at such a worthy (dubious) cause. Any thoughts on feasibility, legalities. etc.?
count me in for $20
I’ve seen this photo many times in many places; someone even doctored it up and put him in polka dot underwear seen thru his white tennis shorts! That one is the best one. Maybe since the picture has been so many places and so many times, it is already “public”? I’ll see your $10 and raise you $10! LOL!
You can’t de-nazifi something that was never nazified to begin with. The closest I’ve seen to being Nazi in this country recently is the armored..black shirted and armed antifa thugs.
Disciplined..looking to raise hell..and viscous
huh? …thick
Greg, I get where you’re going with your comments here, but it’s probably a stretch to say the people waving the Nazi flags aren’t actually the Nazis because in your estimation they’re not organized enough to qualify as Nazis and therefore we should project Nazism onto a group of people whose actual name equates to “not-Nazis.”
that’s like: “I know this is actually a cheeseburger and that’s actually a vegan burger, but this vegan burger smells more like meat than the real cheeseburger does, so therefore, this vegan burger is made of cows.”
How about just dropping the name crap altogether?? This site constantly describes Trump and Jong Un as “crazy..” “lunatic”…”demented…”etc etc. How about a little specificity..?? Trump is impulsive..Jong Un plays US Presidents like fiddles..and both talk shit they don’t back up.
By the by..whoever uses the word “Nazi” first loses. I grew up in San Francisco in the ’50s and we lived near a sizable number of Jews with little tattoos on their forearms…it was interesting listening to their experiences with real Nazis…the people I read using the term..many on this site …don’t have a clue. There is a huge difference between a psychopath with a uniform and no boundaries to limit the expression of his hate..and a chump waving a Confederate flag.
As far as NK goes, there are absolutely no military options unless millions of dead South Koreans, Japanese etc., are acceptable to you. Trumps deal making relies on bullying and you can’t bully a god on earth. Perhaps we should consider a peace treaty; it’s only been 60+ years.
Trump is working on your “boundaries.” Of course, I use the terms Nazi and fascist as one in the same, a mistake on my part. Neo-Nazis are Nazis. Does chants of “Jews shall not replace us!” remind you of SF. The KKK are right wing racists hiding under the veil (literally) of religion and countless militias, armed to the teeth, are what? Anti-federalist? But if you do not think that the GOP is a fascist-bent political party then we are not operating from the same playbook.
Don’t forget that trump keeps (or kept) a book about Hitler on his nightstand – could be the only thing this freak ever read! As far as I am concerned an alt-right is the fetus stage of a Nazi.
I agree about the GOP and trump thinks he is America’s first dictator!