The Alt-Right
Most people had no idea at all what the Alt-Right was until late in 2016. We don't tend to spend much time examining the various and ever-changing subcultures that are at all times bubbling away under the surface of 'normal' society, and why would we? For the most part, we are already perfectly aware of what we believe in, what we support, what we feel is right and wrong, how we align ourselves politically and socially and therefore we have no desire to keep watch on the movements and ideologies others are concerning themselves with. If it was important to us we'd already know about it and if it isn't important to us, then why would we even waste time with it?
Until all of a sudden the media decides you do have a vested interest in it and splashes it about your screen. Suddenly you realise this might be of concern. Suddenly you realise that the guy running for the most powerful position in the world is championed by this infamous Alt-Right movement made up of racists, xenophobes, anti-Semites, nationalists and supremacists. Of course as well as now knowing this you now also draw some inference about Trump and what he stands for; what sort of man he is.
But the truth is even more interesting. Like the saying goes, Fact is stranger than Fiction, and if you did have prior knowledge of the Alt-Right when the revelation of their support for Trump came, you may have been shocked for quite a different reason. To many, the original Alt-Right was a logical response to modern politics and was effectively created by the Left who so vehemently oppose it with assistance from the conventional Right. The really shocking thing was the make-up of the Alt-Right; the Millennials and Gen-Xers that by all rights should be liberal democrats, and the fact that they would show support for a man like Trump.
For the last few years the odd thing about the Alt-Right has been that so many of them are 'unconventional' Right-Wingers. Transgender, homosexual, bisexual, artistic, geeky, extravagant, bi-racial, experimental, down-right alternative in nature. These are all terms one could use to describe the majority of the Alt-Right crowd. The core of the Alt-Right, whilst not all as extreme in their individuality as to merit some of the labels I've just listed, are of the current generation; they're the people raised to feel that it's OK to be anything they want to be, it's their choice as to who they want to be, to them it's almost mandatory to be different, and necessary to be unique. They are the people who have the outrageous hair-styles and the weird clothes. They're the hipsters and the bloggers. Milo Yiannopoulos, pictured, is a journalist and public speaker who is homosexual, camp, flamboyant and boasts about having sex with black men in his trademark extrovert style whilst sporting colourful and flashy outfits, and he is a perfect example of the type of person who on paper couldn't be anything but liberal and a supporter of the Democrats, but in actual fact is a self-confessed Conservative, a Trump supporter, and at one stage an advocate for the Alt-Right.
It is popularly mis-reported that Richard Spencer coined the term 'Alt-Right' in 2010. It was actually in 2008 that the term first entered existence.
In November 2008 the philosopher, historian, author and university professor Dr. Paul Gottfried gave a speech during which he urged the creation of an "Alternative Right". He spoke on the need for an 'alt' Right to challenge neo-conservatism, the reason being that those who had migrated from the Left Wing to a more Right-leaning position to give rise to neo-conservatism, were having a dangerous effect on the country and the Left were equally endangering society with their fixation on promoting equality.
The originators of the alt-right movement were justly concerned with the affect neo-conservatives were having on the American Right-Wing and saw the need for a balanced opposition somewhere between the neo-conservative Right and the Liberal Left. The Left and the Right were equally responsible for the emergence of the alt-right in 2008. It was only later in 2010 that Richard Spencer began to pollute the Alt-Right with the white nationalist racist attitude that many today associate with it. But it wasn't Spencer who would bring mainstream attention to the movement. It was the members who would come later, the members fed up with modern politics who were in sync with modern life and modern technology, who would catapult the Alt-Right into the public spotlight.
In the early days, led by philosopher Nick Land and computer scientist Curtis Yarvin, the Alt-Right group began to examine the bias of Western Politics. Liberal Democracy, they argued, had no better a track record than monarchy, while trying to argue that we should all be viewed as human beings rather than members of a demographic sub-group, ignored every piece of research on tribal psychology. In trying to form their new ideology, the need for which was already established, they focused of course on the conservative instinct, the desire for stability over change, the need for hierarchy and order over radical egalitarianism, and ultimately the prioritisation of the preservation of their own tribe and culture over economic success. Hence the Alt-Right do not hold a Utopian view of human society. Because no real conservative does. They want to prioritise their own tribe and they recognise that other groups are likely to do the same. As communities become comprised of different peoples, the culture and politics of those communities begin to shift, as they are ultimately a reflection of their constituent peoples. The Alt-Right are against change only when said change is affected to the degree that it adversely affects the native people.
There's racists everywhere, from the Left to the Right, and unfortunately we'll never be able to prevent those with bigoted views speaking out and occasionally finding a supportive platform from which they can gain a following. The hypocrisy of endorsing free-speech and individual belief whilst outwardly criticising those who make racist, sexist or other 'un-PC' comments would ultimately only increase the disillusionment of many who once would have been unquestionably followers of the democratic political parties, and send them running into the arms of the Alt-Right.
The Alt-Right rose to fame through the web and social media and for the most part it wasn't Neo-Nazis, Anti-Semites or White Supremacists who were sitting at their computers or tapping away on their mobile devices, it was every-day Millennials; stylish, individualistic, alternative, experimental people looking for their own identity, backed up by older generations who were desperate for something new to believe in after they found themselves at a loss with the current state of Politics and the limitations of the both the Right and Left.
Let's remember that extremists; those who have genuinely troubling views on race, gender, culture and other defining attributes, will always look for a platform from which they can be heard and will ride along on the bandwagon of any movement they can. They are a completely separate thing from the core purpose of the movement they attach themselves to and what the majority of the members believe in.
Let's also be aware of the influence the Media has on how anything is viewed.
And so to de-sensationalise things, let's not say the Alt-Right are all racist nationalists but let's say the Alt-Right oppose immigration, multiculturalism and political correctness. Why? Because they have been forged into believing that identity is everything and the loss of identity is the greatest crime against self anyone can imagine.
Immigration - They believe that to preserve what the Left say are the best things about western culture it’s time to close the door on most immigration, whilst also feeling that the well-being of the native population should be placed ahead of those who live outside their borders...
Multiculturalism - They have been told for years not just that identity is all-important but that they have an inherent right to their beliefs and way of life, and therefore they respect each and every person's individual culture and want the multitude of different cultures to endure and survive, which can only happen by preserving the integrity of each culture by keeping them segregated to some degree rather than blurring the lines between them and forming new hybrid cultures...
Political Correctness - They believe in freedom of speech, they have been raised to believe that everyone should be allowed to speak up about what they feel is important, regardless of how others feel about it and they believe there shouldn't be any governance of what is and isn't OK to talk about...
Remembering that fundamentally these are just a set of beliefs and it's not up to us to say which are right and wrong, we are already seeing a growing shift in the public's attitude towards once unpopular policies. Of course we all reserve our own personal judgement and support the ways of life we feel are right, whilst respecting other's rights to differing opinions, but as we put our trust in democracy to always ensure the right thing gets done, we are seeing more and more how people are getting fed up with the status quo, and how this is leading to unexpected outcomes in votes, elections and referendums.
In truth when it comes to the Alt-Right many of the followers are not a part of it because of any deep political sentiment. They don't make the outrageous statements on social media that they are known for because they truly believe in them, they do it because they're bored, they're fed up, and they like to see the resultant chaos their comments cause. They are confused and often do not fully understand the statements they make. Their electronic life is something separate from their real life, they are detached and removed from their social media accounts and what they spew out on them is merely an outpouring of the stress and strain of modern life; it's an outlet, a way to let off steam. They are making a point that they themselves don't even understand.
The modern day ideologists that make up the Alt-Right revel in what they perceive as the hypocrisy of Identity Politics, brought about by Left-Wingers who for years advocated feminism and ethnic equality whilst turning on white males. In a 2016 speech, Yiannopoulos said many who join the Alt-Right do so because “...it promises fun, transgression and a challenge to social norms."
Another attraction to members was apparently "...testing the strength of the speech taboos that revolve around conventional politics- of what can be said, and how directly."
He also said a lot of the things they stand for "are in their essence not matters of substance but of style" and that the Alt-Right's general tone may just be concealing "a more familiar politics.”
Members of the Alt-Right are mostly young. They are growing up now, in this day and age, in this modern world, and as young people they are searching for their own identity and their own voice, as we all do at some stage. With the huge focus that has been put on liberalism, individualism and accepting other's differences, it has made it seem not just normal to be different and unique but managed to convince some that it is in fact essential to be different and stand out. The world has prompted such a surge in individuality but yet still held onto traditional restrictions on conformity, still carried on enforcing ideas about what is right or wrong, leaving many still feeling just as marginalised and left out as past generations. As a result what you have are masses of people trapped in the paradox of human existence; wanting to be their own person yet striving to belong and be part of something, and for those searching for their own voice whilst simultaneously trying to find a united cause, the Alt-Right seems a perfectly logical answer.
It's hard to get too excited about a new movement if you are a person of a certain age or experience, but cast your mind back to your late teens or your twenties, and think about what was in fashion at the time, what trends were emerging, what beliefs you held, what you felt a part of, what your mind-state was and what movements or ideologies you believed in, and compare it to now. I'm sure you'll find a great variance between the way you thought and acted back then and the way you are now.
Many of the supporters of the Alt-Right feel let down by modern politics and feel as though they've found the only political movement they can stand behind. Talking about the emergence of the Alt-Right, an article on Breitbart, co-written by Milo and Allum Bokhari states:
"The Establishment bears much of the blame. Had they been serious about defending humanism, liberalism and universalism, the rise of the alternative right might have been arrested. All they had to do was argue for common humanity in the face of black and feminist identity politics, for free speech in the face of the regressive Left’s censorship sprees, and for universal values in the face of left-wing moral relativism. Instead, they turned a blind eye to the rise of tribal, identitarian movements on the Left while mercilessly suppressing any hint of them on the Right. It was this double standard, more than anything else, that gave rise to the alternative right. It’s also responsible, at least in part, for the rise of Donald Trump."
The rise of 'Identity Politics', unwittingly created by the Left, helped give birth to the movement and despite more and more racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, and violent language being used by those who say they support the Alt-Right, there are actually increasing numbers of minorities backing the movement. Jews fed up with the pro-Islam attitudes of elites. Asians who are now being penalised by "affirmative action". Black groups like the Hoteps, who are fed up with "Black Lives Matter". These people are drawn to the Alt-Right because of the hypocrisies of Identity Politics and by the excitement of breaking the rules of the establishment.
It's unfortunate that the voice of the few has subverted that of the many, tarnishing the name and making it seem more and more as though the core beliefs behind the Alt-Right movement are of a nasty nature. It's sad that what started as a well-meaning challenge to the political norm has seemingly been hijacked in this way but I think the truth is that for a long time even those with the soundest political points to make haven't really seen the Alt-Right as a serious endeavour and have been rather just looking for an outlet, somewhere to be heard, and are now happily finding themselves watching the movement they support gaining so much attention, even if it's for the wrong reasons. If, in the early stages, the fundamental Alt-Right contributors had tightened things up, drafted a manifesto, created a structure, invested in official publication and approached it as a real political movement, they could have made an impact and established themselves as a legitimate brand, securing themselves against the later penetration of the narrow-minded wave of supporters.
Even taking into account the media spin that's been put on things, it's probably now a good thing that the Alt-Right are not an organised, structured machine with a clear plan and set of goals, because if those who are fast becoming the most vocal supporters had any semblance of control over anything that was even a hint of a shadow of a Political Party it could be a real mess. Never the less, the fact that they exist should in itself be worrying to the politicians and I hope they begin to actually take stock of the situation and look at what they have, in part, themselves created. I think what really merits investigation is not necessarily the actions and the words of hate-mongers, but the type of people misguidedly spewing the hate and the reasons why they've resorted to it.
There is still definitely a need for challenging the current Left-Right arrangement in the West and with Trump taking office as the President of the USA, the UK about to leave the EU, UKIP's growing popularity, a rise in Right-Wing support in some European countries and other glitches in the matrix occurring all around us, it could be time for the people in power to wake up and acknowledge that there is somewhat of a revolution taking place right in front of them...
