Alt-right is an abbreviation of alternative right, a loosely connected activist movement that supports a wide range of xenophobic ideologies like white nationalism, white supremacy (although they rather call it "western supremacy" to obscure the racial connotation), white separatism, right-wing populism, anti-immigration,racism, as well as anti-communism, anti-Zionism, Holocaust denial, antisemitism, anti-feminism, homophobia and last but not least Islamophobia. This is a brief explanation of how and by whom these ideas have been increasingly normalized in America, as well as in other western societies.
source: YouTube
They'll call themselves "classical liberals", "paleo-conservatives" or just supporters of the idea that "west is the best", but popular online pundits like Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Tim Pool, Steven Crowder, Stefan Molineux and other members of the "Intellectual Dark Web" as well as the "New Atheists" like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, have in common that their rhetoric functions as a pipeline to the alt-right. He may claim he's not a white supremacist, but Sam Harris, for example, says many things that are sure to attract the attention and support from nascent white supremacists, things like: "I think many people will feel, what is the fucking point of having more Muslims in your society? It seems perfectly rational to say, we don't want any more. We have enough. And certainly increasing the percentage is not a help to anyone who loves freedom of speech and anything else, any of the other liberal values. It's not worth the trouble. And if we can figure out some way to keep the number of Muslims down in any society, whether we're honest about this or whether we do this covertly, clearly it's rational to want to do this." It's not difficult to see that this language is music in the ears of the alt-right and far right evangelical Christians. It brings a veneer of respectability and rationality to their bigoted and racist beliefs when respectable public figures like Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Jordan Peterson orate against Islam, Black Lives Matter and Antifa. Some of them even claim to be leftist, but want to separate themselves from what they call the "regressive left".
I've said this before, but I think a lot of the foundation of the alt-right's rise stems back to the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The members of the New Atheists in particular started to concentrate their anti-religion rhetoric on Islam, painting everyone who lives by that religion as suspect. They started propagating the idea of a "clash of civilizations", or rather a clash between civilization and religious fundamentalists from the Muslim persuasion, thereby classifying Muslim countries and peoples as not civilized. The idea of Western Supremacy underlying that rhetoric was co-opted by White Supremacists, White Separatists and White Nationalists who started disseminating fear among vulnerable westerners about the loss of their culture and Judaeo-Christian heritage, should Muslims be allowed to flood their shores. Note that the alt-right in their recruiting practices target vulnerable groups, like incels and people who are victims of neoliberal policies and globalization. Since it was the political left that said "wait a minute here, Muslims are people too", this became yet another reason to step up their war against the left. In public discourse violent Muslims or leftist activist groups are now called "terrorists", while violent far right groups get a pass by being called "militant", "militia" or "militants". It's sad and dangerous that much of the general public will let themselves be duped by this double standard and actually believe that Muslims, Black Lives Matter, Antifa and immigration are the cause of their problems, instead of the decades long reign of neoliberalism. The funny thing is that much of what the alt-right advocates for, like the nuclear family, tradition, religion, anti-feminism, homophobia, law and order and the preservation of their own culture at all costs, is exactly the same that the fundamentalist Muslims they fear and hate so much advocate for. Polar opposites attract, so the alt-right and fundamentalist Muslim terrorists can not be polar opposites...
The ideologies of the alt-right have been normalized to the extent that white nationalists can now openly spout their racist, bigoted and xenophobic rhetoric, even to the extent that they now occupy the Oval Office. Much of the groundwork for that to happen has been done by the online pundits I mentioned, the Intellectual Dark Web and the New Atheists, going back to the aftermath of 11 September 2001. I'll close with a video about the New Atheists' role in this development, and I hope you'll find it informative.
How New Atheism's Crusade Against Islam and The Left helped pave the way for the Alt-Right
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