The Alt-Right Movement: A New Age of Racism and Xenophobia

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
39,778
454
83
The disturbing dawn of the alt-right

After months of squabbling about whether it’s acceptable to use the “F” word (fascism) it seems at long last that we have come to some kind of consensus about what to call Donald Trump’s “philosophy”: alt-right, also known as white nationalism. With the hiring of the former chief of Breitbart media, ground zero for the alt-right movement, as Trump’ campaign chairman, the interest in it has now gone mainstream. Hillary Clinton will be making a speech about it later today.

Alt-right white nationalism is an apt term for a campaign that has electrified white supremacists so it makes sense that most people would focus on the racial angle. According to this analysis in the Guardian, the rising right-wing ethno-nationalist movement in Europe is the progenitor of this American version, which adheres to its basic premise but brings its own special brand of deep-fried racism. Both share a belief that the white race is under siege and that “demands for diversity in the workplace which means less white males in particular forms the foundation for the movement.” So it stands to reason that Trump’s border wall, Muslim ban and bellicose appeals for “law and order” (along with his overt misogyny) is a clarion call to this faction.

But while it’s obvious that the subtle and not-so-subtle racial messaging are among the primary attractions for Trump voters, they are also responding to an economic appeal, much of which stems from the misconception that because Trump himself is a successful businessman he must know what he’s doing. But as Dave Johnson of Campaign for America’s Future pointed out, many of the white working class folk who believe Trump’s promises to “bring back jobs” would be surprised to know what he actually means by that:

Trump says the U.S. is not “competitive” with other countries. He has said repeatedly we need to lower American wages, taxes and regulations to the point where we can be “competitive” with Mexico and China. In other words, he is saying that business won’t send jobs out of the country if we can make wages low enough here.

His “plan” is to compete by pitting states against each other to lower wages, particularly by encouraging businesses to move to low-wage anti-union states. Once the layoffs start, workers will be willing to take big pay cuts to keep their jobs. Johnson shows how Trump believes “companies should continue this in a ‘rotation’ of wage cuts, state to state, until you go ‘full-circle,’ getting wages low enough across the entire country. Then the U.S. will be ‘competitive’ with China and Mexico.

So this white nationalist “populist” economic appeal is less than meets the eye. In that regard, Trump is just another “cuck-servative” (you can look it up) who thinks he can fool the rubes into making people like him even richer than they already are. But all that is subsumed in Trump’s message of white grievance and American decline.

One of the most important characteristics of this faction is a strong attraction to authoritarianism. This fascinating report at Vox by Amanda Taub tracked studies which show that “more than 65 percent of people who scored highest on the authoritarianism questions were GOP voters and more than 55 percent of surveyed Republicans scored as “high” or “very high” authoritarians.”

Authoritarians, we found in our survey, tend to most fear threats that come from abroad, such as ISIS or Russia or Iran. These are threats, the researchers point out, to which people can put a face; a scary terrorist or an Iranian ayatollah

That fear is also something the American alt-right has in common with their European cousins, but I see it having a different effect here. In Europe — where the alt-right is exemplified by the U.K.’s Nigel Farage — the desire truly is for a withdrawal from external obligations and dismantling the institutions that have blurred national identity and political independence.

They are afraid of mass immigration from the Middle East in the age of terrorism and the economic crisis emboldened the usual European suspects. So some observers are tempted to believe that Trump’s invocation of the old isolationist slogan “America First” will likewise result in a pull-back of American global empire. But a closer look at Trump’s rhetoric shows that he has a much different worldview and so do his followers.

Look at his slogan: “Make America Great Again.” Implicit in those four words is the idea of America dominating the planet as it did after World War II. Of course, it still does, but in Trump’s mind, America has become a weak and struggling nation hardly able to keep up with countries like Mexico. He believes other countries are laughing at us and treating us disrespectfully, which has had him seething for over 30 years. Back then it was Japan “cuckolding” America. Today it’s China and Mexico, both of which he promises to sanction for failing to properly “respect” America — with a thinly veiled violent threat backing it up. After all, trade wars have often led to shooting wars.

American nationalism cannot be separated from its status as the world’s only superpower. Trump promises to build up the American military to the most massive force in history (of course, it already is) so that “nobody will mess with us ever again.” He doesn’t say that America should pull back from its security guarantees, merely that it should require other nations to pay more for the protection. He doesn’t take nuclear war off the table, one can assume for the reason that it’s a cheaper, quicker way to “take care of” problems than these relatively smaller wars we’ve waged since the world burned in the two epic conflagrations of the 20th century. His nationalism is all about domination not withdrawal.

http://www.salon.com/2016/08/25/the...mps-the-leader-of-a-dark-movement-in-america/
 

DaSleeper

Trolling Hypocrites
May 27, 2007
33,676
1,665
113
Northern Ontario,
SALON ® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon Media Group Inc.

Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
39,778
454
83
Walt.

I know you want to pretend everything is just about Trump but read the article.

SALON ® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon Media Group Inc.

Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Can't handle the truth?
 

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
7,940
0
36
Edson, AB
Let me try to understand this....

Trump says he will remove ILLEGAL immigrants, try to prevent any more ILLEGAL immigrants from entering and prioritize American CITIZENS by refusing services to ILLEGAL immigrants and that makes him a racist? To me it sounds like good management of resources and funds. I have not once heard him say white-power or screw mexicans or to hell with blacks or any such thing. He wants to put CITIZENS and their rights at the forefront and stop allowing and funding ILLEGAL immigration. Not just from Mexico but from anywhere. He also has never said he would end immigration completely but actually just make sure that any immigration takes place legally and through proper procedure.

Why is it the left cannot understand the issue isn't about immigration or race but about following the law.
 

DaSleeper

Trolling Hypocrites
May 27, 2007
33,676
1,665
113
Northern Ontario,
Is ecofascism BS or the truth?
Flossy's new eco-friendly ride......

 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
36,362
4,336
113
Vancouver Island
The disturbing dawn of the alt-right

After months of squabbling about whether it’s acceptable to use the “F” word (fascism) it seems at long last that we have come to some kind of consensus about what to call Donald Trump’s “philosophy”: alt-right, also known as white nationalism. With the hiring of the former chief of Breitbart media, ground zero for the alt-right movement, as Trump’ campaign chairman, the interest in it has now gone mainstream. Hillary Clinton will be making a speech about it later today.

Alt-right white nationalism is an apt term for a campaign that has electrified white supremacists so it makes sense that most people would focus on the racial angle. According to this analysis in the Guardian, the rising right-wing ethno-nationalist movement in Europe is the progenitor of this American version, which adheres to its basic premise but brings its own special brand of deep-fried racism. Both share a belief that the white race is under siege and that “demands for diversity in the workplace which means less white males in particular forms the foundation for the movement.” So it stands to reason that Trump’s border wall, Muslim ban and bellicose appeals for “law and order” (along with his overt misogyny) is a clarion call to this faction.

But while it’s obvious that the subtle and not-so-subtle racial messaging are among the primary attractions for Trump voters, they are also responding to an economic appeal, much of which stems from the misconception that because Trump himself is a successful businessman he must know what he’s doing. But as Dave Johnson of Campaign for America’s Future pointed out, many of the white working class folk who believe Trump’s promises to “bring back jobs” would be surprised to know what he actually means by that:

Trump says the U.S. is not “competitive” with other countries. He has said repeatedly we need to lower American wages, taxes and regulations to the point where we can be “competitive” with Mexico and China. In other words, he is saying that business won’t send jobs out of the country if we can make wages low enough here.

His “plan” is to compete by pitting states against each other to lower wages, particularly by encouraging businesses to move to low-wage anti-union states. Once the layoffs start, workers will be willing to take big pay cuts to keep their jobs. Johnson shows how Trump believes “companies should continue this in a ‘rotation’ of wage cuts, state to state, until you go ‘full-circle,’ getting wages low enough across the entire country. Then the U.S. will be ‘competitive’ with China and Mexico.

So this white nationalist “populist” economic appeal is less than meets the eye. In that regard, Trump is just another “cuck-servative” (you can look it up) who thinks he can fool the rubes into making people like him even richer than they already are. But all that is subsumed in Trump’s message of white grievance and American decline.

One of the most important characteristics of this faction is a strong attraction to authoritarianism. This fascinating report at Vox by Amanda Taub tracked studies which show that “more than 65 percent of people who scored highest on the authoritarianism questions were GOP voters and more than 55 percent of surveyed Republicans scored as “high” or “very high” authoritarians.”

Authoritarians, we found in our survey, tend to most fear threats that come from abroad, such as ISIS or Russia or Iran. These are threats, the researchers point out, to which people can put a face; a scary terrorist or an Iranian ayatollah

That fear is also something the American alt-right has in common with their European cousins, but I see it having a different effect here. In Europe — where the alt-right is exemplified by the U.K.’s Nigel Farage — the desire truly is for a withdrawal from external obligations and dismantling the institutions that have blurred national identity and political independence.

They are afraid of mass immigration from the Middle East in the age of terrorism and the economic crisis emboldened the usual European suspects. So some observers are tempted to believe that Trump’s invocation of the old isolationist slogan “America First” will likewise result in a pull-back of American global empire. But a closer look at Trump’s rhetoric shows that he has a much different worldview and so do his followers.

Look at his slogan: “Make America Great Again.” Implicit in those four words is the idea of America dominating the planet as it did after World War II. Of course, it still does, but in Trump’s mind, America has become a weak and struggling nation hardly able to keep up with countries like Mexico. He believes other countries are laughing at us and treating us disrespectfully, which has had him seething for over 30 years. Back then it was Japan “cuckolding” America. Today it’s China and Mexico, both of which he promises to sanction for failing to properly “respect” America — with a thinly veiled violent threat backing it up. After all, trade wars have often led to shooting wars.

American nationalism cannot be separated from its status as the world’s only superpower. Trump promises to build up the American military to the most massive force in history (of course, it already is) so that “nobody will mess with us ever again.” He doesn’t say that America should pull back from its security guarantees, merely that it should require other nations to pay more for the protection. He doesn’t take nuclear war off the table, one can assume for the reason that it’s a cheaper, quicker way to “take care of” problems than these relatively smaller wars we’ve waged since the world burned in the two epic conflagrations of the 20th century. His nationalism is all about domination not withdrawal.

http://www.salon.com/2016/08/25/the...mps-the-leader-of-a-dark-movement-in-america/

Proving once again the far left AKA fascists is terrified of people that can think for themselves.
 

HarperCons

Council Member
Oct 18, 2015
1,865
74
48
There's a limit to how much bullshyte a man can read....
One line or two of your posts is about all a normal person can take....your post are all alike....
Your reading comprehension doesn't exceed middle school level.

Proving once again the far left AKA fascists is terrified of people that can think for themselves.
You degenerate moron.

 

eh1eh

Blah Blah Blah
Aug 31, 2006
10,749
103
48
Under a Lone Palm
There's a limit to how much bullshyte a man can read....
One line or two of your posts is about all a normal person can take....your post are all alike....


You're not wrong dude but the righties don't exactly shake things up either.
Broken records all around really. lol.
 

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
7,940
0
36
Edson, AB
Well then, they've nothing to fear from you. You think that wearing hijab in a Mountie uniform has implications for performance.

I think most women who wear a hijab don't have their husband's permission to work and the odd few that do have permission aren't going to apply to the RCMP
 

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,197
113
"The KKK leader who says he backs Hillary Clinton
Will Quigg once tweeted his support for Donald Trump but now says he is behind Democrat candidate's "hidden agenda""
The KKK leader who says he backs Hillary Clinton - Telegraph
haha
lol

“We want Hillary Clinton to win,” Mr Quigg told The Telegraph. “She is telling everybody one thing, but she has a hidden agenda. She’s telling everybody what they want to hear so she can get elected, because she’s Bill Clinton’s wife, she’s close to the Bushes. [But] once she’s in the presidency, she’s going to come out and her true colours are going to show.
snort...giggle.... hehe...hEh Heh HEh hEH....*sigh* ...lol

Im beginning to wonder if rigging the damn election isn`t doing the actual voters a favor
 
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mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
39,778
454
83
Hillary Clinton’s Alt-Right Speech Isolated and Destroyed Donald Trump

We hadn’t seen this Hillary in a while. She stayed under wraps during the Democratic primary, never seriously going after Bernie Sanders. But the killer in Hillary came out on Thursday, delivering a devastating indictment of Donald Trump’s associations with the far-right fringe, one meant to permanently delegitimize him among decent people. “A man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far reaches of the internet, should never run our government or command our military,” she said, daring Republican officials to disagree.

With Trump already trailing badly in most polls, Clinton could have tried to yoke him to the Republican Party so he would drag it down with him. Instead, she sought to isolate and personally destroy him. First came her campaign’s Twitter video earlier today about Trump’s white-supremacist admirers. Usually, a politician trying to link her opponent to the KKK would come dangerously close to the Godwin’s Law line, but Clinton appears to have calculated that few Republicans would rally to their nominee’s defense. Her speech, in Reno, further painted Trump as a creature from the fever swamps, one who has nothing to do with legitimate conservatism. It was able to briskly explain some of the crazier figures and theories Trump has associated with, without getting bogged down in obscure detail. Her list of Breitbart headlines, including “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy” and “Gabby Giffords: The Gun Control Movement’s Human Shield,” tells you much of what you need to know about Trump’s new campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, the former head of the site.

How Hillary Clinton’s alt-right speech isolated and destroyed Donald Trump.