Who Exactly Is the Alt-Right? As Told by the Alt-Right
Let’s clear this up, shall we?
Before I delve into the topic, I want to offer a warning. This could be painful to read. It was certainly painful to write and research. I’ll be discussing the psyches of the most openly racist and xenophobic people to ever walk this Earth, and I’ll be using primary sources to do so. For this reason, if you’re easily disturbed, I recommend you read no further. If not, then please continue.
I’ll start by discussing how I collected information. You may have seen VICE’s Elle Reeve reporting (video) from behind the scenes of the Alt-Right in Charlottesville. This paper is basically the less-courageous internet edition of that.
The circle of Alt-Righters that I analyzed can be found on Reddit in a subreddit called “r/DebatetheAltRight.” Since their previous bastion, “r/AltRight,” was banned from Reddit approximately half a year ago for violating the Reddit Terms of Service (info), DebatetheAltRight has become the de facto home of the movement on Reddit. While it claims to be a place for outsiders to question the positions of the Alt-Right, the subreddit realistically functions as a forum for them to converse amongst themselves.
I used Reddit because it is a comfortable habitat for Alt-Righters, and it permits a look at the actual members of the movement, not just the leaders and public faces. Additionally, using Reddit instead of an Alt-Right publication ensured that my research wouldn’t give a cent in revenue to the movement.
One might reason that you can’t judge a group simply by its online presence. In most cases, this is true. However, the Alt-Right describes itself openly as a primarily internet-based group. Geographically, they are spread so thinly that meeting and organizing in-person is infeasible. This is why rallies, especially en masse such as in Charlottesville, are incredibly rare. So yes, for most groups, analyzing online behavior gives a poor representation of what the group actually is, but for the Alt-Right, it is actually most honest.
In displaying my evidence to back up my arguments, I will often use direct quotes from users. I have done the best I can to cite quotes that most strongly echo the views of the entirety of the movement. They aren’t just one person’s opinion. The way I ensured this was by (1) looking for corroborating quotes, and (2) viewing the “scores” the comments gained. (Reddit uses a scoring system that allows users to vote on the quality of content)
So why am I writing this? After all, it is a difficult topic to discuss. It’s exhausting and disturbing, especially when primary sources are used. Additionally, there is the chance that, by giving publicity to these people, I could unintentionally promote their movement. However, I believe writing about the Alt-Right is valuable for two reasons.
One: The boat has sailed on giving them publicity. Accusations of the President being a racist “Alt-Right-enabler” are unlikely to end soon, and the shock and outrage over the violence in Charlottesville is not likely to disappear quickly.
Two: Understanding something is the first step to eliminating fear of it. Because the Alt-Right openly uses fear as a tactic to further their cause, reducing the fear they elicit is a necessary step to curbing their influence.
If you believe that covering this topic was a bad idea, please feel free to constructively express those feelings to me in the comments. I will be sure to consider them.
With that, I will begin my discussion.
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. — Marie Curie
Who are the Alt-Right?
In truth, the Alt-Right is not an entity in and of itself. Rather, it exists as a coalition of Nazis, Confederates, White Nationalists, Klansmen, fascists, and even some simply far-right Republicans. Importantly, not all Nazis are Alt-Righters, and not all Alt-Righters are Nazis. That goes for each of the categories in the coalition.
The one factor that defines this coalition is a belief in the “14 Words,” which are essentially a thesis statement for the movement. The words are “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Taken at face value, the statement is innocent enough. There is no overt reference to violence, or even to racism. These factors only rear their heads in the interpretation of the words.
Here is a screenshot from a Reddit conversation that may add some understanding to how the Alt-Right views the world.
The yellow-highlighted comment is powerfully representative of what the Alt-Right is. They believe that an ethnically homogeneous society is a good society, and that diversity causes animosity and discord.
Here is another, more thorough description of what the Alt-Right label means, explained by a White Nationalist redditor (with some corrections for typos and grammar).
The Alt Right is simply an umbrella of right wing ideologies that are explicitly pro-white and fight for white ethnic interests. Mainstream conservatives (that is, cuckservatives) won’t touch this issue with a ten-foot pole.
The Alt Right has its share of autistic shitposters, don’t get me wrong, but it’s an intellectual movement with a diverse array of opinion. However, we’re all in agreement on one thing: the need to preserve and protect white people of European descent. This was a no-brainer position that anybody would have held even half a century ago. Now it’s considered grotesquely immoral because the disease of Globalist Leftism has infected our society with to destroy white identity. The Left has efficiently organized every minority group against white interests while simultaneously indoctrinating white racial consciousness out of us through the media and academia, and they’ve been deadly successful. The Alt Right is a pushback against our ethnic dispossession. It’s an attempt to jumpstart white people into fighting for their ethnic interests the same way other races do, because our current policies are a net detriment to whites.
Many will blame Jews for the anti-white policies and rhetoric today, and they’re not entirely wrong. Jews are highly overrepresented in organized efforts to do this, but I do think people tend to get tunnel vision about Jews. Jewish influence wouldn’t be so dangerous if there wasn’t some loss of racial confidence in ourselves, and I think there are many factors for this, two devastating world wars being some of the key culprits here.
The ethnic question is our primary concern. Forms of economics and governance tend to come second to this, as is evident by the wild variation in what Alt Right supporters will support in this regard.
The only absolutely essential position to be Alt Right is to be explicitly pro-white. Everything else is negotiable, even if you do find common threads regarding Jewish influence, ethnostates, a disdain for SJW’s, etc.
So far, this is the most in-depth and honest explanation of what the Alt-Right is from the perspective of an Alt-Righter. It comprehensively illustrates the beliefs Alt-Righters hold — or claim to hold — regarding society.
For a more succinct and official description, I viewed the official purpose statement text on the sidebar of the subreddit. Interestingly, this definition of Alt-Rightism addresses gender relations, however vaguely.
Alt-right is an umbrella term for a variety of ideologies outside of mainstream American conservatism and classical liberalism. It has a deep philosophical and intellectual background and can encompass various economic theories from socialism to libertarianism, and various ideals, from fascism to direct democracy. The alt-right does hold a few essential positions, with the primary being: Racial Realism/Human Inequality
All men are NOT created equal. The races have legitimate and not insignificant differences, both physiological and psychological, and these differences have an important effect on society. Men and Women are not the same, besides the obvious. Finally, identity matters, and society should accept that.
Because this was found on the sidebar of the subreddit, it was likely discussed and agreed upon by at least a large portion of the online movement. This means the belief that ethnicity plays a part in a person’s character and abilities is a crucial detail in the Alt-Right platform.
Now that we’ve discovered who they are, the next question is “What do they want?” As hinted previously, one large overarching goal of theirs is the creation of an “ethnostate.”
The Ethnostate
An ethnostate is a sovereign geographical and political entity made up of only people from a single ethnicity. Notably, Alt-Righters broadly support ethnostates for all ethnicities and races — not just whites. This is exhibited by their support for Jewish occupation of Israel, whom they consider to be an analogous counterpart. The general term the Alt-Right uses to describe advocacy for ethnostates is “ethnic separatism.”
Alt-Righters have developed some specifics on how they would like to create the ethnostate. One user, a self-proclaimed White Nationalist, shared this proposed method for creating an ethnostate that was generally supported by other Alt-Right members.
[We could use] Separation or Balkanization. There’s an example of this in South Africa of the Afrikaners creating a whites only community called Oriana. Something similar could be done in North America. The Pacific Northwest has already been considered for the ideal location for a separate white ethnostate.
Many other users echoed the mention of the Pacific Northwest. The only satisfactory answer for why the Pacific Northwest was chosen is the already prominent white population.
Interestingly, there is a consensus that the ethnostate absolutely must be in the United States. The sentiment stems from the Alt-Right’s nationalist roots. There is a pervasive belief amongst the group that a person’s birthplace is their right. They are willing to fight hard for a U.S.-based ethnostate rather than take a possibly expedited path towards one in an already white-dominated nation. One argument they posit for this is that it would be hypocritical of them to be anti-immigration, but then to use immigration to accomplish their goals.
Some Alt-Righters pursue the idea of an ethnostate even further, and argue that the entire U.S. should be ethnically homogenized. They recommend techniques such as incentives for sterilization for particular races. Additionally, they propose the abolishment of welfare because they consider it to be subsidization for reproduction of dysgenic traits such as being black, which they believe causes low IQ.
Who belongs to the Alt-Right?
This is a less objective question, and it requires me to stray from the actual words they say and analyze the group dynamics subjectively. I can’t use their quotes because who someone says they are isn’t necessarily who they actually are — especially in political movements.
One method I leveraged to bring some objectivity into this question was viewing the comment and post histories of those belonging to the Alt-Right subreddit. I found that many of them frequented some of the same subreddits. The list and descriptions of those is below.
- r/TheRedPill: A subreddit known for sexism against women; especially in relation to dating. It describes itself as a forum for “Discussion of sexual strategy in a culture increasingly lacking a positive identity for men.” In reality, it functions more often as a forum for men to explain their frustrations with dating.
- r/incels: (short for “Involuntary celibacy”): A subreddit describing itself as “a support group for people who lack romantic relationships and sex, but mostly geared towards those lacking a girlfriend or seeking marriage.” However, this forum is often used to denigrate women, arguing that they are shallow and superficial.
- r/PussyPass, r/PussyPassDenied, r/TumblrInAction: Each of these subreddits is devoted to preventing what it considers to be excessive social justice warrioring; especially in relation to feminism. Often, the conversations carry sexist undertones.
- r/ImGoingToHellForThis: Is an area where undignified and often racist viewpoints and jokes are expressed through images.
These habits of Alt-Righters reveal a pattern. Many of the members are not only white supremacists, but also male supremacists. However, more compelling is the sense of estrangement they have towards society. They vehemently reject typical views of social interaction, viewing other people through an incredibly pessimistic lens.
Strangely, despite the overwhelming pushback Alt-Righters have suffered from society, they maintain an unwavering belief that most Americans agree with them deep down, and are simply too “politically correct” to say so. This feeling mirrors one expressed by Trump supporters, who claim the President “tells it like it is.” Both Trump supporters and Alt-Righters commonly justify their politically incorrect statements by making fantastic claims to the First Amendment, claiming that their right to free speech permits their espousement of extremist views.
The many characteristics of the Alt-Right force us to consider how we should talk about them, and how we can label them. For this reason, I composed a small guide to which labels I perceive to fairly apply.
Are they racist?
Webster defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” Under this definition, it’s safe to say that belonging to the Alt-Right necessitates a subscription to racism at least to some degree. Importantly, not all Alt-Righters believe race to be the primary determinant of traits, but most believe it is a large determinant — especially in relation to IQ. Because of this, I believe it is fair to call Alt-Righters “racist.”
The Alt-Right defends a concept they call “race realism,” which they contend is the most honest, uncensored approach to race relations. Race realism claims that making assumptions about people’s characteristics based on race is justifiable. This belief is the backbone of racial profiling, which argues that it is fair to assume — or at least predict — characteristics of a criminal based simply on the type of crime that was committed.
In conclusion, Alt-Righters are racist, and they advocate for racist policies under the flag of race realism.
Are they Nazis?
Not all Nazis are Alt-Righters, and not all Alt-Righters are Nazis.
Generally, the Alt-Right does not denounce the ideals of Adolf Hitler, but they do usually denounce his methods.
One characteristic that is rampant throughout the Alt-Right is a crippling judeophobia. They firmly believe that Jews have virtually conquered both mainstream media and the U.S. Government, despite Judaism’s meager nationwide population of around 7 million. In fact, this fear is so powerful that if they suspect an anonymous user on their Reddit forum is Jewish, they will hesitate to talk to them.
The Alt-Right’s anti-semitism is far more vocalized than any of their prejudices against other races
While it is unfair to characterize all Alt-Righters as Nazis, the groups certainly share many characteristics.
Are they sexist?
Gender relations are not thoroughly discussed in the Alt-Right platform, so it is unfair to label the ideology as sexist. However, it is clear the many of the people within the movement are sexist as evinced by circumstantial clues such as their predominantly male make-up, and their participations in other openly sexist forums on Reddit. So while they aren’t necessarily sexist, many of them likely adhere to ideologies that are.
Can non-whites be Alt-Right?
Even though being white is not overtly stated as a requirement for belonging to the Alt-Right, the general consensus is that the Alt-Right is indeed “whites only.” However, the Alt-Right encourages similar race-separatist groups of different races, as demonstrated in their support for Israeli Jews.
The Characteristics of the Alt-Right Group
The first and most blaring element of the movement is an overwhelming pseudo-intellectualism. There seems to be a bank of cited research articles that users pull from that they believe support their arguments, and some users use that bank gratuitously.
More fascinating than the pseudo-intellectualism, however, is the underlying cultishness that pervades the movement. The forum has developed a derogatory vocabulary all of their own, and they commonly refer to their opposers as shitlibs, libcucks, cuckservatives, libtards, SJWs, normies, autists, and, of course, snowflakes.
Additionally, they have a stock of references and dogmas that they cite freely, as if to assume it is common knowledge. These references are to things such as the 14 Words, the 88 Precepts, and numerous famed Nazi ideologists. Admittedly, every movement has similar elements to some degree; it’s simply part of being a group. The Alt-Right differs in the extreme concentration of these elements. By this, I mean that for as small and unknown as the Alt-Right is, they have a staggering quantity of teachings, common rhetoric, and obscure history that everyone understands.
This is why I believe they have crossed the line from a simple advocacy group into cultism. Their group forms such a tight cocoon that it is, like a street gang, difficult to leave and readjust to life in the outside world.
However, another factor underpins this cultism. The Alt-Right believes they are being persecuted vehemently. They believe that the public is afraid of them because they are the only ones brave enough to speak the truth. They believe that their goal represents the natural state of the world, and that everyone deep down yearns to join their cause.
Notice again that these feelings mirror many other advocacy groups. The only difference is the radicalism and extremism.
Do they support President Trump?
Interestingly, views conflict on the President. Many feel he is a huge step in the right direction, some contend he is too weak and mainstream, and still more believe he is an embarrassing, fumbling public face for their movement. Because Trump has denounced the Alt-Right, there have been some arguments over whether they should continue their support for him. The below quote from a user (with some corrections for grammar) explains the consensus.
“Watch Trump talking about something he doesn’t like. He insults it, calls it a disgrace, or a disaster. None of that happens with the Alt-Right. Of course he had to disavow (the Alt-Right) for the media. But he absolutely knows that’s where his bread is buttered.”
Essentially, most Alt-Righters believe that Trump’s denouncement of them is purely theatrical, and enduring it is a necessary evil in order to further the Alt-Right’s agenda.
It is unlikely that the Alt-Right will ever withdraw their support for the President as long as he maintains his anti-immigration stances.
Conclusion
At the outset of this project, I aimed to explain who the Alt-Right are. When practical, I gave you the answer to that question straight from the keyboards of Alt-Righters. This allowed me to, for the most part, keep my biases from clouding the truth. Where necessary, however, I did include my subjective analyzation of the group dynamics.
At the risk of stating the obvious, I vehemently disagree with the Alt-Right. They are wrong in every possible way. I wrote this essay believing that only by removing the middleman of a commentator could I truly learn my enemy and help others to do the same. There was no need to exaggerate their claims to dissuade people from joining their movement. Their beliefs are repulsive enough.
However, I want to stress that simply because I feel they are wrong, I don’t think they are bad people. They are, for the most part, kind and civil, and they simply want to discuss and promote their ideas. They are good people who have fallen prey to cultism. Preventing the growth of the Alt-Right must be pursued with this fact in mind.
You may be scared of the Alt-Right. I can safely say that you don’t have to be. Remember that the Alt-Right is a coalition. It doesn’t exist in and of itself, but rather as a collection of other groups too weak to function on their own.
Additionally, the Alt-Right is unorganized. Yes, they have the ability to show up to the same place and chant the same things, but when it comes to underlying goals, the Alt-Right is scattered. As long as their group remains the cultish, brash, pseudo-intellectual movement that they currently are, they will never be anything more than glorified internet trolls.
Finally, we must realize that this movement is not based on hate. As easy as it may be to ascribe Nazism, Klanism, and supremacism to hatred, this is misled. The Alt-Right is a movement based on ignorance, and it is borne out of failed educations and crumbling social structures.
With these facts in mind, and with the Alt-Right’s veil lifted, we can address the problems that lead to this plague. Supremacist ideas won’t ever disappear completely. They will always exist somewhere. But I believe that, if addressed, it one day won’t be a topic worth writing about.
