What is the alt right?

Events occurring and how they relate/affect Anabaptist faith and culture.
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Admiral Acbon
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What is the alt right?

Post by Admiral Acbon »

The following is the most intelligent analysis I've seen of the "alt-right" to this point (which isn't saying much, to be honest). The writer certainly reveals his liberal bias by disparaging views of theirs also held by mainstream conservatives, but more importantly- he uses data analysis to identify trends and such. Enjoy! (Warning: Some language.)

https://qz.com/1056319/what-is-the-alt- ... ly-uniting
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temporal1
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by temporal1 »

ugh. i dont wanna view. i loosely reviewed the text. :-|

but, when i read this, i had already been trying to find a note Robert recently/last week made at the end of one of his posts .. it was something about how conservatives are made up of many different groups, not organized .. (forgive my memory) .. and, forgive my inability to locate his words.

i agree with him, and, i highly value this unorganized (non) group (?) ..
to me, it's the beauty of living in a free society. i hope it does not go away.

the way i see the phrase, "alt-right" used, even on this forum, is a catch-all phrase to diminish-bash any-all conservatives, or any you happen to disagree with .. may as well say, "the evil ones."

i see a new phrase now, "alt-left."

i'm dismayed.
after decades of essentially socially castrating extreme groups by effective widespread (shunning) now they are elevated into the public arena by aggression tactics that are no more wanted from one side or the other. the new aggressors then self-righteously attack those not defending them with accusations of defending the first group.

after decades of rejecting and not defending the first group, in big ways and small ways, it's insulting to be accused of the opposite. many people have close family members who fought in formal wars against this, all have been hurt by it, this is no minor accusation.

but, as i believe it's actually about sowing division+unrest, mission accomplished.
insulting is an effective way to stir pots.

logic and reality are not actual factors. that's an entirely different premise.
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Josh
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by Josh »

It's notable that that article lumped thinking there are only two genders in with being a "white male" or being some kind of white nationalist neo-Nazi.

I'd be particularly interested in hearing from Bootstrap and Szdfan how those of us who indeed think there are two genders, and that practicing homosexuality is wrong, are supposed to stay engaged with people who have decided that anyone who believes those things is one and the same as a neo-Nazi.
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JimFoxvog
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by JimFoxvog »

Admiral Acbon wrote:The following is the most intelligent analysis I've seen of the "alt-right" to this point (which isn't saying much, to be honest). The writer certainly reveals his liberal bias by disparaging views of theirs also held by mainstream conservatives, but more importantly- he uses data analysis to identify trends and such. Enjoy! (Warning: Some language.)

https://qz.com/1056319/what-is-the-alt- ... ly-uniting
Thanks for the link. I found it educational and understand better where a few Facebook posts are coming from.
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Bootstrap
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by Bootstrap »

Josh wrote:It's notable that that article lumped thinking there are only two genders in with being a "white male" or being some kind of white nationalist neo-Nazi.
Really? I thought the article clearly said the author sees these as different:
The alt-right isn’t one group. They don’t have one coherent identity. Rather, they’re a loose collection of people from disparate backgrounds who would never normally interact: bored teenagers, gamers, men’s rights activists, conspiracy theorists and, yes, white nationalists and neo-Nazis. But thanks to the internet, they’re beginning to form a cohesive group identity. And I have the data to prove it.
It then looks at the language each of these groups use to discuss the differences, and ways that they are beginning to form a group identity that spans those differences.
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Bootstrap
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by Bootstrap »

temporal1 wrote:i'm dismayed.
after decades of essentially socially castrating extreme groups by effective widespread (shunning) now they are elevated into the public arena by aggression tactics that are no more wanted from one side or the other. the new aggressors then self-righteously attack those not defending them with accusations of defending the first group.

after decades of rejecting and not defending the first group, in big ways and small ways, it's insulting to be accused of the opposite. many people have close family members who fought in formal wars against this, all have been hurt by it, this is no minor accusation.

but, as i believe it's actually about sowing division+unrest, mission accomplished.
insulting is an effective way to stir pots.

logic and reality are not actual factors. that's an entirely different premise.
I think the Internet makes it easy to find groups that agree with you, where you can do all kinds of nasty things that are harder face-to-face. This is true for sexual perversions, and it's also true for political hatred and other antisocial behavior - on the left or on the right.

And some of these groups that have developed on the Internet are establishing a beachhead on the ground, in elections, in demonstrations. On both the left and the right. So things are getting more extreme.
temporal1 wrote:the way i see the phrase, "alt-right" used, even on this forum, is a catch-all phrase to diminish-bash any-all conservatives, or any you happen to disagree with .. may as well say, "the evil ones."
Most conservatives do not consider themselves alt-right, and in the wake of Charlottesville most conservatives have been very clear that they do not support Nazis, the KKK, or white supremacy.

I usually use the term only for people who say they are alt-right. The guy who invented the term is Richard Spencer:
Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 11, 1978) is an American white supremacist. He is president of the National Policy Institute, a white supremacist think tank, as well as Washington Summit Publishers. Spencer has stated that he rejects the label of white supremacist, and prefers to describe himself as an identitarian. He has advocated for a white homeland for a "dispossessed white race" and called for "peaceful ethnic cleansing" to halt the "deconstruction" of European culture.

Spencer and others have said that he created the term "alt-right", which he considers a movement about white identity. Breitbart News described Spencer's website AlternativeRight.com as "a center of alt-right thought."

Spencer and his organization drew considerable media attention in the weeks following the 2016 US presidential election, where, at a National Policy Institute conference, he quoted from Nazi propaganda and denounced Jews. In response to his cry "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!", a number of his supporters gave the Nazi salute and chanted in a similar fashion to the Sieg heil chant used at the Nazis' Nuremberg rallies. Spencer has also refused to denounce Adolf Hitler.
If you want to hear it from their own mouths, you can go to AlternativeRight.com.

That's not what most conservatives believe, and traditional conservative publications do not support the alt-right. But many people are reading more extreme publications that do sympathize with the alt-right, and some of them are confusing white identity memes with conservatism.
temporal1 wrote:i see a new phrase now, "alt-left."
I don't know any group that uses that term to describe themselves, I think Donald Trump used it, and he wasn't very clear who he was talking about. He may have been talking about Antifa, a group of communists and anarchists who see fighting the far right as one of their main missions.

We would do well to stay away from both groups.
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Bootstrap
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by Bootstrap »

The bottom of the page links to another article that contains this helpful overview of the groups we are talking about.

Image
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temporal1
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by temporal1 »

Bootstrap wrote:.. We would do well to stay away from both groups.
the wise one speaks.

notice, you were first to introduce the topic to this forum.
and, you may be top contributor to the topic, overall. "we" ^^^ must not include you.
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=716

otherwise, it's possible, this topic might not have been discussed on this forum.
which would have been ok.

MN has done a pretty good job of not getting sucked in to every passing political skirmish.
which is ok.
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Bootstrap
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by Bootstrap »

temporal1 wrote:
Bootstrap wrote:.. We would do well to stay away from both groups.
the wise one speaks.

notice, you were first to introduce the topic to this forum.
and, you may be top contributor to the topic, overall. "we" ^^^ must not include you.
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=716
You're right, I probably am the top contributor to this topic. And I think I'm consistently saying we must avoid joining either group of extremists, pointing out the flaws on both sides.

There's a difference between preaching against adultery and committing adultery.

Here's why I care about this topic. Biblical Christianity has compassion. Our neighbors are being threatened and intimidated. I live in the South, there is unrest in my town and the next one over.

So who is my neighbor?
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
The Christian response is not to join either of the robber bands. Or to support them. And the Christian response is not to object to those who are looking for ways to help the victim.
Last edited by Bootstrap on Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Bootstrap
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Re: What is the alt right?

Post by Bootstrap »

temporal1 wrote:MN has done a pretty good job of not getting sucked in to every passing political skirmish.
which is ok.
You know, there's a problem with the title "Current Events and Politics". It can imply that the only way to view current events is through a political lens, which for most people means a partisan political lens. I think we need to view current events through a Kingdom lens.

Charlottesville and the subsequent rallies and counterprotests are a time for all of us to join together against hate and mob rule, no matter where it claims to be on the political spectrum. And a time to wrestle with what we, as Christians, have to say to those around us if we want to be a light in this darkness.

There's more than one response. The Quiet in the Land will probably focus more on building an alternative society. People like me will focus also on how we speak to the society around us, find ways to love those who are being threatened, etc. I want to be both salt and light.
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