The kids are alt-right: why todays youth are embracing extremism – HeraldScotland
However, its not just hopelessness that worries Alison. Her son has become a political extremist. The first signs were a few sexist comments. Then the anti-migrant rhetoric, the racism, the homophobia. Today, hes praising Donald Trump and following the far-right ghouls stalking British Twitter.
Alisons son is a case study in why todays youth are moving towards the far right. The success of far right extremists in the European elections was helped considerably by the youth vote. Commentators blame TikTok propaganda, Covid desocialising the young, or the Ukraine conflict spooking kids that theyll one day have to fight a European war.
Thats just window-dressing. The young are moving to the far right for the same reasons as Alisons son: the political status quo in the West has failed them.
Todays young are the first generation to see living standards fall in comparison to their parents. Our children will not have better lives than us, and they know it.
If democracy has failed you, why vote for it any more? Its that brutally simple. Why be surprised at kids abandoning this failed settlement and seeking answers in strongmen and authoritarians?
Fascists and extremists offer scapegoats for the hopeless. Blame foreigners, blame minorities - blame anybody but your tribe.
Whats happening should scare us. Allegiance to the far right has traditionally been the reserve of angry, older men. However, now that the young are shifting to the extremes, were facing a demographic time bomb. If the young are embracing the far right now, what will their views be like when they hit middle age?
Statistics from the European elections should make us tremble. Were entering a new era of the far-right and much of the success of extremists is down to the young. In Spain, 22% of voters aged 18-24 say they back far-right parties like Vox.
READ MORE BY NEIL MACKAY
SNP risks fuelling far right with failure to tackle housing crisis
Scottish asylum hotels are a gift for the far right
How the town of Erskine became a far-right flashpoint
In Germany, the far right AfD polled 16% among those aged 16-24, and 18% for those aged 25-34. By comparison, only 8% of those aged 70 and older gave the far right their vote. When not excusing Hitlers SS, the AfD ruthlessly targets the young.
In France, Marine Le Pens National Rally is the most popular party for those aged 18-34. Opinion polls show NR on 32% among the young - far ahead of its nearest rival.
So much for the notion that every kid is woke. Rather, the kids are alt-right.
Le Pen is particularly savvy in messaging aimed at the young, promising to eliminate taxes for anyone under-30, and offering financial assistance and better housing to students. She made 28-year-old Jordan Bardella party president.
In Belgium, Portugal and Finland younger voters back the far right in numbers that either equal or exceed older voters. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders far right party won the 2023 election by linking lack of housing for young people to immigration.
It is long past time for the parties of the centre left and centre right to wake up. The failed status quo they offer is driving the young into the arms of extremists.
The far right bends the knee to Russia. Picture a world in which Trump is in the White House, and the far right in power across much of Europe. The result? Ukraine defeated, democracy cowed, Europes eastern border imperilled.
To halt the flight of the young to the far right, we must fix the economy. The young need hope. They need to know democracy works for them. The success of democracy is contingent upon the success of the economy. If the young dont believe theyve an economic future under democracy theyll shift to the extremes.
We can blame the young all we want. Call them stupid, say theyre disgusting, throw around whatever epithets and theories we wish. But the fundamental reasons for the rise of far right youth is us: their parents and grandparents.
We allowed this system to take root, we saw it going wrong and did nothing to change it. We voted in the same failed politicians who let it all stagnate. Build a swamp, and people will act like they live in a swamp.
Theres some hope. In nations where the far right and populists have tasted power - like Italy and Poland - the young have shifted away from the extremes. In other words, once kids get a taste of what theyve been fool enough to vote for, buyers remorse kicks in.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen with Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, after last weekends EU elections (Image: PA)
In Britain and America, the young havent been captured by right-wing extremists as they have in Europe. Why? Because Trumps Maga movement and Nigel Farages Reform havent got the brains to cut through with the young.
We should thank our lucky stars theyre too busy blaming the young and mocking them as snowflakes. When they start reaching out to them, matters might become more troubling.
For those clutching their pearls about Reform being referred to as "extremist", read the report in Tuesdays Times outlining how one in 10 Reform candidates are "friends"on Facebook with Gary Raikes, the former BNP organiser, who founded the New British Union.
NBU activists call themselves "Blackshirts"; the party wants a "fascist revolution", and sees democracy as an "obstruction"which needs replaced with dictatorship. One Reform candidate said Britain should have been neutral and not fought the Nazis.
If my friends son could afford to rent a flat, and be given some hope that one day hed get a job which matched his talents, then I know for sure that the anger which is tipping him to the extremes would fade and hed become the same decent democratic citizen as his mum and dad.
But while we live in a society controlled by politicians who couldnt care less about his life, how can I blame this boy for what hes become?
Follow this link:
The kids are alt-right: why todays youth are embracing extremism - HeraldScotland
- The alt-right are using the Los Angeles fires to attack women is anyone surprised? - The New Feminist - January 24th, 2025 [January 24th, 2025]
- Nashville Shooter Was Alt-Right Supporter And 'Ashamed To Be Black,' According To Alleged Manifesto - NewsOne - January 24th, 2025 [January 24th, 2025]
- Alt-Right Strategist Steve Bannon Endorses The Great Controversy - Adventist Today - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- What happened when a small Canadian city collided with the alt-right - The Logic - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Tiny reaction to supposed alt-right presence heated on both sides - MidlandToday - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Pickering pausing in-person meeting due to alt-right threats, mayor says - CTV News Toronto - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Atmosphere of fear, Pickering moves public meetings online over alt-right threats - NOW Toronto - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Wicked would be fun and forgettable but for the alt-right waging dark arts against it - The Guardian - December 2nd, 2024 [December 2nd, 2024]
- Your body, my choice: a chilling slogan of the Trumpian alt-right - The New Statesman - November 17th, 2024 [November 17th, 2024]
- White Americans who perceive themselves to be last place in the racial status hierarchy are most drawn to alt-right extremism - Nature.com - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- Susan Olsen Says Brady Bunch Revival Was Scrapped Due To Her Alt-Right Politics - 106.3 The Groove - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- Alt-right group gathers in Coeur dAlene with "SWAT Team vibes" - KHQ Right Now - October 7th, 2024 [October 7th, 2024]
- How the alt-right's political violence went from online to real life - WBUR News - October 4th, 2024 [October 4th, 2024]
- Meet the alt-Right Crunchy Mums Anti-vax mothers are consumed by paranoid love - UnHerd - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll - Shepherd Express - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- The alt-right Spanish leader promising to destroy a rotten system - The Times - September 19th, 2024 [September 19th, 2024]
- Amandla Stenberg Says The Acolyte Cancellation Was Not a Shock Due to Alt-Right Hate Toward the Series - IndieWire - August 29th, 2024 [August 29th, 2024]
- Amandla Stenberg Says The Acolyte Cancellation Was Not a Shock Due to Alt-Right Hate Toward the Series - imdb - August 29th, 2024 [August 29th, 2024]
- The Acolyte Lead Amandla Stenberg Claims Star Wars Series Was The Target Of Hyper-Conservative Bigotry From The Alt-Right - Bounding Into Comics - August 29th, 2024 [August 29th, 2024]
- The ugly conversion of Candace Owens The alt-Right promised her power and devotion - UnHerd - August 22nd, 2024 [August 22nd, 2024]
- Hawk tuah girl: How she became a bizarre and unwitting icon for the alt-right. - Slate - July 8th, 2024 [July 8th, 2024]
- The Boys season 4 episode 6 recap and Easter eggs: an alt-right cocktail party takes a nasty turn - Gamesradar - July 8th, 2024 [July 8th, 2024]
- Lesbian The Boys Actress Valorie Curry Glad Shes Mocking The Alt-Right - Star Observer - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- Here's why lesbian actress Valorie Curry enjoys playing a right-wing role on The Boys - Gay Times - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- Alt-Tech: Down the Far Right Rabbit Hole - Grey Dynamics - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- How has Pepe the Frog become a far-right icon? - Far Out Magazine - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Save Europe: the alt-right movement spreading hate with dance music - Dazed - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- TV Review: THE BOYS Season 4 is a Pizzagate parody of Donald Trump's Alt-Right - Comics Beat - June 16th, 2024 [June 16th, 2024]
- Nicki Minaj Is Cozying Up To Ben Shapiro And Its A Good Reminder For Us All - Yahoo Canada Sports - February 6th, 2024 [February 6th, 2024]
- Alt-Right Wackadoodles Now Impersonating the NorCal Journalists Who Exposed Their 'Zoom-Bombing' of City Meetings - SFist - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- ICYMI: Trump loses in court again, and Taylor Swift broke their alt-right hearts - Daily Kos - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- The alt-right saw Taylor Swift as an 'Aryan goddess.' She shook them off as 'repulsive' - Daily Kos - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- How the Welsh flag has been hijacked by the far-right in Brittany - Nation.Cymru - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- Doja Cat Responds To Backlash Over Alt-Right T-Shirt: 'It's Not An Attack' - HipHopDX - December 17th, 2023 [December 17th, 2023]
- Marvel and DC Writer Mark Waid Rejects Mark Millar's Call To Root Out Comic Book 'Cancel Pigs', Dishonestly Paints ... - Bounding Into Comics - December 17th, 2023 [December 17th, 2023]
- Soda Jerk's Hello Dankness The Brooklyn Rail - Brooklyn Rail - October 5th, 2023 [October 5th, 2023]
- What We Know About 'Microchip,' the FBI's Far-Right Judas - Southern Poverty Law Center - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- 'Against All Enemies' Explores Why Veterans Are Drawn to ... - Military.com - June 30th, 2023 [June 30th, 2023]
- The American alt-right wants to set up shop in the UK - Tortoise Media - May 20th, 2023 [May 20th, 2023]
- What you need to know about Princeton's James Madison Program - The Daily Princetonian - May 20th, 2023 [May 20th, 2023]
- Make a noise and make it clear! How John Farnhams Youre the Voice became Australias anthem - The Guardian - May 20th, 2023 [May 20th, 2023]
- Succession recap: season four, episode eight nothing is more sadistic than the words Is that even true? - The Guardian - May 16th, 2023 [May 16th, 2023]
- How younger voters will impact elections: How legacy media and social media impact old and young voters - Brookings Institution - May 16th, 2023 [May 16th, 2023]
- Is Mencken Based on Trump in 'Succession'? He's an Alt-Right ... - Distractify - May 16th, 2023 [May 16th, 2023]
- Irish Times apologises for hoax AI article about womens use of fake tan - The Guardian - May 16th, 2023 [May 16th, 2023]
- The Best Books to Read in 2023 - The New York Times - May 16th, 2023 [May 16th, 2023]
- The Reinvention of the Latin American Right - NACLA - April 13th, 2023 [April 13th, 2023]
- Pentagon leaks: how much damage will they cause? - The Guardian US - April 13th, 2023 [April 13th, 2023]
- Frog Decor Is Living in My Head Rent-Free - Architectural Digest - April 13th, 2023 [April 13th, 2023]
- Five Ways to Have More Constructive Disagreements - Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley - March 30th, 2023 [March 30th, 2023]
- Succession: The real people who inspired the HBO hit - VOGUE India - March 28th, 2023 [March 28th, 2023]
- The web firm that wants to stop you getting 'cancelled' - BBC - March 28th, 2023 [March 28th, 2023]
- Dutch Elections Produce Another Popular Wave But the Same Prime ... - Foreign Policy - March 23rd, 2023 [March 23rd, 2023]
- Trial of 2016 Twitter Troll to Test Limits of Online Speech - The New York Times - March 23rd, 2023 [March 23rd, 2023]
- John Krull: Waiting for the waves in Nebraska - Kokomo Tribune - March 23rd, 2023 [March 23rd, 2023]
- Denver's Black, Jewish communities focus on shared history of ... - The Colorado Sun - March 23rd, 2023 [March 23rd, 2023]
- The Dangerous Subtlety of the Alt-Right Pipeline - February 26th, 2023 [February 26th, 2023]
- How the Alt-Right Happened | American University, Washington, DC - February 10th, 2023 [February 10th, 2023]
- The Women Behind The 'Alt-Right' : NPR - NPR.org - February 10th, 2023 [February 10th, 2023]
- Kanye West Praises Adolf Hitler in Alex Jones Interview Billboard - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Michelle Malkin Fired After Defending Nick Fuentes - Mediaite - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Netflix Removed Kanye's 'Harmful Alt-Right Beliefs' From David ... - November 22nd, 2022 [November 22nd, 2022]
- Where Are All the Women on This Alt-Right, Anti-Choice, Toxic ... - November 22nd, 2022 [November 22nd, 2022]
- Forbes Gets Punked - Labels FTX Former CEO's Girlfriend a "New Darling ... - November 22nd, 2022 [November 22nd, 2022]
- Alt-Right Picks Wrong Side in Dutch Farm Crisis - November 22nd, 2022 [November 22nd, 2022]
- Is that an OK sign? A white power symbol? Or just a right-wing troll? - November 1st, 2022 [November 1st, 2022]
- Dark Enlightenment - Wikipedia - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Shapiro poised to break spending record in governor's race after raising $25M this summer - Pennsylvania Capital-Star - October 1st, 2022 [October 1st, 2022]
- Alt-right conspiracy theorist, Stop the Steal and Pizzagate pusher ... - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- What the Woke Left and the Alt-Right Share - Project Syndicate - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- Mothers of the movement: Leadership by alt-right women paves the way for violence - The Conversation - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- Who is Ryder Ripps, Artist Trying To Take Down Bored Ape Yacht Club ARTnews.com - ARTnews - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- White nationalism, fueled by social media, is on the rise and attracting violent young white men - Arizona Mirror - August 24th, 2022 [August 24th, 2022]
- Flags of the alt-right, white supremacists - pennlive.com - August 22nd, 2022 [August 22nd, 2022]
- January 6 Hearings Rile up Alt-Right Extremists Online - Business Insider - August 22nd, 2022 [August 22nd, 2022]
- When Did Racism Begin? - The Chronicle of Higher Education - August 22nd, 2022 [August 22nd, 2022]
- Standing Against Transphobia: On School Boards & in the State Houses - LGBTQ Victory Institute - August 22nd, 2022 [August 22nd, 2022]
- How Rad-Trad Catholics Weaponized the Rosary - The Atlantic - August 14th, 2022 [August 14th, 2022]
- Five years after her daughter's death at the Unite the Right rally, Heather Heyer's mother reflects - WBUR News - August 14th, 2022 [August 14th, 2022]
- That's A Price I'm Willing To Pay: Wyoming's Rep. Liz Cheney Emphasizes Role In Jan. 6 Investigation And Expected Loss Ahead Of Tuesday's Primary -... - August 14th, 2022 [August 14th, 2022]