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In recent days, it has occurred to me that that radical Islamists and the alt-right have more in common than domestic terrorism. By tapping in to similar psychology and group dynamics, the alt-right is aping the recruitment strategies of radical Islam.

Consider this: Terrorist groups like al Qaeda purportedly believe that getting the West to overreact is more important than instilling fear. If you can provoke enough non-Muslims to treat all Muslims with fear and hostility, write Stephen D. Reicher and S. Alexander Haslam in Scientific American, then those Muslims who previously shunned conflict may begin to feel marginalized and heed the call of the more radical voices among them.

The alt-right is likewise playing the long game of engaging in behavior so despicable as to entice an overreaction. This is the smart thing to do if you are a relatively small (in number) movement that prioritizes recruitment. The end result is to increase polarization by red-pilling whites into viewing a shared racial status as their defining identity (which is why another term for the alt-right is identitarian).

Heres how it works: When minorities see Nazis marching in Charlottesville, they are understandably troubled. But when their leaders overreact to the acts of a small group of whites who are attempting to co-opt conservatism, it actually helps push mainstream whites into the alt-right.

A prime example of this overreaction played out recently when liberals like Al Sharpton and my CNN colleague Angela Rye suggested that statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (not just Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson) should be taken down.

By coming after Washington and Jefferson, otherwise apolitical and moderate whitespeople who never thought much about their white identitycould have skin in this game.

The same liberals who worry that we are creating more terrorists by being overly aggressive on the anti-terrorism front dont seem to worry that they might be creating more racists by being overly aggressive in their opposition to racism.

This is not to say we shouldnt fight against fascism; we should. It is to say that we should fight smart. Sadly, some on the left have taken the bait.

This is not to say that left-wing iconoclasm is the moral equivalent of drone strikes, but it is to say that there are some parallels in the way extremists bait us into overreacting in order to grow extremism.

In the case of Washington and Jefferson statues and monuments, the desire to remove images of Americas Founding Fathers demonstrates the radical nature of ones adversaries. Even for those who would prefer to remain on the sidelines, confronting the unreasonable demands of retroactively imposing modern values on our nations most revered founders might justify fighting fire with fire.

Its plausible to imagine some young white conservative who is sort of on the fence about all of this now thinking: Well, if theyre going to come after Washington and Jefferson, I guess this really is a mutually excusive, binary choice. And the truth is, I dont have a choice. I was born this way.

This is just one small example of how liberal overreaction fans the flames of extremism, but its a timely one.

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Extremists on both sides make it harder for anybody to be a conscientious objector to this culture war.

It has been said that the first thing you should do upon going to jail is to join a gang for protection. In that regard, the outside world is becoming more and more like prison.

You may not be interested in tribalism, but tribalism is interested in you.

Just as moderate Muslims may come to believe that they will never be truly accepted by a white mob that wrongly conflates them with terrorists, some vulnerable whites increasingly feel pressed into service for their tribe. Young people are especially vulnerable to getting caught up in this cycle. If the alt-rights plan works, this same sort of misrecogntion will also help drive moderate whites into the alt-right.

It used to be easy to spot a white supremacist. They wore hoods or stupid black Hitler t-shirts or skinhead tats and regalia. In contrast, anyone wanting to signal that he was harmless could do so by looking preppy or stylish and being educated or cosmopolitan.

Thanks to the alt-righters, thats no longer the case. Consider the tiki-torch rally held in Charlottesville the Friday night before the big protest. Donning polos and khakis, these guys looked more like they were attending the Brooks Brothers riot than a Nazi rally.

This was not an accident. Recently, the editor of the Daily Stormer advised his fellow neo-Nazis to start dressing better and getting in shape. But theres more to it than aesthetics. As Cam Wolf writes in GQ, the khaki-wearing demonstrators in Charlottesville weren't trying to be fashionablethey were trying to blend in. And in doing so, they've turned the blandest items in our closets into a dog whistle. Is your neighbor wearing a polo and khakis because he's a style-agnostic dad? Or is he just actively supporting the creation of a white ethno-state? The problem is that when they put on our uniform, they dont just blend in with us, we blend in with them.

Case in point: The other day, a man was stabbed and accused of being a neo-Nazi in the parking lot of a Steak n Shake in Colorado, all because his haircut resembled that worn by alt-righters (called a fasci). This man is reportedly considering changing his look, and who could blame him? At the micro level, thats probably what will happen. But its the macro level that concerns me. Its not absurd to think that someone attacked or shamed (even in a case of mistaken identity) might be easier to radicalize. We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be, warned Kurt Vonnegut. But maybe we also become the people who pretend to be us?

This is not to say that it will work. There are lots of moderating traditions and mediating institutions in America to mitigate this. But its very clear that the alt-right is tapping into some of the same strategies that have been used to fuel the growth of other extremists in history.

Violence usually begets violence; hate usually begets hate. At least, thats what the alt-right is planning on.

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What the Alt-Right Has Learned From Al Qaeda - Daily Beast

Even as it wrestles with its own diversity issues, Silicon Valley has become the reluctant arbiter of the line where free speech crosses into hate speech in the wake of the deadly protests in Charlottesville.

In an age where a lack of condemnation is tantamount to complicity, experts say tech firms have no choice but to disassociate from the alt-right, although as a growing number of tech companies cut off white nationalist groups from the platforms they use for communication, commerce, and content distribution, some have criticized the response as too little, too late.

Theres a very intimate history between internet service providers and white supremacist groups, said Joan Donovan, media manipulation research lead at the Data & Society Research Institute. There was plenty of warning that this stuff was being coordinated in their spaces, she said, but tech companies initially resisted policing the activity.

Historically, Silicon Valley has presented itself on embracing diversity in all its forms, albeit for pragmatic rather than political reasons: Cutthroat competition for users and talent means that companies cant afford to be exclusionary.

The reason this is a heightened issue in technology is technology is much more heterogeneous its all over the world, said Dave Carvajal, CEO of a technology-focused recruiting firm.

Its this belief people have that the tech industry should be the most modern, the most cutting edge, said Brian Kropp, HR Practice Leader at CEB (now Gartner). It also has this promise of capturing what tomorrow is going to be like.

But putting these egalitarian principles into practice hasnt always been easy. Even before Charlottesville, companies have stumbled in the gap between bro culture and Silicon Valleys self-image of open-mindedness.

Ubers ouster of CEO Travis Kalanick shone an embarrassing spotlight on the ingrained misogyny at some firms, and Googles recent firing of engineer James Damore, who argued in a widely distributed memo that women are biologically less well-suited for tech jobs, triggered accusations that the search giant is intolerant of conservative views.

I think whats happening is a lot of these kinds of deep-rooted issues are being brought to the surface because of the political theater thats happening right now. Its stirring up a lot of this, Carvajal said.

The violence at a white nationalist rally that left one counter-protester dead and others injured has brought this tension into sharper focus.

Theyve been pushing very hard on many of these issues. Now theyre at a point where they have to make really hard decisions... whether or not they stand up to all the values theyve talked about and promoted, Kropp said.

Some tech firms have been more receptive to curtailing alt-right activity than others, said Rashad Robinson, executive director of advocacy group Color of Change.

A lot of them seem super-focused on terms of services and this idea of an open platform, he said. We hear things like they share our values but at this time theres not going to be an update to policy.

Some of the challenges are logistical rather than ideological, since much of the enforcement cant be automated. It takes humans making judgement calls, and the line between talk and action online isnt always clear. There hasnt been a good model so far for policy around how to monitor or prevent certain amounts of content, Donovan said.

Tech companies also dont want to alienate potential customers or trigger a public relations backlash. According to Ted Marzilli, CEO of YouGov BrandIndex, consumer sentiment metrics for Facebook, Apple and GoDaddy reflected little change this week. Theyre not getting a lot of credit from consumers, but theyre not being punished, either, he said.

This could embolden other Silicon Valley leaders to terminate alt-right and white nationalist business relationships, Marzilli said, even if it costs them. These things are always a bit risky for companies from the perspective of dollars and cents, he said.

Whether driven by a sense of moral obligation, concern about public perception or some combination of the two, last weekends violence seemed to be a wake-up call, Robinson said. Its certainly accelerated since Charlottesville, he said of companies willingness to cut ties with white nationalist groups.

They started to think about their role in promoting this kind of talk, Donovan said. One thing these platforms really understand about themselves is they dont just allow speech to flow, they do the job of coordinating action They saw that this kind of open unmoderated speech online produced violent effects.

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Alt-Right Activists Thrust Silicon Valley Into Debate on Hate Speech ... - NBCNews.com

WATCH LIVE

The city of Berkeley once again is gearing up for what could be another showdown between the right and left with rallies this weekend and in September, including a possible appearance by conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos. (Published Monday, Aug. 21, 2017)

The city of Berkeley once again is gearing up for what could be another showdown between the right and left with rallies this weekend and in September, including a possible appearance by conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos.

The rallies will focus on free speech, and while city and UC Berkeley leaders are not welcoming hate speech, they are allowing the rallies in the name of the First Amendment.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee and other city and county leaders are expected to speak Tuesday morning at Berkeley City Hall to make it clear to hate groups that they are not welcome in the city.

So-called alt-right ralliers plan to demonstrate on Berkeley's streets this weekend, and residents are concerned about violence and destruction similar to what occurred in February, before a planned Yiannopoulos speech was canceled.

"They're not alt-right; they're Nazis," resident Taye Taye said. "They're racists. They're not welcome."

UC Berkeley students also are concerned about what will happen this weekend and in September, when Yiannopoulos and other controversial alt-right speakers say they will be on campus.

"There is such a thing as too far left and too far right, so i think it's going to be a little dangerous around campus during that time," student Cindy Kreck said.

Still, the university says it will allow all speech on campus, even if it's filled with hate.

"We contest speech that we don't like with more speech, and the best disinfectant is sunlight," UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said.

Mogulof said the school will spend a lot of money on security to keep people safe.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said the alt-right groups expected this weekend are not welcome but they will not be turned away if they remain peaceful.

"We as a community stand for free speech," Arreguin said. "We are the birthplace of the free speech movement, and we really can't dictate based on the content of the speech."

Published at 5:01 PM PDT on Aug 21, 2017 | Updated at 8:58 PM PDT on Aug 21, 2017

Read more:
Berkeley Braces for Upcoming 'Alt-Right' Rallies, Speeches - NBC Bay Area

Stop saying alt-right. Call them what they are:racists, Nazis,whitesupremacists, vile and divisive people. We cannot soften hate.

The good news isDonald Trumphas finally shown us his true colors. The bad news is he has shown us his true colors.There is no morality in his soul.In spite of growing up during the civil rights movement, when people died in sit-ins and marches, he found no moral high ground in that fight.

We need to speak the truth about Charlottesville and theracists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists coming to San Francisco and Berkeley this month. We need to be there to show our support for good, equality and justice. And we need to call them what they are.

Nanci Viera San Jose

As someone who has served in U.S. Army and studied military history all my life, I cannot let someone write something so ridiculous defending Gen. Robert E. Lee (Letters, Aug. 17). Like Germanys Gen. Erwin Rommel, Lee led armies that imposed racist and murderous war. Neither deserves to be treated with honor.

Vic DiEleanora San Bruno

I did not find President Trumps comments at all offensive.Trump was right on assigning blame to both sides.He strongly condemnedviolence, and he was wise to wait until he had all the facts before calling outby name. He is absolutely for law and order.

Why do people and news continually bash Trump? Why keep opposing the will of the people? What is placing the country in grave danger is not Trump, but it is the likes of people such as Rep Jackie Speier, the Bay Area Democratand others who portray him as unfit for office.

Deanna Method Campbell

Removing Confederate statues does not erase history and does not promote understanding or learning of our U.S. history. It would be more beneficial to place historical perspective statements on each statue to explain, for example, that Gen. Robert E. Lee was a great soldier, etc., however, he fought against the unity of the United States. President George Washington was also a slave owner. There are good and bad sides to each person, living and dead. Why not turn a newly ripened urge to rid our country of Confederate statues into a positive, educational enlightenment of our historical figures for all to understand in accordance to todays thinking. It would also save money and probably lives.

Mimi McDonald San Jose

Just as Mel Cottons sign will live on with History San Jose,,so should Confederate statues live on in a national, designatedmonument/museum dedicated to slavery, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement. The United States Holocaust MemorialMuseum need not stand alone. Lets add to it the United StatesNational Slavery Museum. (And, if we want to take it one step further, how about a United States Indigenous Peoples Memorial Museum also?)

Jeannette Schreiber San Jose

Concerning the traitor leaders of the Confederacy and the treasonous image of the Confederate flag, people should also look at the American flag and the patriots that formed this country in the same way. Both tried to break away/secede from a country that they did not feel reflected their values, right or wrong. The difference is that the colonists won their war. To the victor belongs the spoils. Its easy to pass judgment hundreds of years later.

Tom Simpson San Jose

Donald Trump has hastily accused those interested in removing Confederate monuments as revisionist intending to change history. He fails, again, to take responsibility for his many blatant attempts to eradicate President Obamas legacy, and to have lead the effort to delegitimize the birth of President Obama.The arrogance and shamelessness of Trump is beyond outrageous. It is criminal.

Blanca Alvarado Former member, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Californias SB 10 is a morally right piece of bail reform legislation that will keep citizens safe and create a more equitable justice system that ensures everyone has access to justice and freedom. We cannot continue with the present system where more than 60 percent of people in jail are awaiting trial, costing taxpayers more than $5 million a day.

Vida Moattar Larkspur

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Aug. 21 Letters: Start calling the 'alt-right' what they are - The Mercury News

A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that roughly one in ten Americans support the alt-right and nine percent find it acceptable to hold neo-Nazi or white supremacist views. Those numbers are a bit higher than you would like, as ideally they would be hovering somewhere around zero.

The poll, conducted after the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville,explicitly asked, Thinking now about the movement known as the alt-right Would you describe yourself as a supporter or an opponent of the alt-right movement?

Ten percent of respondents marked themselves down as supporters of the movement, although only four of that 10 percent said they strongly support the alt-right, while the other six only somewhat support it. Well, as long as you only kind of agree with the racists I suppose thats OK. But another issue is that a large chunk of those surveyed dont seem to realize that the alt-right is filled with white supremacists.

When asked, As far as you know, do you think the alt-right does or does not hold neo-Nazi or white supremacist views? 21 percent said it doesnt and 39 percent said they had no opinion, even thought this is not really a matter of opinion.

People have argued about this question, but lets be very clear here. The man who coined the term alt-right is Richard Spencer. Spencer is a white nationalist who wants to create a white ethno state. He claims he wants to do so peacefully, but theres no way to do that and everybody knows it. In addition to that, you have self-identified members of the alt-right marching around with tiki torches, chanting Jews will not replace us, and rallying in support of Confederate monuments. The man accused of murdering Heather Heyer in Charolottesville marched with National Vanguard, an explicitly white supremacist group that loves the phrase blood and soil. Andrew Anglin of the Daily Stormer counts himself and his followers as alt-right.

This is white supremacy, plain and simple.

[Washington Post | Photo: Getty]

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Poll finds 10 percent of Americans support the 'alt-right' - Death and Taxes