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Just the very definition of the alt-right is it a moving target. Its been described as a sociopathic nonsense experiment in trolling and chaos, the future of conservative youth movements and an organized resurfacing of white supremacist politics. The alt-right is chimeric, confusing and intentionally ambiguous, largely because its adherents are composed of dozens of competing ideologies.

And now, the alt-right is thinning out its ranks.

The movements grassroots heroes are turning into a circular firing squad. Over the past few weeks, popular far-right figures have been attacking and doxxing one another in an intra-right conflict, and its tearing apart the loose circle of the countrys most visible pro-Trump provacateurs.. For the white nationalists who built the movement, this is a natural part of the alt-rights evolution a cleansing that will leave behind a serious nationalist movement that can hold Trump accountable to his darkest campaign promises.

The various banners flying at the Lincoln Memorial, where white nationalists held court last weekend

The schism was best represented last weekend in Washington, D.C., where the superstars of the far right split themselves into two competing rallies, each disavowing the other. At the first rally at the White House were the A-List of alternative media propaganda and dirty tricks, like Mike Cernovich, Jack Posobiec and Laura Loomer the latter two are most recently famous for interrupting a controversial Shakespeare performance. And at the Lincoln Memorial rally were the hard right commentators and white nationalists who claimed that the media figures at the White House were a bunch of liars, fanboys and celebrity wannabes with no real politics.

If you look at the politics being pushed out, the fat is getting trimmed, James Allsup, a YouTuber and young conservative who opened the festivities at the Lincoln Memorial rally, told Mic on Thursday.

Richard Spencer, a white nationalist who has become famous since Trumps election, is a crowd favorites at rallies that will tolerate his presence.

The divide is reflective of an ideological crisis in conservative media at large. In lieu of showing outright support or condemnation of Trumps policies, conservative mainstays like the National Review, and even networks like Fox News, are instead picking low-hanging fruit by going after the perceived hysteria of Trumps liberal detractors. Instead of having to walk the daily minefield of being pro-Trump, they can instead build a coalition thats anti-anti-Trump.

For the far right, it was galvanizing at least for a while. At free speech rallies across the country, the loose coalition of militia groups, 4chan trolls, white nationalists and literal adult frat boys have gathered to draw out anti-fascist, black bloc protesters in violent clashes. At one of these rallies in Boston, the founder of the Oath Keepers one of the largest militia groups in the country called the antifa a godsend for the way it brought together the alt-right under a common cause.

In Berkeley, CA, antifascists clashed with far-right groups in the first of many street battles between the far-right and the far-left.

But recently, antifa stopped taking the bait, leaving these groups standing in their own company, forced to come to terms with their strange new bedfellows.

The Oath Keepers, for example, are strictly Constitutionalist, and detest the white nationalists that show up to rallies. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who travels to many of these rallies to provide a security detail of right-wing military veterans and former police, made it clear that dividing people along racial lines is dangerous. On his terms, the white nationalists, who were definitely present, were not welcome.

This is not their event. If we identify them and theyre wearing an armband or whatever, we make them take that shit off, Rhodes told Mic in Boston. We all have a common ground of a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. But a Communist does not respect the Constitution, and neither does the white nationalist.

And then, at one of these rallies in Houston, someone mistaken as an Oath Keeper put a white supremacist in a headlock, and neo-Nazi news hub the Daily Stormer began referring to the Oath Keepers as the Boomer Antifa for, as the Washington Post put it, not being racist enough.

But when it came time for dueling rallies in D.C., Rhodes was speaking at the event held by Cernovich and Posobiec and firmly on the side of the pro-Trump ratfuckers. The young 4channers that Rhodes once looked to as the future of the patriot movement were now calling his group the Oath Cucks.

For the nationalist alt-right, its good riddance to those who join up with the media personalities and cheerleaders that Allsup calls pro-Trump sycophants.

Allsup, 21, treads a careful line: Hes a popular young commentator who advances a new vision of far-right politics while keeping his distance from the darker rhetoric of the white nationalists in his company. A dapper race realist, if you will. This year, Allsup made a symbolic run for the national chair of the College Republicans, and has repeatedly criticized mainstream conservatives for cleaving to historically losing causes. In one diplomatic example, Allsup came to the defense of Tomi Lahren after she was ostracized from the conservative punditry for being pro-choice.

Allsup, like innumerable Trump voters, has been disappointed by the the new presidents inability to make good on his promised nationalism. He wants Trump to build the wall, and do away with Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrant children born in America. Allsup says that the current purge could lead to a more militant, politically organized alt-right free of the fanboys unwilling to hold Trump accountable to his promises, who believe politics is a function of retweets and viral media stunts.

If Trump returns to his base and starts enacting right-wing policies, youll see some infighting die down, Allsup said. But if Trump keeps pushing an agenda thats indistinguishable from Paul Ryan, youll see infighting continue on the right, and a galvanization on the alternative right wing.

What is the galvanizing theme behind this vision of a far-right Republican politics? Whiteness. In Allsups estimation, the next generation of voters will be alienated enough by anti-white sentiment in the media that real nationalism will have a chance at winning a young electorate, if Republicans can take advantage of the opportunity.

He looks at how Republicans have tried to court the Latino vote, for example, and thinks thats all wasted time. Instead, he says Republicans should be spending money in states with vast white majorities, while Democrats focus on states with rising hispanic populations like Texas and Arizona. Republicans need to be pushed, he says, and the newly militant, political alt right could be the internal opposition party that moves them in that direction.

The question becomes: Is the next generation of voters ready to hear race realism, pro-white tribalism or perhaps even white nationalism as a legitimate argument, or has America left explicitly racial politics firmly in our dark history?

I think the Overton window is moving, and as a result of Trump its moved so much further right that these ideas are being talked about again, Allsup said. Being called a racist doesnt have the same zing that it used to. That boogeyman is out of the closet.

See original here:
The alt-right is tearing itself apart. What remains after will be the future of far-right politics. - Mic

You might not think conservative white nationalists within the so-called Alt-right could possibly agree with Islamic terrorists from the Middle East. You might be wrong.

Richard Spencer, who says he coined the term Alt-right in 2008, recently tweeted about Austrias controversial decision to ban women from wearing burqas in public places. He responded by saying he supports compulsory burqas for all Muslim women in Europe.

I support *compulsory* burkas for Muslims in Europe. The last thing we want is assimilation! https://t.co/aVMO4CKnuz

Richard Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) June 13, 2017

Ill give you one guess as to who else supports mandatory burqas for Muslim women: The Islamic State (ISIS) and basically all Islamic extremists. Women under ISIS rule in Iraq and Syria, for instance, face harsh wardrobe restrictions enforced by religious police.

ISIS also opposes the assimilation of Muslims into western cultures, and even encourages violence against their fellow believers to prevent it. Islamic terrorists were likely over the moon after a man drove his van into a group of Muslims near a mosque less than two weeks ago, according to Newsday Columnist William F. B. OReilly.

That fight is essential, in their doctrinaire minds, to prevent the assimilation of millions of Muslims into western society. Every burqa shed, every new Muslim Lions Club membership executed is a strike at the heart of fundamentalist Islam.

When interviewed, Spencer contested my assertion that he agrees with ISIS on this issue but couldnt explain how he doesnt.

Well, I dont *agree* with them. My sympathies are with European, secular leaders like Bashar al-Assad. That being said, this is projecting European norms onto a drastically different region.

Spencer went on the admit that he can see how a Caliphate is a more natural political order in the Middle East. Looks like another agreement to me!

I wouldnt say that such a thing would accomplish my goals. An ISIS caliphate could be an extreme danger to Europeans; it could become a base for a conquest of Europe. From one angle, perhaps an aggressive caliphate would be exactly what Europeans needdangerous, violent *challenge*, something that would make us understand who we are and bring about manliness in politics.

On assimilation, Spencer doubled down:

Yes, the last thing I want is assimilation, though. That would simply mean the loss of European culture and identity. To have an identity, one needs an Other. Liberalism (and Abrahamic monotheism, btw) basically has no concept of the Other; we are all one: all individuals, all Christians, all Muslims, etc.

The mandatory burqa isnt the only similarity between the beliefs of ISIS and those of white nationalists like Richard Spencer, of course. Spencer has championed the notion that things will be better if people returned to their cultural homeland (he calls it peaceful ethnic-cleansing), and thats pretty much all ISIS wants: An Islamic caliphate without outside (secular) influences.

It would be easy to play a game of Mad Libs with the following paragraph, written by Spencer, and make it apply to ISIS. You wouldnt even need to switch many words.

For us immigration is a proxy for race. In that way, immigration can be good or bad: it can be a conquest (as it seems now) . . . or a European in-gathering, something like White Zionism. It all depends on the immigrants. And we should open our minds to the positive possibilities of mass immigration from the White world.

Why are these similarities so easy to find? Because both ISIS and the Alt-right lie on the extreme end of the xenophobia and fascism scales, and they both propagate their nonsense by demonizing the Other. Oddly enough, all the racist outbursts and rants about manliness stem from the same place as the bombs and rigid fundamentalism: fear. They were so weak as to succumb to the fear of mere outsiders. Dont let the same thing happen to you.

David G. McAfeeis a Religious Studies graduate, journalist, and author ofNo Sacred Cows: Investigating Myths, Cults, and the Supernatural,Atheist Answers: Rational Responses to Religious Questions,The Book of Gods,The Belief Book,Mom, Dad, Im an Atheist: The Guide to Coming Out as a Non-believer, andDisproving Christianity and other Secular Writings. He is also the founder of TheParty of Reason and Progressand a frequent contributor toAmerican Atheist Magazine. McAfee, who writes about science, skepticism, and faith, attended University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with bachelors degrees in English and Religious Studies with an emphasis on Christianity and Mediterranean religions.

Read more:
The 'Alt-Right' and ISIS Agree On More Than You Think - Patheos (blog)

In the latest staging of extremist political theater that has begun to carry the whiff of professional wrestling, a far right "march for freedom" took to the Portland Waterfront tonight without disrupting the larger entertainment at the Waterfront Blues Festival.

Leftist protesters trailed the alt-right free speech march along the Waterfront. (William Gagan)

The march included elements that are now standard whenever the "alt-right" and its associates come to town and meet antifascists: speeches about right-wing victimhood, smoke bombs, bare-knuckle brawling and defiling of each others' chosen flags.

An antifa supporter yells at alt-right rally across the street. (William Gagan)

But so far tonight, the right-wing marchers and their antifascist foils have been more interested in sparring with each other than harassing the crowds.

Alt-right and leftist anarchists share a weed blunt. (William Gagan)

Starting about 6 pm, the Patriot Prayer group marched northbound along Tom McCall Waterfront Park, with antifascist counter-protesters tailing closely behind. The march would pause periodically for speeches, where tensions flared.

During the march's stop at the Battleship Oregon Memorial, someone on the left-wing side tossed a blue smoke bomb onto the monument Shortly after this stop, the group stopped, a commotion ensued, and multiple American flags were set ablaze by the counterprotesters. A fight ensued.

During the fight, well-known local Patriot Prayer protester "Tiny" Toese punched a counterprotester, and others in "Proud Boy" black and gold trim could be seen delivering several stiff punches to another counterprotester. Kicks were delivered by standing alt-right protesters to downed counterprotester. Later, Toese could be seen sporting glitter on his faceevidence he had been "glitter-bombed" by antifaand exclaimed aloud that he had glitter in his eyes.

Tiny eventually produced an antifascist flag, which was apparently stolen, and wiped it between his legs before returning it to the opposition.

Antifa just had their flag ripped from them by the alt-right. 10 minutes later returned to them. (William Gagan)

See more here:
Extremists Too Busy Smacking Each Other Around to Disrupt Waterfront Blues Festival - Willamette Week

Joey Gibson speaking at a pro-Trump rally he organized in Vancouver in April. Doug Brown

Gibson is best known as the Vancouver-based alt-right vlogger who organizes events like the June 4 "free speech rally" in downtown Portland (and another this evening, be sure to follow Doug Brown on Twitter). But until today he was also a broker with the company Summa North Real Estate.

This evening, while prepping for a rally he's called near the Waterfront Blues Festival, Gibson told reporters he'd left his job because of coordinated pressure from leftist activists.

That's reflected in Summa's website, which has removed reference to Gibson's employment that was visible earlier this week. You can still see a cached version of the page here.

Rose City Antifa called its supporters to arms on Tuesday, advocating that people "jam" Summa's phone lines with requests that Gibson be let go. Here's the post:

PHONE JAM!!!! Joey Gibson is the primary organizer for the spree of Alt Right rallies attended by white supremacists, Nazis, and bigots across the Pacific Northwest.

His job as a real estate broker affords him a flexible schedule and ample income, so that he can devote the majority of his time to putting on these hate fests. Each of these events has caused a spike of bigoted aggression in Portland. So far those incidents have included two murders, a racist intimidation campaign at an elementary school, bomb threats to a local community gathering of people of color, and an attempt to assault LBGTQ people at Pride.

This must end.

Summa North has the ability to stop enabling this activity by refusing to do business with a violent Jim Jones wannabee. Please take a moment to contact them and tell them what you think:

The message was circulated on sites such as pugetsoundanarchists.org and redneckrevolt.org.

Rose City Antifa promptly cheered the news about Gibson's employment this afternoon, though in the group's telling of events he was fired.

Gibson has become an ever-more-visible presence in Portland's recently tense political landscape. At first running sparsely attended Donald Trump rallies in Vancouver, Gibson's Patriot Prayer group has gotten more ambitious. It led a right-wing march in Montavilla in late Aprilan event where accused MAX murderer Jeremy Christian showed up to bellow racial slurs.

And Gibson set Portland's leadership on edge earlier this month, when his group got permits from the federal government to hold a "free speech rally" at downtown's Terry Schrunk Plaza featuring prominent alt-right figures from around the country. That event, on the heels of the racially charged TriMet killings, drew hefty counterdemonstrations on all sides but was largely devoid of violence.

The following week, when Gibson's group participated in a "March Against Sharia" in Seattle, skirmishes broke out in the streets. That event was initially planned in Portland, but organizers moved it under pressure from city officials.

See more here:
Local Alt-Right Activist Joey Gibson Says He Quit His Job After Antifa Pressure - The Portland Mercury (blog)

Its okay to be a neo-Nazi on Reddit.

Thats according to a spokesman for the internet giant, which claims it has been cracking down on hate groups for years, and banned two alt-right subreddits in February.

Extremist communities like r/EuropeanNationalism thrive on Reddit, the eighth most visited website in the United States, according to the web analytics firm Alexa. This week alone, the site has allowed threats of gas chambers to rise to the top of one subreddit before a partial removal, and another subreddit dedicated entirely to physically separating and removing Democrats from society has remained live.

The latter group is also promoting an incendiary NRA video that critics charge is an incitement to violence.

One of the top posts on r/EuropeanNationalism on Wednesday was titled Were going to need a bigger gas chamber, linking to a photo of a person in drag. At press time, eight of the top ten posts on EuropeanNationalism, which has been a subreddit for two years, were posted by users who had a swastika or Nazi SS bolts next to their usernames.

A third of EuropeanNationalisms moderators are also moderators of the subreddit r/KKK.

Reddit is an expression of the open internetand sometimes that can be an uncomfortable place. What makes Reddit special is that people feel free to express themselves, and we draw the line when one user expressing himself / herself freely infringes on another users ability to do so, Reddit spokesperson Allie Mack told The Daily Beast.

Reddit grants moderators of communities on the site the opportunity to enforce their rules first. In this case, the post has been removed by the moderators of r/EuropeanNationalism.

While the gas chambers post is no longer visible on the front page of EuropeanNationalism, the post and comment thread remain visible on Reddit.

The second-highest ranked post on EuropeanNationalism at press time was a quote from Adolf Hitler. With satanic joy in his face, the black-haired Jewish youth lurks in wait for the unsuspecting girl whom he defiles with his blood, thus stealing her from her people, it reads.

The top post of all time asks white women if they will choose to save [their] race.

Slightly more veiled threats of nationalist violence were levied on r/Physical_Removal, a far-right Reddit community dedicated to the physical removal of Democrats.

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A new National Rifle Association ad, titled The Violence of Lies, was marked as an announcement and pinned to the top of r/Physical_Removal, a subreddit named after Hans Hermann-Hoppes idea that Democrats will have to be physically separated and removed from society.

The spot calls for NRA members to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.

The NRAs minute-long ad was met with swift condemnation from organizers and activists like Womens March founder Tamika Mallory, who called the video a direct endorsement of violence and demanded its immediate removal after its release on Thursday.

The moderators of r/Physical_Removal wont be complying with that request any time soon. The NRA is rallying the troops, moderator Pinochet-Heli-Tours posted at the top of on Physical_Removal. He later submitted the same video and title to r/The_Donald, the largest pro-Donald Trump community on the web.

Pinochet-Heli-Tours, along with the subreddits use of helicopter rides as a meme, is a reference to the 120 people the Chilean government admits were thrown into the sea from a helicopter under General Augusto Pinochets reign. The so-called helicopter death flights have become a meme among members of the alt-right.

Physical_Removal was created in July 2016 and now has more than 7,700 subscribers.

On Wednesday, one of the subreddits top posts celebrated a Venezuelan terror attack where four grenades were dropped from a helicopter onto the countrys Supreme Court building. Its like poetry motherfuckers, the post reads.

Keegan Hankes of The Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center has covered the impact of online communities in extremism for years, and told The Daily Beast that violent and extremist communities on Reddit arent anything new, but they are increasingly dangerous.

One of our big criticisms against Reddit is that inherently, in the way its structured, (extremist subreddits) can reach out to more people in a much easier way, said Hankes. Anytime this propaganda is showing up in these places, its not an accident. Its highly coordinated.

Hankes said moderators of extremist subreddits can effectively recruit in moderate parts of the site, or communities that have nothing to do with politics at all. That one-link-away kind of exposure can create a path to radicalism that otherwise doesnt exist.

Theyre not going to meetings and filling out a membership application. Theres an in-group culture. Its certainly a community. It would be nice to see Reddit take this seriously and start drawing lines about whats allowed, said Hankes.

Using these platforms is integral to all these strategies Ive seen (extremist groups) talking about in the last year and a half. You have more and more of these people showing up in physical rallies.

Reddit banned two alt-right subreddits, r/AltRight and r/alternativeright, for posting content that harasses or invites harassment in February. The site also banned r/FatPeopleHate and some anti-LGBT or racist subreddits in June 2015 for harassment.

Despite the infrequent but high-profile bans of prominent far-right hate subreddits, Hankes think that Reddit needs to take a stronger stance in getting these people off those platforms.

It would be nice to see Reddit take this seriously and start drawing lines about whats allowed, he said. And more importantly than having a strong terms of service, its about one thats actually enforced.

Follow this link:
Reddit Backs Its Neo-Nazis Four Months After Banning Alt-Right - Daily Beast