The alt-Right vs alt-Left, what Twitter taught me?
The story of Good vs Evil is universally known. What happens when the story is Evil vs Good vs Evil?
Persecutor - a person who harasses or annoys someone persistently.
Persecuted - a person who is harassed or annoyed persistently.
There are countless examples throughout world history of societal subgroups identifying, singling out, and persecuting other societal subgroups. If you paid attention in your high school history class, you likely already know many of the suspects (the persecutors). In each of those historical cases, it's easy to review the story, identify the persecutor, and the persecuted in almost every major historical context. The Nazis vs the Jews and the supporters of Slavery vs the Slaves are 2 examples. There are also, more subtle situations that have occurred more recently in the USA: Conservative Christians vs the LGBT community; Misogynistic Men vs #MeToo; Anyone That Disagrees with the Trans Community vs the Trans Community, etc. In the modern cases, the persecutor and/or the persecuted are more difficult to identify because the cultural norms are not as clearly defined.
For Ex: 10 years ago, most of society agreed that Biblical Literalist Conservative Christians were clearly infringing on the individual rights of the LGBT community encouraging the passage of laws that prohibited non-traditional marriage. As a result, there was a shift in cultural norms towards the support of gay marriage, and the courts followed the culture's demand to make gay marriage a legal reality. Now, many states are attempting to pass "religious freedom" laws to allow those that have "closely held religious beliefs" the opportunity to refuse service to certain types of customers.
Compared to the more historical references of persecution, recent examples show that many of the groups that were formerly "the persecuted" have become the persecutors and the persecuted could be classified as "the public."
For those of you that are not familiar with Heather Heying, Bret Weinstein, or the stories from Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA), you can Google it and learn for yourself. It's pretty crazy! Heather is a self-proclaimed progressive liberal, evolutionary biologist, and former tenured professor at Evergreen State College. I appreciate her opinions because she is way smarter than me and approaches topics from a logical and scientific point of view. She also lives in a part of the country that is very different politically than the Southern USA. Although her ideas, thoughts, etc. are not the basis for this post, she will be referenced several times....
According to Fortune, researchers looking into political and social divides in America said in a new study that 6% of Americans fit into the "alt right" classification. On the other end of the political spectrum, the study identified that 8% of Americans fit into the “alt left" classification. Compared to those on the right, the "alt left" group is more secular and urban, and rejects traditional authority... Not surprisingly, 67% of those surveyed are termed the “Exhausted Majority.” This means that MOST of America is not part of the extremes on the left or the right and because they are not as polarizing, their voices are often left unheard.
This post will focus on my opinions regarding the primary differences between the Alt Right, the Alt Left, the dangers of political polarization, and possible solutions on what to do about it.
THE ALT RIGHT
...Everyone can mock... (the alt right), that is completely acceptable and in fact, demanded that you do when those sorts of ideas come up in conversation.
If you want a more formalized definition of "alt right" (extreme right political views) here is the Wikipedia definition. In my opinion, most alt-righters have multiple loose screws mentally; the rest are hugely lacking in self-esteem/confidence. Many of the participants got wrapped up following and/or being led by the wrong people. Many alt right groups are comprised of a singular race, gender, and/or religious sect and are universally considered "hate groups." This means thay are relatively easy to identify because they are normally projecting an obvious and in-your-face message that "they (persecutors) are the best" or "we hate those people (the persecuted)." In most of their messaging, there is a direct or indirect message of violence.
The KKK (Ku Klux Klan), the BHI (Black Hebrew Israelites), the Nazi party, the Aryan Nation, White Supremacists, and any of their off-chutes, etc. are several examples of "alt right" groups. The overwhelming majority of society, myself included, can easily identify members of these groups due to their vocal and outspoken message of hate, violence, and general idiocy. There also seems to be a clearly defined line between folks on the right and those that have crossed the line over to the extreme or alt right.
THE ALT LEFT
Some of the worst extremists are hiding in plain sight on the left.
The term "alt left" (extreme left political views) is a relatively new term compared to its counterpart. In learning more about the extreme left, Urban Dictionary has the definitions which I believe are the most accurate. People who physically assault other individuals and damage both public and private property are not any better just because they do it in the name of peace, love, and equality. At least one news source claims that researchers that study extremist groups say there's no such thing as the "alt left;" however, since no research was cited as part of the article, it is likely an opinion. For the purposes of this post, I will use the term "alt left" to describe the opposite of the "alt right" and am acknowledging its existence.
ANTIFA (short for "anti-fascist") and anyone that identifies as a "Social Justice Warrior" is considered part of the "alt left." They are part of a relatively new political protest movement comprising of multiple autonomous groups affiliated by their militant opposition to certain politics, capitalism, and individual rights. There are likely other types of extreme left organizations but ANTIFA seems to be the most prevalent. In my opinion, most of these people also have multiple loose screws mentally, just different ones than their alt right cousin. Most ANTIFAians have adopted a victim mentality that is directly associated with a group or classification in which they identify and/or have selected another group with which they project their victimization.
The overwhelming majority of society, myself included, sometimes have trouble identifying members of these groups due to the aesthetic message of social justice. They are also becoming increasingly more hateful and violent. There is no clearly defined line between folks on the left and those that have crossed the line over to the extreme or alt left; however, dressing in all black may make that easier (click the link above or this to the CNN report on YouTube).
My Common Cense
First and foremost, I DO NOT believe in the extreme political ideologies from the extreme right (alt right) or the extreme left (alt left). I condemn any form of violence, regardless of its purpose or motive. Even though I do not agree with the messaging from either side, I DO believe that every citizen has the right to free speech. Secondly, I am a married Christian gay diabetic father living the South and can only speak from my point of view. I do not speak for anyone other than myself and assume others (black, female, obese, lesbian, insert descriptor(s), etc.) will have other, possibly differing, opinions. If you want to chat about them, please reach out.
The idea for this blog post and the associated pic, came to me after I saw an article on Twitter from @TimesLIVE entitled "Homophobia in Switzerland could get you three years in jail." My initial reaction was WTH, this has got to be fake news! Nope, it's not....
After clicking thru more of the links in the article, I learned that a person who publicly declares that "all homos should be imprisoned in camps" or the like could be prosecuted criminally for their speech and offenders may face up to three years behind bars. Based on this benchmark, many upset parents of "out" kids could be charged with a crime if this was the Law in the USA. I was also surprised to learn that in passing the law, Switzerland joined France, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark in taking criminal action against such discrimination (you can see their flags flying high on the moral Alp at the top).
As I dove into this wormhole, I began learning more about the now legal infringements on certain individuals' freedom of speech in certain countries. This eventually led me to the extreme left (alt left). I was shocked to learn that there are masses of people that believe that certain speech should be criminalized, outlawed, suppressed, etc. because it does not align with their values, ideals, etc. I find this rhetoric extremely dangerous to a free society. Their propensity for violence also seems to be increasing as their following grows faster than that of the "alt right."
While researching the left, I was also learning more about the opposing faction on the right. With the election of Trump, the "alt-right" has been in the news WAY more often than the left. As a result, I along with most US Citizens believe that "…they are ridiculous and have no real-world traction," says Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report when discussing the role white supremacists have in modern society. "...Almost no one thinks that way anymore…" says Heather Heying when discussing alt right ideologies. I personally agree with both Dave, Heather, and 94% of America. Despite their heightened focus in the media, I believe extreme right views have been and are currently still on the decline.
I am white and live in the South, the commonly mentioned "home base" for many of these hate groups. Statistics say that there are likely a small number of people in my community that have "alt right" views but I do not see them and am not in fear that they are lurking in the shadows waiting to attack "the gays" and anyone they despise. Do I deny that they exist, no. Do I think they are as rampant and popular as the media portrays them, no. Is it probable that people with "alt right" and "alt left" views occupy small portions of almost every community nationwide, yes.
Based on the study referenced in the Intro, the alt left has a larger following than the alt right. I believe this to be true and have additional ammunition from my leftist, liberal, evolutionary biologist, Heather Heying,"...it’s not as big a group... (the alt right) ... numerically they just don’t exist in the same numbers… (as the alt left)... and they do not have the kind of cultural reach that the far left does... "
Everyone can mock white nationalists, that is completely acceptable and in fact, demanded that you do when those sorts of ideas come up in conversation. Whereas, the stuff on the far left… it is demanded that you not disagree… we must disagree with this just as much as culturally, we now know it’s a norm to disagree with… the far right… it should become a cultural norm to disagree with… everything else that’s happening on the far left… says Heather Heying (mic drop).
When presented with 2 stereotypical options, which would you rather have in your community?
#1. Billy Bob with the white pickup proudly displaying the confederate flag on his tailgate and vocally despises blacks, Jews, gays, and anyone else that isn't like him...
#2. Gina, a 20 something white girl with the venti in her left hand, an almost college degree in her right, and a face shrouded from view, shouting that speech should be limited because it makes her and all of her friends uncomfortable...
My answer is neither, but at least Billy Bob is visible and outspoken enough for me to avoid him. He may cuss me out if he sees me holding hands with my husband but he is not going to legally try and stop me from speaking freely. We know the product of the alt right, it's unfortunately part of America's dark history. We do not know as much about the alt left and where their future leads, but its support seems to be increasing.
As the notion of tribalism continues to creep into conversations and becomes cultural commonplace, more and more people are realizing that gathering in tribes on opposing sides does nothing to help civil society or implement solutions. In my opinion, the only way to truly combat tribalization is to sit down with a person that is not like you and learn about them. For Ex: Many supporters of traditional marriage do not have any gay friends. It's been proven that once someone has a gay friend, they may not agree with gay marriage, but they are less likely to fight against it.
People of Woodstock logo created by John R Early
Several years ago, Joe and I had the opportunity to sit around a very large table with other folks from our local community. There were different sexes, races, religious views, economic statuses, diverse backgrounds, etc. It was called the "unexpected table" and eventually developed to be called the "People of Woodstock." Our initial goal was to gather as a group to share our personal stories with each other to better learn from each other's unique perspectives on race, discrimination, and other sometimes difficult subjects. We met regularly for the better part of 2 years and wanted to organize a larger and more purposeful mission. Like many other things in life, we all got very busy with work, family, travels, etc. and our meetings became less and less frequent. We have not met for a while, but what I took from the group sticks with me every day. I do not know what someone else is thinking or how someone else feels unless I sit down with them face-to-face, ask them, and find out.
If society could become more willing and able to sit down face-to-face with each other, even with those with whom we vehemently disagree, we may be able to convert the 67% "Exhausted Majority" into the greater than > 67% "Understood Majority." If there is not a shift in the ways in which people interact with each other from different walks of life, we will likely see an increase in government involvement that eventually leads with restriction(s) in individual rights.
If you want to share your story or have a constructive conversation about this or anything else, message me, and let's grab coffee or a beer.
Have a good one,
Dan
