Alt-lite

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The alt-lite, also known as the alt-light [1] and the new right, [2] is a loosely defined right-wing political movement whose members regard themselves as separate from both mainstream conservatism and the far-right, white nationalist alt-right. The concept is primarily associated with the United States, where it emerged in 2017. The term remained in vogue during the Trump administration, as observers assessed all sources for right-wing populism, but has mostly faded from popular discourse as of 2024.

Contents

According to extremism scholar George Hawley, alt-lite was coined by white nationalists as a pejorative, in an attempt to exclude more moderate figures from the alt-right. [3] The term alt-right had previously included "anyone that fell on the right of the political spectrum but had major problems with the conservative movement", including populists and libertarians. [4] After the term alt-right was successfully reclaimed by white nationalists, previous adherents abandoned the term, and started calling themselves populists or civic nationalists. [5]

History

The term alternative right was coined by Paul Gottfried, but was later adopted by Richard B. Spencer who sought to use it to promote white nationalist ideas across the political right in the United States. However, there remained differing views on the term; some understood it as an umbrella term for a broad range of rightists outside the neoconservatism then dominant in the U.S. conservative movement, including paleoconservatives, libertarians, localists, and right-wing populists as well as white nationalists. [6] By 2010, many of the non-white-nationalist rightists who used the term distanced themselves from it after it became increasingly apparent that Spencer intended the term as a banner of white nationalism. [6] In 2016, as the term became popularised in U.S. public discourse, it again came to be used by many people who were not white nationalists but who saw it as a useful term to refer to rightists outside the mainstream conservative movement. [7]

Some have traced the recognition of the alt-lite—as a distinct entity from the alt-right—to what is seen as the consolidation of the alt-right as a white nationalist movement, while the alt-lite is more culturally nationalist. In a speech given to a meeting of white nationalists in November 2016, Richard B. Spencer (who is often credited with creating or popularizing the term alt-right) quoted Nazi propaganda and declared "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!" while members of the audience responded to this by giving Hitler salutes. [8] [9]

Subsequently, various figures who had been linked to the alt-right distanced themselves from Spencer's remarks, and suggested that two factions had emerged from the alt-right. [2] [10] [11] [8] This was the result of a rift within the wider alt-right movement, between those favoring white nationalism and more moderate forces. Some of the latter group adopted the term Third New Right" (as a follow-on to the earlier Second New Right) to describe themselves, with Mike Cernovich saying of the division that "the lines are drawn and the fracture is more or less complete". [10] The term alt-lite is thought by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to have been created by members of the alt-right to distinguish themselves from right-wing groups and ideologies who support white supremacy and white nationalism. [11] According to the ADL, there is crossover and line-toeing between the alt-right and alt-lite groupings, making it difficult or impossible to tell which side of the theoretical line they belong on. [11] This ambiguity contributes to the alt-right pipeline, in which supporters of the alt-lite become acclimated to the alt-right. [12]

Historian Joshua Tait argued that the alt-lite "found the most mainstream success. These figures in the alt-lite entered the mainstream by alternating between courting and rejecting the more explicitly racist elements of the alt-right, massively expanding the movement's reach and ultimately placing it inside the White House." [13]

Etymology

The division between alt-right and alt-lite received further media attention in June 2017 when the two factions found themselves divided over the issue of Spencer's attendance at a Free Speech rally in Washington, D.C. [14] Certain individuals protested Spencer's involvement by organizing a competing rally on the same day, with Spencer referring to such individuals as "alt-lite" and saying that "the movement needs a good purge". [15]

The Unite the Right rally in 2017 exacerbated tensions between the white nationalist alt-right, who supported and attended the rally, and the alt-lite, who did not and expressed disdain for it. [16] Breitbart News distanced itself from the alt-right and criticized other media outlets that described them in such a manner, [17] as did Milo Yiannopoulos, who insisted he had "nothing in common" with Spencer. [18]

Academic Angela Nagle described the alt-lite as "the youthful bridge between the alt-right and mainstream Trumpism". [19] She was of the view that it was the alt-lite, and not the alt-right, which had successfully utilised the Nouvelle Droite's ideas about promoting cultural change as a prerequisite for long-term political change. [20] Nagle characterized Cernovich as a "major figure in the alt-lite milieu". [21] She also characterized Alex Jones as being part of it. [22]

Beliefs

People associated with the alt-lite have distanced themselves from the ethnic nationalism of the alt-right. [1] As with the alt-right, the alt-lite commonly shows broad support for Donald Trump, cultural nationalism and non-interventionism. Many in the alt-lite criticize or oppose political correctness, Islam, feminism (sometimes restricted to the fourth wave), LGBT rights, welfare and illegal immigration. It has been described as a "misogynistic" and "xenophobic" movement by the Anti-Defamation League. [11]

Alt-right figures have described Breitbart News and Steve Bannon as "alt-lite" for presenting a diluted form of alt-right ideas. [8]

Wired has referred to the alt-lite as "the alt-right's relatively mild-mannered sibling". [23]

Proponents

The Anti-Defamation League has published a list of people whom it calls alt-lite, consisting of writer and podcast host Brittany Pettibone, Maryland activist Colton Merwin, 2018 Senate Republican candidate from Virginia Corey Stewart, Proud Boys and Vice founder Gavin McInnes, English YouTuber Paul Joseph Watson, conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, right-wing activist Kyle Chapman, Proud Boys recruiter Kyle Prescott, conservative White House correspondent Lucian Wintrich, radio personality Mike Cernovich, and media provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. [11] [24] [25]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard B. Spencer</span> American white supremacist (born 1978)

Richard Bertrand Spencer is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. Spencer claimed to have coined the term "alt-right" and was the most prominent advocate of the alt-right movement from its earliest days. He advocates for the reconstitution of the European Union into a white racial empire, which he believes will replace the diverse European ethnic identities with one homogeneous "White identity".

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The Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) was a neo-Nazi political party active in the United States between 2013 and 2018, affiliated with the broader "alt-right" movement that became active within the U.S. during the 2010s. It was considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center's list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alt-right</span> Far-right white nationalist movement

The alt-right is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity and establishing a presence in other countries during the mid-2010s, and has been declining since 2017. The term is ill-defined and has been used in different ways by academics, journalists, media commentators, and alt-right members themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple parentheses</span> Antisemitic symbol

Triple parentheses or triple brackets, or an echo, often referred to in print as an ( ), are an antisemitic symbol that has been used to highlight the names of individuals thought to be Jews, and the names of organizations thought to be owned by Jews. This use of the symbol originated from the alt-right-affiliated, neo-Nazi blog The Right Stuff, whose editors said that the symbol refers to the historic actions of Jews which have caused their surnames to "echo throughout history". The triple parentheses have been adopted as an online stigma by antisemites, neo-Nazis, browsers of the "Politically Incorrect" board on 4chan, and white nationalists to identify individuals of Jewish background as targets for online harassment, such as Jewish political journalists critical of Donald Trump during his 2016 election campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Cernovich</span> American right-wing commentator, lawyer, and conspiracy theorist

Michael Cernovich is an American right-wing social media personality, political commentator, and conspiracy theorist. Though he initially called himself alt-right, he dissociated from the movement after Richard Spencer became its public face. Cernovich describes himself as part of the new right and some have described him as part of the alt-lite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity Evropa</span> Neo-Nazi group in the United States

Identity Evropa was an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist organization established in March 2016. It was rebranded as the American Identity Movement in March 2019. In November 2020, the group disbanded. Leaders and members of Identity Evropa, such as former leader Elliot Kline, praised Nazi Germany and pushed for what they described as the "Nazification of America".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Posobiec</span> American conservative commentator and conspiracy theorist

Jack Michael Posobiec III is an American alt-right political activist, television correspondent and presenter, conspiracy theorist, and former United States Navy intelligence officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lana Lokteff</span> American white supremacist

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The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is a militant alt-right Southern California-based street fighting group which has variously been described as "a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists", white nationalists, white supremacists, and far-right persons. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), it "is inspired by identitarian movements in Europe and it is trying to bring their philosophies and violent tactics to the United States." Its members are primarily located in the areas of Orange County and San Diego, and as of 2018, have been variously numbered at 20 to 50. Individual RAM members are also members of other organizations, such as the self-described Identitarian Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement, the "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys, and the neo-Nazi skinhead Hammerskin Nation, according to Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Responses to the alt-right</span>

Opponents of the alt-right have not reached a consensus on how to deal with it. Some opponents emphasized "calling out" tactics, labelling the alt-right with terms like "racist", "sexist", "homophobic", and "white supremacist" in the belief that doing so would scare people away from it. Many commentators urged journalists not to refer to the alt-right by its chosen name, but rather with terms like "neo-Nazi". There was much discussion within U.S. public discourse as to how to avoid the "normalization" of the alt-right. The activist group Stop Normalizing, which opposes the normalization of terms like alt-right, developed the "Stop Normalizing Alt Right" Chrome extension. The extension went viral shortly after the release of Stop Normalizing's website. The extension changes the term "alt-right" on webpages to "white supremacy". The extension and group were founded by a New York-based advertising and media professional under the pseudonym George Zola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groypers</span> Loose group of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, provocateurs, and internet trolls

Groypers, sometimes called the Groyper Army, are a group of white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and alt-right activists, provocateurs and internet trolls who are notable for their attempts to introduce far-right politics into mainstream conservatism in the United States, their participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack and the protests leading up to it, and their extremist views. They have targeted other conservative groups and individuals whose agendas they view as too moderate and insufficiently nationalist. The Groyper movement has been described as white nationalist, homophobic, nativist, fascist, sexist, antisemitic, and an attempt to rebrand the declining alt-right movement.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Marantz, Andrew (June 6, 2017). "The alt-right branding war has torn the movement in two". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Ziv, Stav (July 19, 2017). "'Alt-right' or 'alt-lite'? New guide from ADL classifies right-wing activists". Newsweek. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ Hawley 2017, p. 143.
  4. ↑ Hawley 2017, p. 139.
  5. ↑ Fowlie, Craig (May 13, 2022). "American Anti-Fascism Comes of Age". Fascism. 11 (1): 139–144. doi:10.1163/22116257-bja10033. ISSN   2211-6257. S2CID   248926436. Burley is an acute observer of the range of far-right ideological positions, organising strategies and symbolism, and carefully delineates the splits within the movement between the white supremacist factions, the civic nationalist so-called 'alt-lite', and the patriot movement of militias and paramilitary groups
  6. 1 2 Hawley 2017, pp. 139–140.
  7. ↑ Hawley 2017, pp. 140–141.
  8. 1 2 3 Pearce, Matt (November 29, 2016). "The 'alt-right' splinters as supporters and critics agree it was white supremacy all along". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ Staff (November 21, 2016). "'Hail Trump!': Richard Spencer Speech Excerpts". The Atlantic . Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Kearney, Laila (December 29, 2016). "Trump fans' 'Deploraball' party shows rift in alt-right movement". Reuters . Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Staff (July 18, 2017). "From Alt Right to Alt Lite: Naming the Hate". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  12. ↑ Ribeiro, Manoel Horta; Ottoni, Raphael; West, Robert; Almeida, Virgílio A. F.; Meira, Wagner (January 27, 2020). "Auditing radicalization pathways on YouTube". Proceedings of the 2020 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency. pp. 131–141. doi: 10.1145/3351095.3372879 . ISBN   9781450369367. S2CID   201316434.
  13. ↑ Tait, Joshua (August 10, 2023). "What Was the Alt-Right?". Tablet .
  14. ↑ Krupkin, Taly (June 22, 2017). "The Jewish Provocateur Caught in the Turf War as the 'Alt-right' Battles the 'Alt-light'". Haaretz . Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  15. ↑ Moyer, Justin (June 23, 2017). "'Alt-right' and 'alt-lite'? Conservatives plan dueling conservative rallies Sunday in D.C." The Washington Post . Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  16. ↑ Hawley 2017, p. 152; Atkinson 2018, p. 310.
  17. ↑ Wendling 2018, p. 215.
  18. ↑ Wendling 2018, p. 214.
  19. ↑ Nagle 2017, p. 41.
  20. ↑ Nagle 2017, pp. 40–41.
  21. ↑ Nagle 2017, p. 50.
  22. ↑ Nagle 2017, p. 51.
  23. ↑ Ellis, Emma Grey (May 10, 2017). "The Alt-Right's Newest Ploy? Trolling With False Symbols". Wired . Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  24. ↑ "From Alt Right to Alt Lite: Naming the Hate". www.adl.org. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  25. ↑ Krupkin, Taly (July 20, 2017). "'Alt-lite' Trump Supporters Blast ADL Over Inclusion on 'Hate List'". Haaretz. Retrieved July 20, 2017.

Bibliography

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