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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   27523 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 6, 2023

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So why does the terminally online alt-right link itself to Trump so much?

Hard to tell if it was cynical (link to a popular movement) or fantasist ("Finally, our God Emperor is here!") And in a movement known for not speaking plainly, perhaps it was natural for them to assume that Trump was more alt right than he was saying. As you say, that would mean a hilarious convergence between what the alt right and the ctrl left (and mainstream left in many cases) was saying about Trump.

These tendencies might arise in many movements, but I wonder if there's a particular tension for fascist/Nazi/some reactionary types. Their whole ideology is full of worshipping strength, winners, superior men... And yet their movements, since 1945, have been marginalised, weak, and pushed around with ease. They often have some inclination towards "Justice is the advantage of stronger," yet the fascists were weaker than the bourgeois liberal democracies (and even more shamefully, the savage commies) in WWII. It's one thing to believe that the white race is superior in war, but fascists? Losers, literally.

So, in 2016, Trump doesn't just talk about winning and being strong, but actually wins, despite being brash and outspoken. He outrages the people who push around the alt right and defeats the former in a contest. Moreover, he does so despite being tarred with the alt right brush by the people who dominate the alt righters every day. Under such circumstances, it doesn't seem strange that the alt right would be inclined to genuinely believe that Trump was their God Emperor. That's the best reconstruction that I can make of the spirit behind this fashwave song, which I rather like despite not being either alt right or pro-Trump:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mC5HmxVxOAw

Ctrl left

Okay, that’s the first time I’ve heard that one, but it kind of works.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/maajid-nawaz/maajid-the-left-is-no-longer-liberal/

It’s been around since at least 2016. I swear I’ve heard it earlier than that but not sure from where…

I remember hearing it get kicked around quite a bit during gamergate.

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