Shot in the Dark

Stardom

Speaking for myself, I’m not going to participate in the left’s jabbering about “the Alt-Right” – which is to this cycle what “Vast Rightwing Conspiracy” was to 1996, and “War on Women” was to 2012; a mass smear attempting to tie the entire American “right” to the most noxious people who can possibly be linked to it.

In this case, some “Klan” leaders who nobody has heard of (there are bowling leagues with more members and political clout than the KKK has these days) who were thrust into instant, utterly temporary, undeserved prominence by dint of “endorsing” or “heiling” Trump.

However, Trump has refudiated his ‘supporters’ on the “alt-right”.

Suppose that’ll get any headlines?

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Mitch Berg

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6 responses to “Stardom”

  1. Joe Doakes Avatar
    Joe Doakes

    The alt-right interests me; not the media caricature of it, but the movement as described by its proponents.

    As I understand them, the alt-right claims to be on the side of history, same as Liberals, but with a twist: Liberals assume civilization must in ratchet one direction like a tie-down strap pulling a pendulum ever higher to the left. The alt-right assumes that at some point, people will say “Enough,” the ratchet will burst and the pendulum will come swinging back down.

    When that happens, all the institutions built on the assumption of ever-higher-leftward-ratcheting will fail. Affirmative action, welfare state, nation-building, genderless bathrooms, all have their basis in a Liberal philosophy that no longer will control. The alt-right points to historical examples of empires that fragmented explosively as proof that it could happen to us; unless the ratchet is let off slowly.

    The Tea Party was a mild attempt to let the ratchet off slowly, to relax the pressure just a bit. It was opposed by the left and subverted by the Establishment Right. Brexit and Trump are seen as the new, more vocal attempts to let the ratchet off. If those attempts also are thwarted, will the rest of the nation be as calmly willing to go along with more ratcheting as the Blue Islands? (Look at the electoral map – this is a red nation with only a few densely populated blue spots, islands of liberals in a sea of conservatives – the Blue Islands.) If the red states are not content to be thwarted, will our nation fragment?

    If it does, will it fragment explosively, as it did last time? We had one civil war. What’s to stop us from having another?

    .

  2. Jethrene Avatar
    Jethrene

    Still waiting for Hillary and Stein to refudiate the ultra left wing, Black nationalist Black Lives Matter group.

    Joe Doakes-
    The argument from the future (aka Progressivism) is really just an argument from power. If I believe that in the future everyone will wear pointy hats, and then I force people to wear pointy hats, I haven’t acted to advance progress. The future hasn’t done anything. I have.

  3. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    We sure hear a lot about the KKK these days. Do they even exist? Anti-defamation league says there are about 3,000 KKK members nationwide. I’ve never met one. Never seen one.

  4. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    Chuck,

    In 1986, while I was living in TX, I met three KKK members. They were in their late 50’s then, so most likely, they are either dead or close to it by now.

  5. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    Boss….that is part of the deal with those that say “Well, all the racists switched parties in 1965”. There are a hundred reasons why that isn’t true (and Mitch may have posted things on this). But one simple thing….if you were a 55 year old segregationalist in 1961, you’d be 110 years old today.

  6. Emery Incognito Avatar
    Emery Incognito

    There’s no positive takeaway from the kind of conspiracy laden theories that Donald Trump is raising to an art form.

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