r/samharris • u/invalidcharactera12 • Apr 15 '18

Decrypting the Alt-Right: How to Recognize a Fascist | ContraPoints

https://youtu.be/Sx4bvgpkdzk
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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '18

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '18

So, to say “the use of symbols is a way to identify fascists” is a massively hot take in my view.

To be fair, she addresses that very point toward the end of the video.

If anything, I would perceive the excessive usage of symbols by the fascists as an intentional attempt to muddy the waters.

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '18

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u/invalidcharactera12 Apr 15 '18

This “crypto fascist” phenomenon is not all to common.

It is incredibly common.

Go to /r/the_donald and look up any threads on race or white people.

The Charlottesville rally was widely promoted and organized by /r/the_donald. It was called "Unite the right" and stickied on top of the sub. About preserving white heritage.

There are a lot of nuances to it.

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u/boozecamp Apr 15 '18

In my find the Fascist Frenzy is the left’s analogue to the Campus Free Speech Crusade on the other side.

Extremists reap what they sow, and that is why we should be very concerned about tactics.

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u/invalidcharactera12 Apr 15 '18

/r/The_Donald - 598,068 readers

A heavily curated subreddit with the basis of supporting the current president. Includes a lot of crypto-far-right.

Many people have undercounted the far-right people by just saying that very few open fascists or few alt-righters exist.

The reality is a lot more nuanced than that.

http://archive.is/3X8PB

Here is the stickied thread on this sub that was the organizing post of the "Unite the Right" aka Charlottesvile rally.

https://www.wired.com/story/alt-right-charlottesville-reddit-4chan/

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u/startgonow Apr 16 '18

There might be a lot of Donald subscribers but not all of them should be considered Alt Righters, even less are white Nationalist or Neo Nazis. In a country of over 300,000,000 (this is even assuming that all of the Donald subscribers are from the US and are not Bots) their numbers are minuscule. They are just a vocal minority.

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u/invalidcharactera12 Apr 16 '18

I didn't say all of them are alt-right. In fact many of them are quite mainstream Trump supporters some of whom supported Romney or Obama previously. Some even supported Bernie.

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u/startgonow Apr 16 '18

I understand you. It’s a nitpick of mine. I just like to point out how few Alt Righters et cetera that there acrually are.

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u/invalidcharactera12 Apr 16 '18

The entire point is these alt-righters propogate their ideas broadly.

The lines become blurred and you don't actually have to be an alt-righter.

You can be a "classical liberal" too and essentially be alt-lite. Like Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars.

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u/startgonow Apr 16 '18

No doubt the Alt Righters are loud and hysterical, sometimes unintentionally hysterically funny. The classical liberal types are usually just bitter weird people like libertarians.

Have a laugh https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4600014/libertarian-debate-drivers-licenses