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The Term "Alt-Right" is All Right
There is a misguided effort underway to not use the term "alt-right." The effort, currently led by the Center for American Progress, claims that using the term somehow helps provide PR cover for racists. It would be nice, but there is rarely a one word solution for anything. That's why this campaign is a non-starter that will be ignored by almost everyone. This major report on the Alt-Right and its founder, by Sarah Posner in Rolling Stone is a good example of just how ignored this campaign will be. Sensible discussions of the term are busting out all over. Slate had a good discussion titled "There's No Better Term for the Alt-Right Than Alt-Right." Another approach was outlined by scholar Matthew Lyons, (Co author with Chip Berlet of the book Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, which has turned out to be an important scholarly handbook for our time). Lyons writes:
We are moving into a bleak period, when understanding the forces opposing us will be more important than ever. That means exposing supremacist ideologies in all forms and guises, but it also means developing a political vocabulary that lets us make distinctions, rather than treat all enemies as one undifferentiated mass.
In light of the controversy, the Associated Press has updated their Stylebook.
"Our guidance on when and how to use the term "alt-right," including: avoid using it generically and without definition."
This is, of course true of all such terms. Never use them generically, and always define them so the reader can understand what the writer actually intends. This is one of the reasons why at Talk to Action we have sought to avoid labeling and demonization. |
The AP Stylebook continues:
"alt-right" - An offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism; a name currently embraced by some white supremacists and white nationalists to refer to themselves and their ideology, which emphasizes preserving and protecting the white race in the United States in addition to, or over, other traditional conservative positions such as limited government, low taxes and strict law-and-order.
In AP stories discussing what the movement says about itself, the term "alt-right" (quotation marks, hyphen and lower case) may be used in quotes or modified as in the self-described "alt-right" or "so-called alt-right." Avoid using the term generically and without definition, however, because it is not well known and the term may exist primarily as a public-relations device to make its supporters' actual beliefs less clear and more acceptable to a broader audience. Depending on the specifics of the situation, such beliefs might be termed racist, white supremacist or neo-Nazi; be sure to describe the specifics. Whenever "alt-right" is used in a story, include a definition: "an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism," or, more simply, "a white nationalist movement."
When writing on extreme groups, be precise and provide evidence to support the characterization. Report their actions, associations, history and positions to reveal their actual beliefs and philosophy, as well as how others see them.
Some related definitions:
racism - The broad term for asserting racial or ethnic discrimination or superiority based solely on race, ethnic or religious origins; it can be by any group against any other group.
white nationalism - A subset of racist beliefs that calls for a separate territory and-or enhanced legal rights and protections for white people. Critics accuse white nationalists of being white supremacists in disguise.
white separatism - A term sometimes used as a synonym for white nationalism but differs in that it advocates a form of segregation in which races would live apart but in the same general geographic area.
white supremacism - The racist belief that whites are superior to justify political, economic and social suppression of nonwhite people and other minority groups.
neo-Nazism - Combines racist and white supremacist beliefs with admiration for an authoritarian, totalitarian style of government such as the German Third Reich to enforce its beliefs.
Among other things, Lyons observes that the claim that,
"Steve Bannon 'and his ilk' invented the term 'alt-right' compounds the distortion. Bannon is actually a latecomer to the movement, a popularizer who -- first at Breitbart News and then as a member of Trump's team -- has offered a toned-down version of alt-right politics for mass consumption. Richard Spencer -- who introduced the term "alternative right" years ago to describe a convergence of diverse right-wing forces outside the conservative establishment -- has termed this fellow-traveler phenomenon "alt-lite."
On a deeper level, the "don't call them 'alt-right' campaign embodies the unfortunate idea that white supremacist politics are basically all the same. Supposedly, once we know that alt-rightists uphold racist ideology, the details don't really matter, and exploring them just distracts us from the central issue. But it's precisely these "details" that help us understand what has made the alt-right a significant force, its capacity to tap into popular fears and grievances, its relationship with other political forces, its internal tensions and points of weakness.
The Term "Alt-Right" is All Right | 103 comments (103 topical, 0 hidden)
The Term "Alt-Right" is All Right | 103 comments (103 topical, 0 hidden)
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