There Is No Such Thing as The “Alt-Right,” There is Simply the Right-Wing

Last updated on: August 27, 2016 at 1:30 pm by John O'Keefe

There Is No Such Thing as The “Alt-Right,” There is Simply the Right-Wing 2016-08-27T13:30:29-05:00 John O'Keefe

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When I was in Seminary I got into an argument with one of my professors concerning the term Neo-Nazi. My point was, there was no such thing as a Neo-Nazi – they are just Nazis. Adding the term neo [new] simply diluted the term Nazi, as if the ideas of hate, racism, nationalism were somehow different between Old-Nazis, and New Nazis, and that is not the case. Hate is hate, and putting neo, or alt, in front of hate does not change the hate. In John’s first letter in the Collective Narrative he writes:

“Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.” [1 John 2:9-11 MSG]

When I hear the term Alt-Right I feel the same way; they’re not an alternative to the Political Right, they are the Political Right. There is nothing alternative about them. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, writing for The New Yorker defined the alt-right as “loosely assembled far-right movement” I would disagree. The alt-right is not “loosely assembled conservative movement” – they are the definition of the conservative movement. According to Wikipedia, the alt-right can be seen as “a segment of right-wing ideologies.” It also says they’re “presented as an alternative to mainstream conservatism,” but I just don’t see them as being an alternative to mainstream conservatism. I tend to see them as the “vocal arm of right-wing ideology.” I see them as saying what most right-wing people think; they are the voice, and heart, of many in the right-wing.

All this may sound harsh [and to be honest, I don’t care], but over the years since President Obama I have heard the right-wing speak, and sometimes remaining silent, in support of the alt-rights ideology. Ideology that centers on white nationalism/supremacy, nativism, racism, right-wing populism, hostility, prejudice, and discrimination for people of different ethnic backgrounds, religions, genders, gender identity, and colors. If the leadership [and the term is used very loosely] of the Republican Party are unable, or unwilling, to denounce the hatred or the alt-right, they, in reality, are saying ‘we support their ideology.’ Keep in mind what the writer of Proverbs wrote, “It’s wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice” [Proverbs 24:23 MSG]. We must be the voices speaking out; when we remain silent about injustice, when we remain silent about discrimination, when we remain silent about racism, when we remain silent about hatred, nothing changes.

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