How can you screw up an appeal to the alt-right?


One of the dismaying things about the world right now is that being an alt-right/Nazi/”centrist” is so darned easy: they’re fanatically dominating YouTube*, they’re raking in the Patreon bucks, it’s almost as if mindlessly shouting “MAGA” and “WHITE GENOCIDE” is the magic cheat code for immense popularity. So when I see someone fail, it’s a bit jarring.

Look at Jon del Arroz, the leading Hispanic voice in science fiction, as he’s fond of claiming. He’s got the MAGA hat. He’s fond of Trumpian hyperbole and raging at liberals and SJWs. He got banned from WorldCon for his troubles, so he’s busy waving his martyr’s flag. And then he announced that he was going to sue WorldCon, and started a fundraiser to scrape up $10,000 for a lawyer.

He’s raised nothing. He’s a total failure. Maybe it’s because he compared his persecution to that of the entire gay community, which isn’t going to gather much sympathy from the usual gang of racist homophobes. Anyway, it’s nice to see a right-winger fall flat on his face.

*Since I’m trying to participate more in YouTube lately, I’m seeing signs that this may not be entirely true. I’ve encountered a few people who’ve been haranguing me with multiple sock puppets — one guy is up to about 20 pseudonyms — and I’m beginning to suspect that the right-wing success story on that medium is more about fanaticism, misrepresentation, and persistence. Maybe if YouTube were to tighten up their rules on handing out new accounts freely there’d be a change, because jeez, a lot of the problems in their comment threads are due to the deniability and meaninglessness of their contributors.

Comments

  1. einsophistry says

    What would he expect from a community whose entire decision calculus boils down to, in their own words: What is best for the white race? They’re happy enough parading around the odd minority whose views cohere in part with their own, but when it comes to actually lifting a finger for them, they make their priorities abundantly clear.

  2. josephb says

    #6 hookflash the scare quotes are there for a reason, did you really fail to read and comprehend them?

  3. hookflash says

    “josephb” the Nazi wrote:

    the scare quotes are there for a reason, did you really fail to read and comprehend them?

    So we can call people whatever we want, just as long as we use “scare quotes”? Think about it. For, like, 5 seconds.

  4. John Morales says

    hookflash:

    So we can call people whatever we want, just as long as we use “scare quotes”? Think about it. For, like, 5 seconds.

    Not “scare quotes”, but rather scare quotes, and no, josephb (not “josephb”!) made no claim whatsoever about being able to call people whatever we want by virtue of them; rather, you were being notified that PZ was using them and therefore not referring to literal centrists.

    (Your blustery indignance is fatuous; it’s a retort, not a rebuttal)

  5. hookflash says

    John Morales: Thanks for the “clarification.”

    P.S. Economy of language can be your friend, if only you’ll let it…

  6. consciousness razor says

    “So we can call people whatever we want,” concludes hookflash.
    Notice that I have not made that conclusion. hookflash made it, then I quoted them, which does not imply that I endorse it. I wouldn’t do that, because it’s a silly thing to do.
    If anyone else calls these fuckers “centrists,” like I just now did when I said they’re “fuckers” and did not suggest that in fact they are centrists, then that’s the sort of thing you’d want to quote. (Note the lack of quotes in the previous instance of the word “centrists,” which isn’t quoting but instead relates a factual claim). You may quote me on that.

  7. vucodlak says

    @ hookflash, #6

    Every time someone punches a Nazi, or even says something slightly mean to/about Nazis, a group of “centrists*” butt in to tell us that we mustn’t be so mean to Nazis, because we’re “losing possible allies.” By which the centrists mean the centrists. This is the same group of centrists who lectures every group of activists who does, or wants to do, anything that will upset the status quo about how to do activism. The advice orders veiled threats they dispense to activists always boils down to “don’t do anything that will inconvenience us in the slightest.”

    They’re sympathizers, appeasers, and colluders, but don’t you dare ever say as much! If you do, these centrists will clutch their pearls and stamp their feet and hold their breath… and support the Nazis in every way that matters. They don’t really fall into some mythical “center” politically, no matter what they claim. They don’t actually have some deep philosophical commitment to a position halfway between extremes. They don’t want to be bothered, period, and they’ll throw their (reluctant, or so they tell us) support behind whatever means the powers-that-be use make sure the trains run on time. That’s the rotten, avaricious heart of “centrism.”

    So fuck ‘em.

    *We know they’re “centrists” (and “moderates”) because they tell us they are, ceaselessly. Goodness, you don’t think they’re with those extremists, do you?!?

  8. Porivil Sorrens says

    @12
    I think my favorite part is when it’s like
    Republicans: Run on literal opaque bigotry
    Centrists: -crickets-
    Leftists: Stop being bigoted
    Every Centrist in earshot: YoU’rE aLiEnTiNg PeOpLe YoU rAdIcAl LeFtIStS

  9. hookflash says

    vucodlak & Porivil Sorrens: FWIW, I’m a centrist, and I have no qualms about punching Nazis or calling Republicans on their bigotry. In fact, these days it seems like the most conspicuous examples of silence in the face of bigotry & oppression are to be found on the far Left (e.g., ignoring the Iranian protests).

  10. Owlmirror says

    Currently at $500.

    GoFundMe says:

    Any of these actions are considered misuse of GoFundMe:
     
    •   The campaign organizer doesn’t deliver funds to the intended beneficiary
    •   The campaign description is intentionally misleading to donors
    •   The campaign organizer or beneficiary is charged with a crime related to misrepresentations made in their campaign

    (Bolding mine)
    Hm.