Humour has become a central weapon of extremist movements to subvert open societies and to lower the threshold towards violence. Especially within the context of a recent wave of far-right terrorist attacks, we witness “playful” ways in communicating racist ideologies. As far-right extremists strategically merge with online cultures, their approach changes fundamentally. This trend has been especially facilitated by the so-called alt-right and has spread globally. This predominantly online movement set new standards to
rebrand extremist positions in an ironic guise, blurring the lines between mischief and potentially radicalising messaging. The result is a nihilistic form of humour that is directed against ethnic and sexual minorities and deemed to inspire violent fantasies — and eventually action. This paper scrutinises how
humour functions as a potential factor in terms of influencing far-right extremist violence. In doing so, we trace the strategic dissemination of far-right narratives and discuss how extremists conceal their misanthropic messages in order to deny ill intention or purposeful harm. These recent developments pose major challenges for practitioners: As a new generation of violent extremists emerges from digital subcultures without a clear organisational centre, prevention strategies need to renew focus and cope with
the intangible nature of online cultures.
Tag: politics
23 High-Ranking Officials in Biden Administration All Came from the Same Shadowy Firm
Many of the highest-ranking members of the Biden administration came from the same shadowy firm. It is a relatively new name among revolving-door power brokers in Washington D.C., which makes it all the more surprising.
Founded in 2017, WestExec describes itself as a “diverse group of senior national security professionals with the most recent experience at the highest levels of the U.S. government. With deep knowledge and networks in the fields of defense, foreign policy, intelligence, cybersecurity, international economics, and strategic communications, our team has worked together around the White House Situation Room table, deliberating and deciding our nation’s foreign and national security policies.”
WestExec Advisors gets its name from “West Executive Avenue,” which the official site says is “the closed street that runs between the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. It is, quite literally, the road to the Situation Room, and it is the road everyone associated with WestExec Advisors has crossed many times en route to meetings of the highest national security consequence.”
Meet the Anti-MAGA Trolls
Trolling used to be the pastime of a subculture that considered itself apolitical, and that claimed to be interested in provoking everyone. But for Michael and Sloane, the jokes are part of how they practice their politics—the only fun part, they say. Similarly, many politically minded young people have come of age with an innate understanding of how antisocial behavior online can be used to win attention for and participation in a chosen cause. “Trolling has a long and noble history, and shitposting can be useful,” says Talia Lavin, the author of Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy. She took part in an attempt to troll Trump’s “Voter Fraud Hotline,” she told me, by submitting a long video in which she described being intimidated by the sexual attractiveness of an antifa operative at her polling place.
But trolling can have especially unpredictable results when it engages with hateful rhetoric and conspiratorial thinking. It might even help spread and amplify misinformation or extremist beliefs. Some r/ParlerTrick members, for example, created memes that, per Michael, had “some racist stuff” in them, or might have stoked “unnecessary hate.” The forum has struggled with this issue, he said. “It’s a thin line. You have to really pay attention to what you’re doing.”
…and we all know how that turned out…
‘How dare you’: Ugly spat over who gets to speak for ‘black and brown communities’ erupts at NYC mayoral debate
During a debate Wednesday, a black New York City mayoral candidate accused another black NYC mayoral candidate of not having the right to speak for “black and brown communities.”
The two, Dianne Morales and Ray McGuire, are among a number of candidates seeking to succeed outgoing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.
At the final primary debate Wednesday, the two feuded specifically over defunding the police, which Morales, a far-left candidate, staunchly supports.
“Let’s be very clear. For black and brown communities, neither defund the police, nor stop and frisk, nor private security …,” McGuire tried saying at one point in time.
But Morales cut him off, saying, “You don’t speak for black and brown communities. How dare you assume to speak for black and brown communities as a monolith.”
McGuire tried replying, “Because I talk to black and brown communities.”
He was cut off again.
“You cannot do that!” Morales claimed.
“Oh, I just did do that,” McGuire promptly responded. “And you know one other thing? I’m going to do it again.”
White House ‘Domestic Extremism’ Report Puts Target On Democrats’ Political Opponents
The Biden administration just released a “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.” It calls for abuses of state power to combine elements of totalitarian government with social and cultural engineering. They decided the Constitution and those pesky old individual liberties won’t stop them from making America the Wokest Place on Earth.
It is such an obvious attempt to try to crush political dissent, you wonder if they thought no one was paying attention. If you aren’t, you need to be, because this is marching orders for a whole-of-government approach to crushing Democrats’ political enemies. They are banking on the natural instinct of most Americans to oppose terrorism by branding some constitutionally protected practices “domestic terror.”
DeSantis Democrat Challenger Nikki Fried’s Website Hid Radical Positions from Spanish-Language Section
Democrat Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is running to challenge Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, allegedly presented a more moderate agenda on the Spanish page of her campaign website than on the English page, Newsweek reported Monday.
Two hours after journalists requested for comment, Fried’s team reportedly changed the Spanish and English sections of the website to more closely mirror each other, according to the publication.
“Our website copy, now updated, was in the process of being properly and professionally translated,” Max Flugrath, communications director for Fried’s campaign told Newsweek.
Newsweek was able to archive the website before it was changed. According to the publication, the original Spanish page on Fried’s campaign site was 95 words long, and the only policy mentioned was Fried’s support for legalizing marijuana. In contrast, the English page notes Fried’s more leftist agenda, including criminal justice reform, gun control, and the environment.
Florida has the third largest population of Latino voters behind California and Texas, according to a Pew Research Center study. Overall, the Latino population made up a record 17% of the state’s voters in 2020.
The Hispanic vote in Florida has been shifting more toward the GOP in recent years. While former President Donald Trump did not win the Latino vote in the 2020 election, Cubans were overwhelming split 56-41 for the Republican incumbent compared to an even 49-49 split between non-Cuban voters, AS/COA reported.
Critical Race Theory Illuminates Democrats’ Master Plan To End Honest Elections In America
How rights are viewed—individual or collective—explains today’s sharp disagreement over the rules for running elections, both in Congress and in states considering election integrity bills.
Democrats—specifically the dominant extremist variety—view rights through the collective lens of race. Critical race theory (CRT), based in Marxism, is essential to understanding their objectives. CRT holds that personage is irrelevant and the immutable trait of race is paramount.
Thus, by definition, all politics are “identity politics,” as declared by University of California at Berkeley School of Law professors Ian Haney-Lopez and Cheryl I. Harris, the co-founders of critical race studies at UCLA School of Law, during a roundtable last October on CRT and the 2020 election.
We’re being conned…
John Lydon on politics…
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