Are you tired of hearing racists, anti-Semites, xenophobes, and misogynists legitimize their vile hatreds by claiming they merely represent a new ideological movement, the so-called alt-right?
If so, Google Chrome's "Alt-Right Denormalizer" may be exactly what you need to call out the bigots and all who abet them for what they are, from President-elect Donald Trump to common message board trolls.
If you purchase the Alt-Right Denormalizer from Google Chrome's web store, it will automatically replace the term "alt-right" with "rebranded white nationalism" wherever it comes up online. The nifty feature is reminiscent of Google Chrome's "Drumpfinator," which was launched after talk show host John Oliver encouraged viewers to refer to Donald Trump by his original German surname, Drumpf, as a way of de-mystifying his presidential candidacy.
Defenders of the alt-right like to claim that they aren't bigoted but instead use deliberately provocative language in order to throw off their opponents and more effectively rally people behind their cause.
"Delving into the depths of the alternative right, it quickly becomes apparent that the movement is best defined by what it stands against rather than what it stands for," explained Allum Bokhari and Milo Yiannopoulos in a March editorial for Breitbart. "There are a myriad of disagreements between its supporters over what they should build, but virtual unity over what they should destroy."
"For decades – since the 1960s, in fact – the media and political establishment have held a consensus over what’s acceptable and unacceptable to discuss in polite society," Bokhari and Yiannopoulos go on. "The politics of identity, when it comes from women, LGBT people, blacks and other non-white, non-straight, non-male demographics is seen as acceptable — even when it descends into outright hatred.
"Any discussion of white identity, or white interests, is seen as a heretical offence."
By contrast, the Southern Poverty Law Center has unambiguously labeled the alt-right a hate movement.
"The Alternative Right, commonly known as the Alt-Right, is a set of far-right ideologies, groups and individuals whose core belief is that 'white identity' is under attack by multicultural forces using 'political correctness' and 'social justice' to undermine white people and 'their' civilization," the nonprofit legal advocacy group explained. "Characterized by heavy use of social media and online memes, Alt-Righters eschew 'establishment' conservatism, skew young, and embrace white ethno-nationalism as a fundamental value."
The SPLC has reported more than 400 incidents of hate-based harassment and intimidation since the election of the alt-right's political beau ideal, Donald Trump, in last Tuesday's presidential election.
Just a reminder that, while it's both healthy and necessary to poke fun at bigots lest they gain too much power, we are about to face a world of consequences from the alt-right's recent empowerment that are no laughing matter.
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