November 21, 2016

Really, we have to get these cable networks to grab a clue about Richard Spencer and his ilk. One term that must be banished immediately is the term "alt-right." It suggests there is something normal about white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

Watch this segment, where Spencer is quoted as asking whether "Jews are people or instead soulless golems?" Watch how they discuss it. It's horrendous. (See update below)

First we have the intro, then we have Rebecca Berg from Real Clear Politics explaining earnestly that Donald Trump maybe shouldn't denounce them, because by doing so he raises awareness of their hate.

As if somehow burying it under layers of media analysis will make it better.

She then went on to warn that he really has to reassure Americans that the "alt-Right" is not going to be part of the Trump administration or policies. As if somehow Steve Bannon's presence is reassuring.

Of course, the "fair" host Jim Sciutto had to point out that Trump looked into the camera on 60 Minutes and told them to "stop it." As though that was a strong denunciation?

Here were some reactions from people watching, who were as incredulous as I.

I cannot stress this enough. Normalizing neo-Nazis is not good for anyone, and certainly a disaster for this country. Huffington Post:

“The alt-right is here, the alt-right is not going anywhere and the alt-right is going to change the world,” Spencer proclaimed at the conference. Though he maintained that Trump and Bannon are not “alt-right,” he did make the unsettling claim that his movement is a “head without a body” and the Trump campaign was a “body without a head.”

Trump’s election could complete this political Frankenstein monster, according to Spencer’s thinking. The high-profile racism and bigotry that has erupted since Nov. 8 has been unapologetically confrontational and intimidating: the Klu Klux Klan holding a “victory” rally in North Carolina, spray-painted swastikas cropping up on playgrounds and untold number of acts of bigotry directed at individuals later reported on social media.

It’s cold comfort, but this kind of vileness cannot easily be incorporated into our institutions of power. A person who walks into a congressional office in a white hood asking for a meeting about the Jewish pestilence isn’t likely to get very far, but a clean-cut guy exuding the same white-collar blandness as that annoying guy at work who won’t shut up about his kickball league or Trunk Club membership is another story.

Cable news, repeat after me: Alt-Right = NeoNazi; Alt-Right = White Supremacy; Alt-Right = Misogyny; Alt-Right=HATE.

Do not whitewash that. Do NOT. Or this:

Update:

The Trump transition just issued a statement, ignoring the obvious hate in his name and instead promising to be President for "all Americans." Which presumably means all white Americans and corporations over all.

Update:

Some have told me that CNN took this out of context, and that Spencer was really referring to media. However, the "liberal media" has long been code for Jews to neo-Nazis, just as bankers are. I have edited the title to indicate the actual quote, but am not backing away from what his meaning was. One cannot miss the word "golem", which is, in Jewish legend, a "clay figure brought to life."

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