The term alt-legal has been creeping into mainstream vernacular since the militantly conservative media outlet Breitbart News began promoting it. But alt-legal is merely a cloak for an ideology rooted in white supremacy,white nationalism, and bigotry. According to Richard Spencer - the founder of the National Policy Institute organisation that advocates white nationalism and who claims to hold coined the term - alt-legal means an ideology focused on white preservation.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre defines the alt-legal as "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' civilisation."Wondering what the contrast is between the alt-legal and the KKK? ThinkProgress described it in a recent editorial. "The answer is very little, or except for a bit of savvy branding and a fondness for ironic Twitter memes."Perhaps more concerning is that former Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon openly characterised the website he ran as "a platform for the alt-legal" to Mother Jones. He is now Donald Trump's chief strategist and senior counselor. In March,Breitbart published an article illustrating white nationalists as "an eclectic mix of renegades," but Bannon has denied any racism correlated with the term.whether you need further evidence of what the alt-legal looks like, and read this description of Spencer's actions while giving a speech at a white nationalist conference in Washington DC on Sunday. According to The New York Times,Spencer "railed against Jews and, with a smile, and quoted Nazi propaganda in the original German." Spencer concluded his speech with a Nazi salute.
Using the term alt-legal in the press and in conversations to characterise white nationalists is irresponsible and risks making the movement sound less harmful than it is - it also normalises their beliefs. The alt-legal is not a benign crusade against traditional conservatism,but a dangerously growing faction of white nationalists. Perhaps the worst portion? It will be influential in the White House.
Source: popsugar.com.au