In wake of Richard Spencer鈥檚 Michigan rally, the racist alt-right鈥檚 infighting over optics comes to a head
The white nationalist movement has been embroiled in a war over optics since last year鈥檚 Unite the Rally in Charlottesville, and Richard Spencer鈥檚 disastrous听event at Michigan State University听last weekend only increased tensions between those dedicated to street action and others who worry that high-profile confrontations will damage the movement鈥檚 image.
Last Thursday, the infighting came to a head when The Right Stuff (TRS) removed 鈥淎ction!鈥� 鈥� a podcast produced by Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) 鈥� from their platform.
The removal came two days after TRS host Jesse Craig Dunstan (a.k.a Seventh Son or Sven) announced he would be removing podcasts he didn鈥檛 feel belonged on the site. Heimbach responded on Gab by making reference to the 鈥� when Hitler purged members of the Nazi paramilitary wing.听听听
Unlike Dunstan and other alt-right adherent associated with TRS, the neo-Nazi TWP places an emphasis on engaging in protests and street brawls. They provided 鈥渟ecurity鈥� for last weekend鈥檚 events, which included a far-right conference hosted by the Foundation for the Marketplace of Ideas and a sparsely attended speech by Spencer at Michigan State University last Monday evening, during which 25 people were arrested.
The Michigan events were one flashpoint in a long stream of squabbles over tactics and optics within the alt-right. And the decision to remove Heimbach鈥檚 podcast from the TRS platform signaled a possible final break between the two alt-right factions.
The episode of 鈥淎ction!鈥� that was to be the last posted on the TRS site, titled 鈥淥ptics, TWP, and You,鈥� delved into the infighting that defined the previous year.听
Predictably, hell broke loose across alt-right social media, and especially the TRS forum.
鈥淵ou know that all of us on their side aren鈥檛 going to just disappear, right?鈥� one poster wrote in response to Dunstan. 鈥淵ou know that TWP won鈥檛 stop doing real-life activism because of optics c---- like yourself, right? Even if all of TWP and TWP supporters get banned from TRS, it won鈥檛 matter. Your efforts are in vain. TWP is here to stay in the pro-white movement.鈥�
Heimbach used the events at Michigan to present himself and TWP as the leading players in today鈥檚 white nationalist movement. While the meme warriors stayed home, men in TWP鈥檚 black uniforms made a show of strength in East Lansing鈥檚 streets 鈥� in the days that followed.听
Matthew Parrott, one of TWP鈥檚 leaders, declared the weekend a success. 鈥淸O]nce again, we ended up with even more footage of ourselves defeating the hard left despite being wildly outnumbered,鈥� he wrote on the organization鈥檚 website. In his mind, the images of men willing to risk their lives for the cause helped to fulfill TWP鈥檚 goal of providing a 鈥渞adical alternative to the familiar鈥� that would attract more people to their movement.听听 听
But not everyone in the alt-right agreed with Parrott鈥檚 interpretation. 鈥淟ook. Here鈥檚 the real thing about IRL activism,鈥� wrote Andrew Anglin, who runs the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer, before advocating for an emphasis on alt-right community building 鈥� both online and off 鈥� rather than 鈥減erformance activism.鈥� 鈥淲atching a bunch of 鈥楢lt-Right鈥� fat guys in costumes get shouted down in the street and laughed at鈥urts the morale of our own guys,鈥� he wrote on Gab, and 鈥渢akes away from things that we've been doing successfully in the propaganda sphere.鈥�
Dunstan, who hosts the TRS podcast 鈥淭he Daily Shoah,鈥� offered a similar perspective. He insisted his quibbles with the current state of the alt-right weren鈥檛 about 鈥渙ptics鈥� 鈥� the 鈥渦niforms, helmets, polo shirts, torches, banner drops or monuments鈥� 鈥� but the efficacy of 鈥渁ctivism鈥� itself. 鈥淸I]n the bigger picture, fighting with Antifa is an energy siphon GloboHomo set up to entrap us and waste our time.鈥� He argued that their effort should be spent growing platforms like TRS, which hosts a blog, popular alt-right forum, and dozens of podcasts.
鈥淚 want to replace the jewry that runs news and entertainment media,鈥� Dunstan wrote.
Anglin and TRS have worked together closely, and their alliance was solidified when Anglin came to TRS鈥檚 defense after several of their most prominent voices were doxed in January of 2017 鈥� even though it was revealed that the wife of TRS founder Mike Peinovich was Jewish. And the cracks between propagandists like Anglin and TRS and the street activists of TWP have been growing for some time.
According to Parrott, it began after Charlottesville, when Anglin, who had been the 鈥渕ovement鈥檚 foremost polemicist,鈥� turned on other alt-right organizations he deemed 鈥渙bstacles to his vision鈥� 鈥� especially ones like the Traditionalist Worker Party that had been tarnished by their attendance at Unite the Right.
Even generational divides have driven members of the movement apart. TWP loyalists like Brad Griffin of Occidental Dissent criticized the 鈥淲hite Nationalism 2.0鈥� spearheaded by Anglin and TRS as one made up of 鈥減ost-literate anonymous shitposters鈥� who were too preoccupied with aesthetics and mocking 鈥渂oomers鈥� 鈥� whom Griffin credits with creating fundamental ideological underpinnings of the white nationalist movement 鈥� for being out of touch.
The tensions between the street fighters and 鈥渟hitposters鈥� came to the forefront again during the November 2017 White Lives Matter rally in Shelbyville, Tennessee, where both Mike Peinovich and Matt Heimbach spoke. Anglin refused to endorse the rally. 鈥淗ow many normal middle class young guys are we turning away by inviting a few 鈥�80s neo-Nazis?鈥� he wondered. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone on earth thinks neo-Nazis [like TWP] are cool. It is cringy and silly.鈥�
TRS鈥檚 Ricky Vaughn concurred, and wrote on Twitter that 鈥淭he alt-right LARP patrol is actually shifting the Overton Window...leftward.鈥�
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