Reactionaries largely agree with Putin’s critique of the weak, “woke” West. To the Right, the fight against multiracial pluralism overrides everything else.
Don't forget as Dave troy points out part of this network includes the ron Paul, rand Paul, GOLDBUG crowd that hawks going back to some "hard asset " currency like metals(gold, platinum, silver etc) with crypto currencies, NFTs acting as an intermediary/bridge of sorts. The bankers plot to take down FDR in the 30s and reestablish gold to its primacy was thwarted but the surviving intersectional networks never went away and found agency in like minded RW libertarian projects & politicians. This is not to say that going back to some "gold standard " economy with NFTs & crypto involved is a good thing, it's not, but this network that putin, bannon, Flynn, musk, thiel etc support all want to attack the US dollar, possibly via a catastrophic debt ceiling default. Such an action would almost certainly plunge the US and world economy into chaos with the possibly exception of these BRICS nations who would shelter behind a different form of economic transactions. It would also help putin in Ukraine & XI in Taiwan if the US can longer use the dollar effectively to aide UKRAINE.
Pat Buchanan is the same person he was as a boy, when he and his brothers used to throw rocks at buses taking African American women to their jobs as domestic workers in white homes back in the 1940s. The big difference is that more people are aware of this, and he got banned as a commentator because of it.
Interesting write up. Although I accept Mr. Zimmer's argument that the American Right admires an imaginary Russia rather than the Russia that actually exists, it is very hard to square the admiration with the widespread availability of abortion that country. Given opposition to abortion is so central to the populist right's self-conception, it would be interesting to know how they justify Russian abortion laws.
An essential part of this white multi-nationalism is demonization of vulnerable groups, and there is no better example than the Abbott and DeSantis migrant "stunts" -- paradigmatic de-humanization of a group for political purposes
And yet, five days after Abbott's bus drop in the cold, it hardly makes a ripple. Gratuitously cruel actions must be met with sustained moral outrage, and failure of a sufficient response to Governor DeSantis’s similar stunt last September emboldened Abbott's even more barbaric act.
Every institution -- academic, media, legal, the arts should be continually protesting against this. Otherwise, it is normalized.
Btw -- did you have a chance to read my response on your prior post on the reactionary right? It relates to the balance between recognizing male white privilege and showing the non-elite white males how racism is dividing those of us with common interests. This is the only way to achieve a pluralist multi-racial society.
No matter how many times I read explanations of the mindset of people like Rod Dreher, it still boggles my mind. It's so removed from actual facts. The “left is taking over the country” is such a crazy, nonsensical fact-free interpretation. I don't understand how they jibe their autocratic religious vision of the US with our actual history and origins as a place where people came for religious freedom. Why does giving gay and trans people rights freak them out so much? I just don't get it. It's 2022, not 1910. Civil rights have been around for over 50 years! That seems like enough time to get used to traditionally oppressed people having equal rights. It didn’t feel like there was this much protest against civil rights decades ago (I'm old) and now there's this radical extremist faction taking over the Republican Party. It’s still extremely weird and retrograde to me. I will never understand why they're so threatened or why they think it's justifiable to take away basic human rights for huge swathes of the population.
Part of it is sincere (the part you and I are having a hard time understanding).
There probably are other layers to pull apart too: reflexive contrarianism (Bart Simpson-ism) is part of it. Just acting “naughty” for the “fun” of it or to get a rise out of people.
Also there is a business model here. Ron DeSantis got the covid vaccine but has the opportunity to be an “influencer” among people who are anti-vax. This is rational (albeit immoral), because normal scientifically minded people have influencers they follow already. There is moor room for conspiratorial entrepreneurialism in the kook mindspace than there is in the rational mindspace.
Anything written by someone like Dreher is written with a detailed understanding of how many clicks and tweets were driven by the his last piece. For some that data might affect your word choice, or modulation of your level of paranoia or fear and rage bating.
So I think some is a genuine preference for strongmen, some is a desire to be “naughty” and titillating, and a lot of it is a need to force your way through a mob of attention-seeking by throwing sharp elbows of controversy and conspiracy.
Don't forget as Dave troy points out part of this network includes the ron Paul, rand Paul, GOLDBUG crowd that hawks going back to some "hard asset " currency like metals(gold, platinum, silver etc) with crypto currencies, NFTs acting as an intermediary/bridge of sorts. The bankers plot to take down FDR in the 30s and reestablish gold to its primacy was thwarted but the surviving intersectional networks never went away and found agency in like minded RW libertarian projects & politicians. This is not to say that going back to some "gold standard " economy with NFTs & crypto involved is a good thing, it's not, but this network that putin, bannon, Flynn, musk, thiel etc support all want to attack the US dollar, possibly via a catastrophic debt ceiling default. Such an action would almost certainly plunge the US and world economy into chaos with the possibly exception of these BRICS nations who would shelter behind a different form of economic transactions. It would also help putin in Ukraine & XI in Taiwan if the US can longer use the dollar effectively to aide UKRAINE.
Pat Buchanan is the same person he was as a boy, when he and his brothers used to throw rocks at buses taking African American women to their jobs as domestic workers in white homes back in the 1940s. The big difference is that more people are aware of this, and he got banned as a commentator because of it.
He also said he and his catholic buddies would harass jews too .. charming fella..
Yes, he’s also anti-Semitic and this led William F. Buckley to fire Buchanan from National Review.
Interesting write up. Although I accept Mr. Zimmer's argument that the American Right admires an imaginary Russia rather than the Russia that actually exists, it is very hard to square the admiration with the widespread availability of abortion that country. Given opposition to abortion is so central to the populist right's self-conception, it would be interesting to know how they justify Russian abortion laws.
Thank you. This is excellent.
An essential part of this white multi-nationalism is demonization of vulnerable groups, and there is no better example than the Abbott and DeSantis migrant "stunts" -- paradigmatic de-humanization of a group for political purposes
And yet, five days after Abbott's bus drop in the cold, it hardly makes a ripple. Gratuitously cruel actions must be met with sustained moral outrage, and failure of a sufficient response to Governor DeSantis’s similar stunt last September emboldened Abbott's even more barbaric act.
Every institution -- academic, media, legal, the arts should be continually protesting against this. Otherwise, it is normalized.
Btw -- did you have a chance to read my response on your prior post on the reactionary right? It relates to the balance between recognizing male white privilege and showing the non-elite white males how racism is dividing those of us with common interests. This is the only way to achieve a pluralist multi-racial society.
Thanks
Peter
No matter how many times I read explanations of the mindset of people like Rod Dreher, it still boggles my mind. It's so removed from actual facts. The “left is taking over the country” is such a crazy, nonsensical fact-free interpretation. I don't understand how they jibe their autocratic religious vision of the US with our actual history and origins as a place where people came for religious freedom. Why does giving gay and trans people rights freak them out so much? I just don't get it. It's 2022, not 1910. Civil rights have been around for over 50 years! That seems like enough time to get used to traditionally oppressed people having equal rights. It didn’t feel like there was this much protest against civil rights decades ago (I'm old) and now there's this radical extremist faction taking over the Republican Party. It’s still extremely weird and retrograde to me. I will never understand why they're so threatened or why they think it's justifiable to take away basic human rights for huge swathes of the population.
Part of it is sincere (the part you and I are having a hard time understanding).
There probably are other layers to pull apart too: reflexive contrarianism (Bart Simpson-ism) is part of it. Just acting “naughty” for the “fun” of it or to get a rise out of people.
Also there is a business model here. Ron DeSantis got the covid vaccine but has the opportunity to be an “influencer” among people who are anti-vax. This is rational (albeit immoral), because normal scientifically minded people have influencers they follow already. There is moor room for conspiratorial entrepreneurialism in the kook mindspace than there is in the rational mindspace.
Anything written by someone like Dreher is written with a detailed understanding of how many clicks and tweets were driven by the his last piece. For some that data might affect your word choice, or modulation of your level of paranoia or fear and rage bating.
So I think some is a genuine preference for strongmen, some is a desire to be “naughty” and titillating, and a lot of it is a need to force your way through a mob of attention-seeking by throwing sharp elbows of controversy and conspiracy.
*more
If we can separate the different layers, we can understand them better. Each might benefit from a different strategy to counter.
Thank you, Dr Zimmer. (A grateful grad student)