Somewhere Between Neo-Nazi and Neo-Nancy

If you read the nonsense that comes from the "mainstream" and "respectable" media outlets, first of all shame on you. With the virtually unlimited sources of news and opinion available to pretty much anyone there is very little reason to ingest the "news" coming out of the Big Three networks, the major newspapers, CNN/MSNBC and yes even Fox News. Second, since the nomination of Donald Trump and the subsequent horror and outrage after he was elected to be our next President the media has been working overtime to lump everyone and anyone who didn't vote for Hillary Clinton as a racist and the easiest way to do that is to put all of those people under the umbrella of the "alt-right". It is my belief that the more someone in the media talks about the alt-right the less they actual know about it and the more certain it becomes that they have never read anything written by anyone actually associated with the alt-right. Of course it is also possible that some of them do understand the alt-right and do their level best to discredit and misrepresent it out of abject terror. 

Of course defining what the alt-right is with any sort of clarity and accuracy is a tough nut to crack, largely because the topics it touches on are so socially taboo and also because many of the loudest voices in the alt-right take a great deal of perverse pleasure in being misunderstood which provides them ample opportunities to mercilessly troll the crap out of people who try to pin them down. Those same loud voices also seem content to be a fringe group that would rather win a trolling contest than to actual move the needle on public awareness. Others are trying to disassociate themselves with some of the more extreme elements in order to actually make a difference in our country. I find myself more in the latter group which might make me less a less "authentic" member of the alt-right but I am also less concerned with being embraced by every part of the alt-right as a group and mostly concerned with speaking out on issues of white identity, nationalism, liberty, etc. The actual alt-right, distinguished from the media caricature, has the right and obligation to define themselves. I am not looking to come into the conversation at this stage and insist on dictating to them what they may or may not believe. I am simply intending to add my voice and hope that it advances the conversation and the cause in a productive manner.

So where does that leave me? I am like what I assume an awful lot of White people are like. I have always followed the rules, done my civic duty as best I can. not been a criminal or a drag on society, mostly just someone who wants to be left alone. More or less I have, at least publicly, kept my mouth shut about issues that cause people discomfort. As the years have passed and I became a husband and father (in that order) it was also pretty clear that something was rotting away at the social fabric of our nation. Imagine our surprise to find that we who were often the victims of this social decay were now being blamed as the cause of the decay. While blacks slaughter each other in ever-increasing numbers, the blame from the media is exclusively on White people who lawfully own guns and don't think it is rational to shoot someone down because they "disrespected" us. White people are told that whatever we have achieved as individuals, families and a culture are the result of "white privilege" even though it seems pretty clear to us that the achievements we have achieved are the result of actual effort, sacrifice and work. We are told that this country needs "an honest conversation about race" but it turns out that this "conversation" is a one-way lecture delivered by hectoring social justice types.

I also think that Whites, in other words Americans of European ancestry and culture, have a distinct culture that is worth preserving and in spite of myriad faults is still superior to other cultures. That is a serious no-no in our society. We are absolutely to show no preference for any culture other than to denigrate White European culture and for the aforementioned Whites to not "appropriate" other cultures by eating tacos or doing yoga or anything other than abasing ourselves and going about in sackcloth and ashes to atone for alleged crimes of all White people for all time. For heaven's sake we are never to suggest that one culture is superior to any other even when simple historic and contemporary evidence points out that it is true.

My goal is to look at flash-point issues. What does White identity mean? How do various political theories mesh with issues like race realism and nationalism? What about transcendent issues like being serious about the Christian faith (i.e. more than checking on a box on a survey and attending religious services once in a while) and how that meshes or clashes with racial realism and national identity? That sort of stuff. It might be boring but I think these are critical conversations to have (and I do mean conversations rather than lectures, screaming matches or trolling contests) because the issues that matter to me and I assume to many others who are part of the alt-right will never more than fringe curiosities unless we are willing to boldly, without apology, engage in intellectually robust arguments contra the prevailing and degrading culture. That is my plan. We will see where it goes from here.

A Quick Note On My Blog List

I have started to compile a list of "alt-right" blog sites/news sites/what have you sites on the sidebar. I am pretty new into this whole public "alt-right" thing and am feeling my way around. I am sure that some of the sites that I listed as "Alt-Right Sites (More Or Less)" are not really alt-right sites. I am sure I am missing some good sites. I am sure some of the sites are full of garbage that I don't want to read or be associated with. I am open to feedback and suggestions. In reality though, when I have a blog list it is more than "You should read these blogs". It is also "I should read these blogs" and for a reminder to me to see what is happening, a personal reading list if you will as much as a public one. Like I said, this is pretty new territory for me so I am just learning who the players are, who is profitbale to read, who is thoughtful and thought-provoking and who are just juvenile idiots, so that list is a dynamic compilation that I expect to change a lot, probably more in the sense of adding than subtracting but we shall see.

Welcome and some thoughts on anonymity on the internet

Welcome!

While I have been blogging publicly for more than a dozen years, this is a new venture for me. It is a lot more controversial in some ways than what I have written in the past and consequently it is the first time I have done any blogging anonymously using a pseudonym.  I am not linking to my regular blogging venues nor my social media accounts and am not even using my own name. Before I start posting on the main topics I am interested in, I thought I should talk a bit about why I am posting this way.

I am old enough to have been in the vanguard of the internet explosion which led to the blog world where anyone and everyone can publish their thoughts for the world to see and from there to the social media world. In general I have never been a fan of anonymous posting on the internet. My position is that if you believe in what you are saying, you should have the courage of conviction to stand behind it publicly. If you are unwilling to say who you are when you say something, maybe you ought not say it. So it bothers me to be putting my opinions and rantings out for public dissemination while seeming to hide behind a pseudonym.

It would be nice to be able to write whatever one wants without concern over retaliation.That isn’t the world we live in. If I were a single guy, a loner with no one to hurt and nothing to lose, it wouldn’t matter much but thankfully I am not. Quite the contrary, I have a wife of many years. a household full of kids and a job. While I don’t think my job would be impacted by using my real name, you never can tell in this world. I am quite certain that writing what I plan on writing using my real name would lead to all manner of threats, harassment and even outright harm to my family. You can do whatever you want to me but I don’t see the value in dragging my kids and wife into the fray. When they get out on their own they can do what they want but while they are in my home their safety and well-being is my top priority and my calling as a father. You might see that as a cop-out or hypocritical. That is your call.

So that leaves me with three options. One is to use my real name and take my chances. As stated above that isn’t feasible or prudent for family reasons. Two is to just keep my opinions to myself and that isn’t palatable given the state of the world in general and America in particular. So that leaves me with this compromise. Maybe someday that will change but given the trajectory of the U.S. I really doubt it.

A brief note on my pseudonym. I used the name of a character I played in a MMORPG for many years, El'geherg, although I am currently inactive in that game. I happened to have an email set up with that name to keep my gaming stuff distinct from my real life and already had a Google profile so it was relatively quick and painless to use. 

So that is that. Now on to the main event!