Originally printed in the Batesville Daily Guard
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| Richard Spencer: White nationalist, coiner of "alt-right" |
If you didn’t catch it, there was a
new president sworn in last week.
It was followed by protests, claims by
the president it was the “biggest” attendance for an inauguration
ever and the entry of “alternative facts” into our lexicon.
A much-memed but less discussed event
happened on the streets of D.C. though, one that could have
far-reaching repercussions — the punching of Richard Spencer.
It is an incident that not only
highlights the two extremes of those who call themselves “right and
left” but might have also been the snowball that kicks off an
avalanche.
If you don’t know who Spencer is,
then all you need to know is that he’s a white nationalist who
coined the term “alt-right” and likes to lead people in Nazi
salutes. He’s active on social media and like most people who enjoy
tormenting others, he doesn’t ever shut up. He’s the president of
the National Policy Institute, a Virginia-based white nationalist
“think tank.”
Spencer’s predecessor, Louis R.
Andrews, said “There’s no such thing as post-racial. There’s
conflict, conflict and continued conflict.”
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| Black Bloc tactics |
Andrews also said he voted for Obama
because he wanted to see the Republican Party destroyed, so it could
be reborn as a “party representing the interest of white people.”
Spencer has continued the provocatory
approach of Andrews. He has called for “peaceful ethnic cleansing”
and has called for a sort of “white Zionism” to create a “white
homeland.”
Anyway, while giving an interview after
the inauguration on Friday, a person clad in black with their face
hidden ran out of the street and punched him in the face,
disappearing as quickly as he appeared.
A lot of people cheered because Spencer
is who he is. It has even become a meme of sorts.
Taking joy in Spencer getting punched
is a natural reaction. Spencer is, after all, the proponent of an
ideology that reflects a dark past and ought to be shoved back into
it where it belongs.
But those cheering may not be thinking
of the repercussions of the action.
In a way, that punch is the best thing
that could have happened to Spencer. Now he can say “we’re under
attack!” That single punch may have opened the door for others to
attack those who they disagree with on the street, no matter what
their political leaning.
Of course, the person who attacked
Spencer was an anarchist, a group that sees no legitimacy in a
central government (or really any government at all), whether it be
Democrat or Republican — and really, they consider both to be
enemies considering their behavior during both parties’ conventions
in the past.
Where ever there are large
demonstrations, anarchists show up, using black bloc tactics to
disguise their identities and engage in actions like property damage
and now violence. They are extremists who don’t care whether or not
they harm the cause the actual demonstrations are supporting. The
anarchists only seem to care about fighting some ambiguous enemy via
smashing windows and setting things on fire, often throwing rocks and
firecrackers at law enforcement. The actions of the anarchists often
distract from the message of the peaceful demonstrators, who are
pretty much always the majority when it comes to protests.
No matter how much someone points out
to the anarchists that they’re harming the cause they’re
allegedly supporting, you’ll usually get similar responses such as
rioting being a form of expression against exploitation by business
or destroying the system. The general reaction when such is pointed
out is usually dismissiveness or outright tirades against “useless”
nonviolent protesters.
Now it seems that both sides have
gotten what they wanted. Spencer’s white nationalists can now claim
there’s a war against them and the anarchists can claim they took
“direct action.”
I for one hope that the punch of
Spencer isn’t a sign of some sort of escalation. But with the
current state of American political dialogue, that’s very, very
unclear. We aren’t living in some sort of dystopian society, yet.
But it seems that we now have movements that want to force society to
fit a certain vision. There’s no telling where a single punch could
lead to.
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