Alt-right

215

January 6, 2017

Published in Liberation
(France) on 30 December 2016
by Guillaume Gendron (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Sophie Thresher. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.

Behind this abbreviation, which sounds like a keyboard shortcut or a punk subgenre, many see merely a euphemism for an old demon well known to the United States: white supremacy. Others see rather a mutant fringe of the extreme right, born and bred in the United States. Here in France, this “alternative right” originates in the French New Right and the hidden Islamophobic Europeans, as well as online discussion forums on this topic.

Under the cover of being against political correctness, the alt-right movement has turned the attention of legions of frustrated young white people to racial theorizing and old-fashioned antifeminism. Whether it is over a reactionary Frankenstein or a media explosion, political commentators have taken a strong interest in this word following the arrival of a plague of frogs (their mascot) on social media, further amplified by Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy. The movement came out of the shadows when the billionaire selected Steve Bannon as his campaign director, a man who prides himself on making his network, Breitbart, “the platform for the alt-right.” He was from then on the first strategist of the president-elect. In six months, the alt-right has moved from the depths of the web to the White House.

Derrière cette formule qui sonne comme un raccourci clavier ou un sous-genre de punk, les uns ne voient qu’un euphémisme pour désigner un vieux démon des Etats-Unis : le suprémacisme blanc. Les autres perçoivent plutôt une frange mutante de l’extrême droite «made in USA». Cette «droite alternative» prendrait source dans la Nouvelle Droite française et les identitaires islamophobes européens pour le fond, et les forums de discussions en ligne pour la forme. Sous couvert de déconne anti-politiquement correcte, l’alt-right convertit des légions de jeunes Blancs frustrés à des théories racialistes et antiféministes hors d’âge. Qu’il s’agisse d’un Frankenstein réactionnaire ou d’une baudruche médiatique, le mot obsède les politologues depuis qu’une pluie de grenouilles (leur mascotte) s’est abattue sur les réseaux sociaux, à mesure que la candidature de Donald Trump prenait de l’ampleur. La mouvance sort de l’ombre quand le milliardaire embauche comme directeur de campagne Steve Bannon, qui se vante d’avoir fait de son média, Breitbart, «la plateforme de l’alt-right». Il est désormais le premier stratège du président élu. En six mois, l’alt-right est passé des entrailles du Web à la Maison Blanche. G.G.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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