Old-Line White Supremacists Try To Jump On ‘Alt-Right’ Bandwagon

Image by Twitter

By Sam Kestenbaum September 28, 2017

An older generation of white supremacists are piggybacking on the “alt-right” as a way to stay relevant — but the tactic might not work out in the long run, according to a new blog post from the Anti-Defamation League.

Former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke, for example, has latched himself to the “alt-right” through affiliations with internet celebrities like Richard Spencer. And Kyle Rogers, the longtime webmaster for the Council of Conservative Citizens, created a new site featuring alt-right memes like Pepe the Frog, presumably in the hopes of drawing new followers. Others have adopted the internet slang “alt-right” — like the concept of “red-pilling,” the “awakening” of the masses to their movement’s doctrines.

This isn’t the first time an older generation have tried to bolster their ranks with younger white nationalists.

In the 1980s, white supremacists tried to appeal a new generation of racist skinheads — with mixed results.

While many racist skinheads absorbed concepts and ideas from these would-be tutors and leaders, the ADL writes, more often than not, they formed their own separate groups. The same thing could happen today.

“If the ‘alt-right’ survives, it may well evolve similarly,” the ADL writes, “disappointing older white supremacists hoping for a supply of new recruits to their groups.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO