The Wayward Axolotl

The alt-right began as an internet discussion space where people gathered to talk about heretical ideas. The key heresies were race realism and sex realism, but cultural and social issues were also frequently discussed. It was an intellectual space, mostly populated by obscure right-wing bloggers who were critiquing aspects of the leftist/humanist worldview, such as racial egalitarianism, feminism and democracy. There was no specific point in time when this space emerged, but I discovered it in 2013, so I’ll use that as the starting point of the story. There was no name for the space, but the term “Neoreaction” was one of the more popular labels floating around. At the time, “Alternative Right” was the name of a specific website, which was part of that larger space. The Alternative Right website was run by Richard Spencer, who later became a central figure in the alt-right, but Richard Spencer did not create the alt-right. The alt-right was not created by anyone. It just happened.

Most ideologies have a moral narrative that is essentially the plot of “The Lion King” movie. It can be summarized as follows: The story revolves around two dichotomies: US | THEM and GOOD | EVIL. There is an initial, natural state of things, which is good and proper. In this initial, natural state, we (the good guys) are in control and all is well. Then they (the bad guys) interfere in this natural order in some way. Typically, they seize power from us. They take what is rightfully ours. There is a period of suffering and struggle, during which we overcome our moral, spiritual and physical weaknesses. We attack them. After an epic struggle, we defeat them. Good triumphs over evil, and the natural order is restored. That is the basic plot structure of thousands of stories, including a huge percentage of all Hollywood movies. You have probably been exposed to thousands of examples of it. You have subconsciously learned that pattern from experience, and you will s