The innocuously named but racist as hell white nationalist group National Policy Institute held an alt-right victory party over the weekend, toasting President-elect Donald Trump, and just generally being abhorrent. And a whole lot of ink was spilled about the gathering.
The Daily Dot’s Chris Tognotti summed up why the alt-right’s meager D.C. takeover should do more than just raise eyebrows, stating that it “straddles the line between flagrant expressions of racial hatred and a subtler fixation on white identity that nonetheless achieves the same end… taking some very old ideas but presenting them from well-groomed white men in sharp-cut business suits instead of raving skinheads.”
And what did other outlets do? Why, zero in on that alt-right aesthetic in the worst way possible.
https://twitter.com/Flames_Baldwin/status/800695188893077504
That Los Angeles Times tweet is still up but the equally incriminating Mother Jones tweet has since been deleted. It nonetheless lives on in meme form.
Meet The Dapper White Nationalist Riding the Trump Wave pic.twitter.com/R6W9S3pYu6
— Jams 🛸🍈 (@jamsvirtual) November 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/CAAHHRL_KOOORL/status/800571287919685632
https://twitter.com/Spacekatgal/status/800738813593210880
Meet The Dapper White Nationalist Riding the Trump Wave pic.twitter.com/kxSQKOECIL
— daniel chamberlain (@amfmpm) November 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/Jmullan86/status/800593153891979268
The L.A. Times chose to focus on the conference itself while Mother Jones put out a lengthy profile on National Policy Institute Chairman Richard Spencer and his racist rhetoric, which includes the fetishizing of Asian women. Oh, and lots of colorful descriptions about his mannerisms and appearance. (Deftly using chopsticks—what a lede!)
Give the piece a read if knowing your enemy by way of a spread in Tiger Beat is important. Or just contemplate a mayonnaise jar for five minutes. That should do the trick.
