Nazi salutes and white supremacism: Who is Richard Spencer, the 'racist academic' behind the 'Alt right' movement

Milo, along with a guy named Allum Bokhari, penned an article for Breitbart entitled, "An Establishment Conservative's Guide to the Alt-Right".  In this article, Milo wrote the following:

THE INTELLECTUALS 

There are many things that separate the alternative right from old-school racist skinheads (to whom they are often idiotically compared), but one thing stands out above all else: intelligence. Skinheads, by and large, are low-information, low-IQ thugs driven by the thrill of violence and tribal hatred. 

The alternative right are a much smarter group of people — which perhaps suggests why the Left hates them so much. They’re dangerously bright. 

The origins of the alternative right can be found in thinkers as diverse as Oswald Spengler, H.L Mencken, Julius Evola, Sam Francis, and the paleoconservative movement that rallied around the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan. The French New Right also serve as a source of inspiration for many leaders of the alt-right. 

The media empire of the modern-day alternative right coalesced around Richard Spencer during his editorship of Taki’s Magazine. In 2010, Spencer founded AlternativeRight.com, which would become a center of alt-right thought. 

Alongside other nodes like Steve Sailer’s blog, VDARE and American Renaissance, AlternativeRight.com became a gathering point for an eclectic mix of renegades who objected to the established political consensus in some form or another. All of these websites have been accused of racism.

Today, a video has surfaced of Richard Spencer calling out "Hail Trump" to a group of his adoring supporters, only to be greeted with an enthusiastic reply and a smattering of Nazi salutes, as if on cue.

These people are, clearly, used to doing such things.

Here's the video:


From the Telegraph:

A video has emerged showing Richard Spencer, a leader of the so-called "alt right movement", leading a white nationalist crowd in salutes of "Hail Trump!" 

Many of the more than 200 attendees at the conference appeared to give the Nazi arm salute as they echoed Mr Spencer's declaration. 

Here's what we know about him so far... 

Who is Richard Spencer? 

As president of a think tank called the National Policy Institute, Richard Spencer has been credited with coining the term "alternative-right", or "alt-right" for short. His non-profit group, which promotes the white nationalist movement, is "dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent in the United States". 

Mr Spencer, who has called for “peaceful ethnic cleansing”, says he dreams of a "new society, an ethno-state that would be a gathering point for all Europeans". 

Before heading up NPI, he founded the now defunct website Alternative Right, which was "dedicated to heretical perspectives on society and culture - popular, high, and otherwise - particularly those informed by radical, traditionalist, and nationalist outlooks". 

The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks hate groups, has described Mr Spencer as an "academic racist" who backs creation of an Aryan homeland. 

Mr Spencer is banned from the UK and 26 other European countries, after he was deported from Hungary for organising a conference for white nationalists. 

His views on Trump 

As a supporter of Donald Trump, Mr Spencer's profile grew throughout the US election campaign. The president-elect has distanced himself from the movement and Mr Spencer, himself, says the celebrity businessman does not represent the movement. 

However, he adds: “I think that Donald Trump is the kind of first step toward this new kind of politics that I’ve been outlying. It’s maybe the first awkward, maybe vulgar step in that direction. 

“I think that’s a very good thing. And I think Donald Trump has appealed to the right people around the world," he told ABC's The Hack programme in Australia before the election. "I am part of a movement that is bigger than Trump. Trump was a first step towards an awakening of identity politics, towards an awakening of a new European spirit in the world."

The unstated target of this piece from the Telegraph is more Stephen Bannon (editor of Breitbart at the time of the above-mentioned piece by Milo). For his part, Stephen Bannon has completely rejected Ethno-Nationalist:

“I’m an economic nationalist. I am an America first guy. And I have admired nationalist movements throughout the world, have said repeatedly strong nations make great neighbors. I’ve also said repeatedly that the ethno-nationalist movement, prominent in Europe, will change over time. I’ve never been a supporter of ethno-nationalism.”

I know Stephen Bannon is not an anti-Semite. There is no doubt of that. However, Milo's too-sanguine approach to describing leaders of the Alt-Right movement has really become a problem for Stephen Bannon, and has opened him up to charges of White Supremacism. These charges may be unfair, however, because Bannon is Trump's Chief Strategist, this one single article from Milo Yiannopolis is becoming a big problem.

Barack Obama sat in the pews of Jeremiah Wright's church for twenty years and listened to Wright spew racist rhetoric and curse America.

Stephen Bannon did not sit in the equivalent of Richard Spencer's church. Stephen Bannon may truly despise Richard Spencer. But, as Editor he was responsible for the content of Breitbart's daily outpourings.

Totally responsible.

The situation on the ground is absolutely unacceptable. Something needs to be done about it.

MEANWHILE:

Bernie Sanders: Democrats Need To Move Away From “Identity Politics”…

PASTORIUS COMMENT: 

The whole Leftist world is upset with one article Milo wrote (under Bannon's editorship) which discussed Identity politics on the right in a dispassionate manner. Meanwhile the left passionately defends it's own brand of Identity politics, which is no less racist than the Right's identity politics. 

Screw the left. Thank God ONE OF THEM gets it. When are the rest of these idiots going to wake up?