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The Eliminationists describes the malignant influence of right-wing
hate talk on the American conservative movement. Tracing much of
this vitriol to the dank corners of the para-fascist right,
award-winning reporter David Neiwert documents persistent ideas and
rhetoric that champion the elimination of opposition groups. As a
result of this hateful discourse, Neiwert argues, the broader
conservative movement has metastasized into something not truly
conservative, but decidedly right-wing and potentially dangerous.
By tapping into the eliminationism latent in the American psyche,
the mainstream conservative movement has emboldened groups that
have inhabited the fringes of the far right for decades. With the
Obama victory, their voices may once again raise the specter of
deadly domestic terrorism that characterized the far Right in the
1990s. How well Americans face this challenge will depend on how
strongly we repudiate the politics of hate and repair the damage it
has wrought.
A revealing trip down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories--their
appeal, who believes them, how they spread--with an eye to helping
people deal with the alt-right conspiracists in their own lives.
Conspiracy theories are killing us. Once confined to the fringes of
society, this worldview now has adherents numbering in the
millions--extending right into the White House. This disturbing
look at this alt-right threat to our democratic institutions offers
guidance for counteracting the personal toll this destructive
mindset can have on relationships and families. Author David
Neiwert--an investigative journalist who has studied the radical
right for decades--examines the growing appeal of conspiracy
theories and the kind of personalities that are attracted to such
paranoid, sociopathic messages. He explains how alt-right leaders
are able to get such firm holds on the imaginations of their
followers and chronicles the destruction caused by the movement's
most virulent believers. Neiwert uses the story of Lane Davis as an
example of what this worldview does to people and how it affects
their personal lives as well as their ability to influence the
larger public. The alt-right, pro-Trump Davis spent most of his
time posting on the internet. Obsessed with "liberal pedophilia",
he stabbed his father to death. Davis is an extreme example of
"getting red-pilled" - a metaphor for when believers of conspiracy
theories become convinced that their alternate universe is real.
Uniquely, and optimistically, Neiwert provides a "blue pill
toolkit" for those who are dealing with conspiracy theorists in
their own lives, including strategies drawn from people who counsel
former far-right extremists who have renounced their former
beliefs.
It began with a frantic 911 call from a woman in a dusty Arizona
border town. A gang claiming to be affiliated with the Border
Patrol had shot her husband and daughter. It was initially assumed
that the murders were products of border drug wars ravaging the
Southwest until the leader of one of the more prominent offshoots
of the Minutemen movement was arrested for plotting the home
invasion as part of a scheme to finance a violent antigovernment
border militia. And Hell Followed With Her: Crossing to the Dark
Side of the American Border is award-winning journalist David
Neiwert's riveting account of the life and death of America's
Minutemen- and the terrifying story and psychology of movement
leader Shawna Forde. A compulsive and brilliant portrait of
cold-blooded killers and true believers, And Hell Followed With Her
is at once a horrifying crime story and a frontline report on
America's nativist foot soldiers.
The Eliminationists describes the malignant influence of right-wing
hate talk on the American conservative movement. Tracing much of
this vitriol to the dank corners of the para-fascist right,
award-winning reporter David Neiwert documents persistent ideas and
rhetoric that champion the elimination of opposition groups. As a
result of this hateful discourse, Neiwert argues, the broader
conservative movement has metastasized into something not truly
conservative, but decidedly right-wing and potentially dangerous.
By tapping into the eliminationism latent in the American
psyche, the mainstream conservative movement has emboldened groups
that have inhabited the fringes of the far right for decades. With
the Obama victory, their voices may once again raise the specter of
deadly domestic terrorism that characterized the far Right in the
1990s. How well Americans face this challenge will depend on how
strongly we repudiate the politics of hate and repair the damage it
has wrought.
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