The alt-left is an analogue of the modern alt-right. The alt-right is an online movement of conservatives that is different because it's dominated by chauvinists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis. It is an alternative movement to help justify those who hold racist ideas and beliefs, as well as frustrated Internet nerds who think their opinion is valid. The alt-right has gained prominence with the rise of Trump, who literally propelled them into the national spotlight. Folks like Stephen Bannon, icons in this movement, are now in his Cabinet and wield some measure of power.
The alt-left, as mentioned, seeks to emulate this. We seek to provide an alternative to leftists who have become disillusioned and disenchanted with the current liberal ideology. This ideology is dominated by concerns for social justice that can go to extremes, with abstract notions of white privilege and mansplaining perverting the good name of genuine, respectful activists everywhere. There is also the dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party’s focus on social and racial issues at the expense of bread and butter economic issues. The alt-left, inspired by Bernie Sanders, seeks to return to good old-fashioned economic populism.
But we aim to do this in a more respectful manner than the alt-righters do with their movement. We do not seek to ignore social issues; most of us are staunch defenders of gay rights and same-sex marriage. We also seek to stand with current social movements. But we would like to unite the progressives and liberals around a banner of economic populism and a New New Deal. We want to give working Americans a hand up again and bring their living standards and well-being up.
Part of this involves transcending race. The white person from an abandoned coal town in the middle of Appalachia shares the same economic concerns and hardships as a black person from inner-city Detroit. They have both been left behind by modern America and both have seen massive rises in suicide rates, crime, and drug abuse. Trump made his political brand by appealing to the white working-class, but why should the left limit itself to the working class of other minorities? Reaching out to the white working-class would give Democrats a solid national majority and transcend their current focus on progressive urban areas. It would also reduce racial tensions and animosity. And it would reduce the rural-urban divide plaguing this country.
The enemy is not latent racism among whites; the issue is that the left has drifted from its original New Deal roots and become too pointy-headed and intellectual. It does not resonate emotionally with white working-class voters and even many minority voters, whose turnout rates dipped dramatically in 2016 and cost Hillary the election. The importance of the alt-left is to transcend the racial and geographic barriers that divide this country and construct a solid progressive majority. This majority would achieve real changes and reduce the current power of the 1%. The alt-left understands that the real issues are all undergirded by class and that solving class issues first will pave the way for more radical, pressing social changes. After all, the civil rights movement took off in the prosperity of the post war years; so let’s get the economy working again for the middle-class.
