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Something to know about the Proud Boys: Although some are white supremacists, their ideology is far-right ultranationalism. Branding them as a typical white supremacist gang is too narrow/simple. They have & will align with South/Central American ultranationalist gangs, too. 1/
Unlike typical white supremacist gangs, the Proud Boys have a "flexible" ideology when it comes to things like racial purity. One of their most well known members ("Tiny") is Samoan American. They have black, Asian, & Latino members. Welcome to the global rise of fascism. 2/
While some members espouse more traditional white supremacist ideals, the Proud Boys as a group is less pro-white than it is anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-feminism, anti-liberalism/liberal democracy. And they love authoritarian-style strong men, death squads, & militarism. 3/
Now, that's not to say that the Proud Boys endorse racial equality. They don't. But they'll work with non-white people and groups to advance their ideology, which is fascism. And they're happy to use their non-white members as "proof" that they're not racist, though most are. 4/
The Proud Boys want to restore a social hierarchy in which white men are at the top, & they're happy to accept help from non-whites who are willing to accept their "place" in that hierarchy. But most of all, they reject the ideals of liberal democracy and want to destroy it. 5/
The Proud Boys are very much the face of the modern fascist movement, which is multicultural & transnational. The whole idea is to establish a brand that can exist in today's world, and that requires adopting a more flexible ideology in certain domains to achieve the end goal. 6/
The Proud Boys have very effectively exploited male resentment and backlash following cultural flashpoints like gamergate. Their recruitment grounds span the internet (men's rights forums, 4chan, 8chan, etc), video game culture, the metal scene, libertarianism, & more. 7/
The Proud Boys are very effective at recruiting young men and boys, including high-school age boys. (It's easier to indoctrinate young people than to change minds). They also feed off the outrage surrounding the so-called "free speech movement." 8/
The Proud Boys do have women who support them (more on that later), though women aren't allowed to be members. They also have ties to law enforcement in some areas (http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jul/20/clark-county-deputy-fired-over-proud-boys-sweatshi/ …) and their tentacles reach the upper ranks of Republican politics & right-wing media. 9/pic.twitter.com/QGqSMZNUDh
The point of all this is to say that the Proud Boys very much represent the modern global resurgence of far-right ultranationalism, aka fascism. They're media savvy and very conscious of their image, which has allowed them to grow their membership with very little scrutiny. 10/
The Proud Boys were founded by Gavin McInnes in 2016 and have already established a presence in the US, Canada, Australia, Norway, & UK, among other places. They are extremely violent & have been engaging in public acts of violence regularly for at least a year and a half. 11/
<temporary placeholder; will return to this thread in a little bit> 12/ In the meantime, here's some more info on the Proud Boys, detailing their activities starting in the spring of 2017: https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/868522403772715008 … https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/857056816458588160 …https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/861618156460273664 …
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