Breitbart states that the “origins” of the alt-right can be found in “thinkers as diverse as… Oswald Spengler, H L Mencken, Julius Evola, Sam Francis, and… Pat Buchanan.” It’s an odd collection of forerunners, with a few unknown figures. But note that every single one of the “diverse” thinkers from which alt-right ideas originate has one thing in common. The editor of Mencken’s works found him “clearly and unequivocally” antisemitic, calling Jews “the most unpleasant race ever heard of.” Julius Evola was also a notorious antisemite, and wrote an introduction to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Sam Francis thanked Billy Graham for daring to point out the Jewish “stranglehold” on American media and believed Jews were the technocratic operatives of a managerial class that dominated society. Pat Buchanan has long been notorious, and watched closely by the Anti-Defamation League, for his statements on Jewish political dominance. And while Spengler personally disowned antisemitism, he was the favored philosopher of the Third Reich and his theories have a prominent place in neo-Nazi thinking.
Thus it’s curious that this should be the entire list of thinkers Breitbart itself posits as inspiring the alt-right. After all, it’s a fairly eclectic and obscure group of writers to cite… unless you’re an antisemite. To lay it out step-by-step, then: (1) [Stevphen] Bannon says openly that he wishes Breitbart to be a platform for the alt-right. (2) Breitbart‘s own guide to the alt-right cites only five intellectual influences. (3) Four out of five of these influences are openly antisemitic, and the other is beloved by Nazis.
–Oren Nimni and Nathan J Robinson
Alan Dershowitz Takes Antisemitism Very Seriously Indeed
[Note: the article itself is about the hypocrisy of Alan Dershowitz and how he says we can’t call Breitbart editor Stephen Bannon antisemitic because there isn’t enough evidence. The article documents all the people who Dershowitz found were antisemitic like Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu. I recommend reading the whole (short) article. -FM]
