General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust because Trump used the term "alt-left" doesn't mean that...
the people formerly known as "alt-left" have suddenly ceased to exist.
Jimmy Dore is still at it. So is Nina Turner. And Susan Sarandon. And Chris Hedges. And Julian Assange. And Jill Stein. And HA Goodman. And the rest of them.
They are still proud that they helped put Trump in office. They are still attacking Democrats and pushing conspiracy theories. And I'd bet you can find some of them right now blaming Charlottesville on Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
Fine, now that Trump has effectively co-opted the term "alt-left", I guess there's gonna be a new word for this group of GOP-enabling idiots. But it's not like the substance of articles like the ones below has changed, just because Trump used that one term.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/why-the-alt-left-is-a-problem
https://thedailybanter.com/2017/06/the-alt-left-is-losing-its-mind-and-people-are-noticing/
The_Casual_Observer
(27,742 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Nazis too. It's a broad coalition and he's trying to splinter it.
uponit7771
(90,370 posts)stonecutter357
(12,698 posts)Voltaire2
(13,244 posts)equivalences.
The fact that you can dredge up some trolls to justify your playing into this particular game is irrelevant.
hibbing
(10,112 posts)DanTex
(20,709 posts)The term "alt-left" has been used by different people to mean different things. Progressives have used it do describe self-describe leftists whose actions give aid and comfort to the right. Alt-rightists have used it, as you describe, for the purpose of false equivalence.
Like I said in the OP, now that Trump has co-opted the term, it's likely that progressives will end up coming up with some different term for the same concept (although I thought alt-left was apropos). But it is disingenuous to accuse progressives like Joy Reid of playing into an alt-right game simply because the alt-right has decided to co-opt the terminology.
Voltaire2
(13,244 posts)I have no use for Jill Stein. Nina Turner is out doing organizational work that you might disagree with, but Our Revolution is working with candidates within the Democratic Party and you will just have to put up with us. I'd suggest doing so with civility rather than by posting attacks using the derogatory framing and language of the fascist right, but it is just a suggestion.
DanTex
(20,709 posts)The term "alt-left" has been used by progressive commentators, not as a borrowed term from the fascist right, but as an original and apropos term for people like Nina Turner who talk a leftist talk but in effect aid the GOP. It is flat out dishonest to accuse people like Joy Reid of using the right's framing simply because some people on the right decided to use the same term with a different meaning. Unless you think the right automatically gets to define terms for all of us.
As for Our Revolution, if they were serious about winning elections and helping Democrats, they might consider someone who has won at least one race for office in their entire lives. Because Turner's political career consists of being appointed to state senate, losing a race for SoS, backing the loser in the 2016 primary, and then refusing to endorse the Democratic nominee in the general election.