* I think the AR is a far more potent than any other political cohort active today; more so than the parties, universities, old media and Hollyweird. Without money or backing, it’s autists have channeled political conversations in new directions, creating not only “memes” but fostering discussions about how we do and should live together. In short, they’re idealists fumbling their way toward clarity.
I’ve been lurking at 4-chan for the past several weeks. I see their desire to recover a kinder, better 1950s-like nation. To achieve this goal, they’re mocking their leftist professors, lifting weights, wanting to marry “wheat women” (images of girls, virginal(?) in cultivated fields), stopping “fapping,” starting small businesses, moving to “unconverged” parts of the country, etc. There are daily architecture threads in which some of the more egregious examples of modern buildings are mocked, and dream homes and communities are posited and critiqued. Similarly, the visual and plastic arts and music are also critiqued.
They’re striving for a contemporary utopia.
So, think of them as young utopics, much above the IQ mean, having computer savvy and STEM knowledge. And, think of 4-chan as the last bastion of free speech.
* The so-called Alt Right memed Trump into the White House. Hillary couldn’t give away ten tickets to her rallies either, and she had 50,000,000 voters. Richard Spencer has far more influence than attendance at one of his events would indicate. His idea to regulate social media as utilities is now mainstream.
* Trump has an unerring instinct for which issues enjoy narrow but enthusiastic support rather than tepid acquiescence. Even today if you poll Americans on issues like immigration the raw data would probably tell you that Jeb Bush should be the most popular politician in the country. But Trump realized that support for immigration was broad but shallow. Opposition to immigration is still a numerical minority but angry and determined. Same with the NFL. Most Americans either give lip service to the players’ right to kneel, or just don’t care, but Trump knows that the 20-30% who are angry, are really angry, and will follow Trump to the end on that issue. I don’t think Trump is a genius, I think paradoxically his lack of curiosity and uninterest in thinking about policy just gives him an instinctual emotional grasp of the issues. I have no doubt that Cruz or Ryan would outscore Trump by 20 points on a standard IQ test, but they think themselves into boxes and ideology like a lot of “intelligent” politicians.
