AN ASSESSMENT FROM THE LEFT: How 2015 Fueled The Rise Of The Freewheeling, White Nationalist Alt Right Movement.

The white nationalists of the alt right share more in common with European far-right movements than American ones. This is a movement that draws upon relatively obscure political theories like neoreaction or the “Dark Enlightenment,” which reject the premises on which modernity is built, like democracy and egalitarianism. . . .

The alt right’s real objective, if one can be identified, is to challenge and dismantle mainstream conservatism.

It’s in part responsible for the spread of the “cuckservative” slur that gained currency over the summer and likely originated in forums on sites like My Posting Career and The Right Stuff, and has come to define a far-right contempt for conservatives they view as weak or sellouts . . .

The Right Stuff forums are rife with memes targeting, for example, Jeb Bush as a weakling (a recent Bush-related thread is titled “Suicide Watch Headquarters”) and portraying Trump as a hero (see “Memes of Der Trumpenfuhrer”). The culture clearly draws on 4chan — the /pol/ board is another hub.

This can all make it difficult to discern who’s a real racist and who’s a troll doing it to be edgy.