This takedown of an alt right mouthpiece went viral because it’s very polite and totally devastating
Journalist Hugo Rifkind has shared an exchange on Twitter with an alt right mouthpiece which deserves as wide an audience as possible.
It began when he tweeted this.
But WHY do the racist racists of the racist party Ukip keep attracting racist racists? Will we EVER know?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 14, 2018
And this guy replied.
Then this person got involved, and it all went from there.
1.
Hugo, you should consider speaking with us. We’d love to chat.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
2.
Who are you?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
3.
It’s in my bio, but Joyce and I work together through the National Policy Institute.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
4.
And what is that?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
5.
An identitarian organization based on Alexandria, Virginia. We focus on protecting and promoting the heritage, interests, and future of European-decended peoples.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
6.
That sounds vague. What do you mean by identitarian? Also, what do you mean by European-descended? I’m pretty sure I’m European-descended, aren’t I?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
7.
Identitarian is a term that arose first in a French context, but that has spread and grown into a wider movement, premised on an acknowledgement that political questions begin with identity. 1/
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
8.
“What is European” is a question without a binary answer, but we are referring to non-Semitic European peoples when we use it. Certainly there are shades of grey in the pursuit of a definition of European identity, but no one could plausibly deny that there is not a core Europe.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
9.
If you’re interested in what we have to say, even and especially if you are highly critical, consider chatting with us by phone or Skype.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
10.
Happy to chat here. But I’m not prepared to allow you to use me to promote your work, because I consider it inciting of hatred and dangerous. Sorry.
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
11.
We talk with journalists nearly every day who find a way to inquire without engaging in promotion.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
12.
That’s nice. What do you think should happen to Jews in America and Europe?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
13.
Don’t go all quiet, Evan.
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
14.
I’m just interested to know whether I’d be exiled like my grandmother, killed like her siblings, or merely jailed like my grandfather. Some clarity would be most helpful.
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
15.
I’m not promoting murder or imprisonment. I lack a moral objection to expulsion, but would need to be persuaded of a serious, thought-out proposal for how it would work.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
16.
That’s big of you. My father’s family has been in the UK since 1895. No moral objection to our expulsion at all?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
17.
There’s certainly a potentially tragic element to it, but tragedy is inherent to reality.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
18.
When did your family arrive in America, Evan?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
19.
Different branches at different times.
— Evan McLaren (@EvanMcLaren) January 15, 2018
20.
Okay. I’ll make this easier. You had 8 great-grandparents (I assume). How many of them lived in America?
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) January 15, 2018
