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Alt-left is a term, often pejorative, used to refer to loosely defined groups on the political left. While some authors describe "Alt-left" as a neologism to refer to non-existing groups,[1][2] others describe it as violent part of the left or a mirror image of the alt-right.[3][4][5][6]

Unlike the term alt-right, which groups whom it describes identify with, the term "alt-left" is generally not adopted by the groups it usually defines.[2][3] The term first appeared when Sean Hannity from Fox News started using it to describe groups, outlets, or individuals who were perceived as being critical of then President-elect Donald Trump. Trump used the term during remarks on the Charlottesville rally to refer to some counter-protestors.[7][8]

Background

Unlike the term "alt-right" (which was coined by those on the extreme right who comprise the movement), as noted by Washington Post writer Aaron Blake, "alt-left" was "coined by its opponents and doesn't actually have any subscribers".[9] According to George Hawley, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama, no such label has been adopted by any members of the progressive left,[10][11], though Shawn McCreesh from Rolling Stone notes that "it began as an insult within the left – a way to further deride the far left and so-called "Bernie Bros" during and after November's election".[5] While acknowledging that there are anti-fascism activists on the left who engage in physical confrontation against members of the far-right, Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, concurred that no equivalent to those who identify as being part of the "alt-right" exists, stating that anti-fascist groups were not consciously aiming to brand themselves in the manner that white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other members of the far-right had undertaken to mainstream their ideology.[11][12][13]

Its usage eventually circulated within conservative online media, and was popularized around those circles through its use by Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity to suggest the existence of a similar ideological fringe movement on the political left. On the November 14, 2016 edition of his eponymous Fox News program, Hannity used the term to excoriate "alt-left media" together with "mainstream" and "radical" media for being "biased against President-elect Trump".[9][10][14] According to The New Republic, the term was popularized after it was "picked up" by Fox News as a way to "frame the Democratic wing led by [Bernie] Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as extreme".[15]

In an early use of the term, Gary Bauer stated on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, "It's not alt-right, it's not alt-left; it's alt-delete. It's get the bums out," as a way of equating right- and left-wing populism.[9]

Both the term itself and the concept of an "alt-left" as a sort of opposite-but-equal mirror of the alt-right have generated controversy for "likening" the "socialist critics" of neo-Nazism "to neo-Nazis".[15][16][17] The term has also been criticized as a label that, unlike alt-right, was not coined by the group it purports to describe, but, rather, was created by political opponents as a political smear implying a false equivalence.[16][9]

Usage

According to Branko Marcetic, assistant editor of Jacobin magazine, the label refers to a faction of the political left that does not exist, as the progressive or far left segments of political ideology do not identify by any other particular collective noun,[2] Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League states that the term was made up by extremist groups to create a false equivalence between the far right and “anything vaguely left-seeming that they didn't like.”[1] though others such as historian Gil Troy and author Keri Smith use the term to describe an authoritarian and violent part of the left, the latter describing it not as a movement but as the ideology that undergirds Antifa, as well as other movements such as Black Lives Matter and intersectional third-wave feminism.[4][3][6][18]

According to journalist Peter Beinart and Shawn McCreesh, what Trump refers to as "alt-left" is better described as antifa.[19][5] Buzzfeed UK published an article about "alt-left media" in the United Kingdom in May 2016.[20] The article refers to "alt-left" news websites such as Another Angry Voice, The Canary, Evolve Politics and Skwawkbox, which are "hyperpartisan" supporters of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.[20]

The term gained prevalence when U.S. president Donald Trump used the phrase during remarks on the Charlottesville rally to describe some of the counter-protestors.[7][8][21][22][23] Researchers such as Mark Pitcavage state that the “alt-left” does not actually exist and the derogatory term had been made up to create an equation between the far right and certain activists and politicians on the left.[24][25][26]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Liam Stack (August 15, 2017). "Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: A Glossary of Extremist Language". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Branko Marcetic (August 14, 2017). "Burying the Lie of the "Alt-Left"". Jacobin. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Gil Troy (28 August 2017). "Why the 'Alt-Left' Is a Problem". TIME. Claiming there is no "alt-left" because no one calls themselves "alt-left," ignores the long, colorful history of political nicknaming. And claiming there is no "alt-left" because all leftists hate Neo-Nazis mistakenly defines the "alt-" modifier as being about racism not fanaticism. With 100 goons from the Left having attacked peaceful demonstrators from the Right as recently as this Sunday afternoon in Berkeley, we must stop viewing the growing epidemic of political brutality through myopic, partisan lenses.
  4. ^ a b Keri Smith (6 September 2017). "Yes, the Alt-Left Exists and It's Terrifying". FEE. The Alt-Left masquerades as a form of liberalism, but it has more in common with authoritarianism.
  5. ^ a b c Shawn McCreesh (18 August 2017). "Antifa and the 'Alt-Left': Everything You Need to Know". Rolling Stone. Though it began as an insult within the left – a way to further deride the far left and so-called "Bernie Bros" during and after November's election – the right has adopted the phrase, as well ... However, it's incorrect to name-check it as the alt-left and it's downright wrong to morally equivocate it with the neo-Nazi and white supremacist scum that stormed Charlottesville. But it does exist. Only it's called "antifa,"
  6. ^ a b James Wolcott (March 2017). "Why the Alt-Left Is a Problem, Too". Vanity Fair. Much of the media spotlight has been on the "alt-right." But the "alt-left" provides a mirror image distortion: the same loathing of Clinton, rejection of "identity politics," and itch for a reckoning.
  7. ^ a b What is the 'alt Left' that Donald Trump said was 'very violent' in Charlottesville? The Telegraph, 16 Aug 2017.
  8. ^ a b Mark Abadi (15 August 2017). "Trump blamed Charlottesville violence on the 'alt-left' — but what exactly is that?". Business Insider. At one point, Trump shifted the blame to the "alt-left," an apparent reference to counter-protesters who clashed with the white nationalists."What about the 'alt-left' that came charging at the, as you say, the 'alt-right'? Do they have any semblance of guilt?" Trump said. "What about the fact they came charging — that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do."
  9. ^ a b c d Aaron Blake (December 1, 2016). "Introducing the 'alt-left': The GOP's response to its alt-right problem". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Sterling, Joe; Chavez, Nicole (August 16, 2017). "What's the 'alt-left'? Experts say it's a 'made-up term'". CNN.
  11. ^ a b Chris Tognotti (August 15, 2017). "What Is The Alt-Left? Trump Pinned The Charlottesville Violence On Them, Too". Bustle.
  12. ^ Michael Graham (December 9, 2016). "There is No Alt-Left". Progressive Army.
  13. ^ James Wolcott (March 2017). "Why the Alt-Left is a Problem, Too". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast Publications.
  14. ^ Daniel S. Levine (August 15, 2017). "What Is the Alt-Left? 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Heavy Inc. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  15. ^ a b Clio Chang (March 6, 2017). "Liberalism Needs the "Alt-Left"". The New Republic. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Eric Levitz (March 3, 2017). "Why the Alt-Center Is a Problem, Too". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  17. ^ Alex Horton (August 15, 2017). "What is the 'alt-left,' which Trump just blamed for some of the violence in Charlottesville?". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  18. ^ Jerry Agar (4 September 2017). "Alt-left as bad as the Alt-right". Toronto Sun.
  19. ^ Peter Beinart (August 16, 2017). "What Trump calls "the alt left" (I'll explain why that's a bad term later) is actually antifa". The Atlantic. The Atlantic Media Group. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  20. ^ a b Jim Waterson (May 6, 2016). "The Rise Of The Alt-Left British Media". Buzzfeed. BuzzFeed Inc. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  21. ^ Michael D. Shear & Maggie Haberman, A Combative Trump Criticizes 'Alt-Left' Groups in Charlottesville, Washington Post (August 15, 2017)
  22. ^ Meghan Keneally, Trump lashes out at 'alt-left' in Charlottesville, says 'fine people on both sides', ABC News (August 15, 2017)
  23. ^ Andrew Rafferty, Trump Says 'Alt-Left' Shares Blame for Charlottesville Rally Violence, NBC News (August 15, 2017).
  24. ^ Emma Grey Ellis (August 16, 2017). "THERE IS NO ALT-LEFT, NO MATTER WHAT TRUMP SAYS". Wired. Condé Nast Publications.
  25. ^ Liam Stack (August 15, 2017). "Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: A Glossary of Extremist Language". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  26. ^ "What is the "alt-left" Trump was talking about?". CBS News. CBS Interactive. August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
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