By, AC Author and Rundo
The concept of the “extreme” or the “radical” has always held an irresistible appeal for young men. To be seen as being at the cutting edge, the tip of the spear is a great motivator for the competitive behavior of men in any group or endeavor. Among the military, missions undertaken by the Special Forces set the standard for extreme, and they are looked at with admiration and envy as a result. Music and fashion subcultures seek out the bleeding edge of society’s standards in order to attract young people. The pro-White movement is no different and young pro-White men compete to meet and exceed the definition of radical set by their peers. Today, that definition has changed drastically. And yesterday’s movement edgelords fall far short of the expectations for today’s extreme pro-White radicals.
Like any movement, the pro-White sphere has undergone an evolution since its renewed rise under titles like Alt-Right and White Nationalism 2.0 circa 2015. In those early days, the movement was almost entirely online. Forum culture from places like Iron March and /pol/ set the standards for discourse and activity. Edgy humor was a source of fun and excitement and continued to set the tone as the movement shifted into the real world.
Personalities emerged, attracted to the energy of this organic internet uprising. Podcasts and live streams espousing the views of WN 2.0 popped up left and right. Most of the people involved were sincere in their efforts and dedication to White unity, but the nature of internet broadcasting shaped their methods. The competition for viewers and chat donations meant that a broadcaster had to be a little more offensive, a little edgier than their competition. Private chats of some WN 2.0 organizations took their cues from the media they consumed and pushed even further, edgy jokes blurring with real opinions until the chat members themselves were confused on the difference. The pro-White message to the wider world became obscured, coming in second to the competition to say the wildest and most shocking things from behind the false safety of a screen.
The movement’s enemies diligently followed this upward trend in edgy discourse, aided by paid infiltration, big tech chat log leaks and poor operational security. The craziest chats from groups like Atomwaffen Division were eagerly harvested for opposition material. Screenshots of the content of the group’s channels were plastered all over hit piece articles by ProPublica, the SPLC, and others. For a long time following the leaks, a quick google search on any innocuous pro-White term would bring up a slew of articles with Atomwaffen pictures, quotes, and gruesome propaganda featured prominently. Any mention of a WN 2.0 subject or event in those years was accompanied by quotes from the Atomwaffen chat celebrating murder or advocating rape. Add in a few scary pictures with skull masks and guns and you have a blend toxic enough to repulse even the readers sympathetic to the pro-White cause.
Despite the explicit and extreme statements tied to such a group, they were allowed to continue to operate, churning out clickbait material for the media in their chats. The mystery of their continued existence was solved in August 2021, when Eric Striker of National-Justice.com exposed the leader of the group, Joshua Sutter, as a long-time paid FBI informant. Suddenly the rigged game became more clear to activists who had found themselves caught up in the edge posting competition. The sadism, the extreme imagery, the satanic cult LARP WN’s had come to think they would have to accept in order to help their own people had been a trap planted by the enemy. These revelations spurred the next evolution of the movement as confused activists searched within to try and remember what it actually meant to be pro-White.
In searching for a reminder of why they first turned to White Nationalism, many activists looked to the example of one of the most successful and highly-regarded pro-White groups, the Rise Above Movement. From their appearance on the national scene in 2016, RAM had garnered widespread positive attention and interest by emphasizing martial arts training, strong friendship, and personal development as a way of life. Their slick, exciting videos showed an attractive modern style and became the standard for pro-White media. Their appeal obviously frightened some of the movement’s enemies, as the members of RAM found themselves the target of trumped-up federal charges, arrested and hounded through multiple countries on a flimsy pretext.
The disparity in the system’s creation and support of Atomwaffen with their suppression of RAM has not gone unnoticed by activists taking stock of the scene in 2022. Shocking and empty threats and gruesome dialogue are the scripts the movement’s enemies wrote for it. Meanwhile, a group encouraging fitness, combat sports, building strong friendships, and a positive image had the full weight of the media and judicial system brought down on them. It is obvious in the minds of today’s activists who approach the system fears more.
As the movement absorbed and reacted to this lesson, it’s worth noting that the finger-pointing and infighting that so often follows a learning experience hasn’t materialized. This hasn’t been an empty debate won on a live stream, it’s an organic evolution in response to hard facts. Many members of today’s movement were caught up in the edge posting competition of past years at one time like everyone else. Hindsight is always 20/20, and rehashing past mistakes becomes unnecessary once they are learned from. What is happening in this transition to White Nationalism 3.0, activism as a lifestyle is that the movement has picked itself up, dusted itself off, and found a clear new path forward together.
With the lessons of the past in their pockets, today’s activists are beginning to define and show the world what WN 3.0 will look like. Led by the examples of RAM and the Active Clubs, young White people are training in martial arts and sparring with comrades. They’re coming together on feats of activism that challenge them as a team, and are finding that they possess courage, resourcefulness, and creativity beyond their own expectations.
Today, the definition of “Extreme” has been fully reclaimed from a few bad actors talking big from the false safety of home. The viewer metrics and chat traffic around Will2Rise, the Active Clubs, Patriot Front, and many others show indisputably that the WN 3.0 approach to activism is resonating, and the broader movement is evolving accordingly. Rather than competing for super chat donations by trying to yell the loudest slurs, activists and would-be activists are showing their stuff by sparring, training, and hitting the streets to spread their message.
In 2022, seeing a live stream full of angry analysis of a news article, empty threats, and super chat messages competing for most shocking to the “normies” feels stale. It feels like something out of its time. Worse than offensive, it now feels boring. Activists are craving action, and they are finding that the 3.0 lifestyle personified in the W2R brand is their roadmap on this path. In ever-increasing numbers, they are lacing up their sneakers and their gloves and starting the journey together.
Perhaps the most interesting thing to note about this evolution of “Extreme” is that the new edge, the new radical, is actually far more serious than the dark fantasies of the terminally online WN 2.0. The leaked chats and dox articles of previous years reveal a fundamental disregard for the realities of the pro-White struggle. If one could freely talk about the violent overthrow of the system on the system’s own tech networks, why would it need to be overthrown? With careless disregard for operational security, the edgelords of the past handed the system the rope to hang them with. On the other hand, leaked chats from RAM published in various news sources revealed none of the strange things other groups seemed to find necessary. The quotes were focused on the business of martial arts training and activism. The members of RAM were exactly who they said they were, in private and in public. This indisputable fact forced the slandering media to paste unrelated quotes from the fed-infiltrated organization into articles about RAM to try to force a connection in the minds of the public. It was largely unsuccessful, as the continued success of follow-on projects like W2R clearly shows.
The modern world is fast-paced, and the movement’s future is yet to be written. One thing is certain: the activists who define “Extreme” in this new era will not be repeating the same unserious outsider antics of past years. Those who mark the true cutting edge in 2022 and beyond are those that are training hard, networking with friends, and doing real-life activism. The future will not be on what you say but what you do.