Patrick Casey: Subculture vs. Strategy

January 23, 2018 Hunter Wallace Activism, Alt-Right, Humor, Identitarians, Mainstreamers, Vanguardists, White Advocacy, White Nationalism 14

Patrick Casey, the new leader of Identity Evropa, has posted an article which outlines his thoughts on strategy and tactics in the nationalist community:

“Subculture vs. Strategy

I’ve noticed a pretty significant divide within the nationalist community. This divide doesn’t simply concern “optics”; instead, it permeates the entire discussion on how we can create a better world for people of European heritage.

The divide to which I refer is one between subculture and strategy. These represent two different mindsets.”
…”

For the record, this divide between mainstreamers and vanguardists has always existed in the nationalist community. I was writing about it on this website seven years ago. Few things have been discussed more about the White Nationalist movement. Entire books have been written about the subject chronicling the divide as it has existed since the 1970s.

“The subcultural mindset drives one to appeal to others of like mind. Thus the message, presentation, etc. are tailored to people who are already on the same page. This is a poor strategy because people who are already on the same page are…well, already on the same page. If you’re trying to convert people to your cause, don’t preach to the choir. …”

Several years ago, our Jewish nemesis Leonard Zeskind summarized the essence of the divide: “Mainstreamers believe that a majority (or near majority) of white people can be won over to support their cause . . . [while] vanguardists think that they will never find more than a slim minority of white people to support their aims voluntarily.” Basically, mainstreamers believe the system can be reformed. Vanguardists don’t believe it can be reformed. That’s the core of the dispute.

“The strategic mindset drives one to always consider the audience. Thus the message, presentation, etc. are tailored to people who are not already on the same page. This is a good strategy because people who are not already on the same page are the ones you need to convert. If you’re trying to convert people to your cause, preach to the sympathetic non-believers. …”

The mainstreamers have been attempting to “appeal to the normies” since the days of Willis Carto and the Liberty Lobby. Over the past several decades, White Nationalists have debated the boots vs. suits issue, which has tended to overlay the class divide within the movement. I’ve personally been watching them debate it for the last 17 years now before the latest phase of optics cucking.

“Relevant to this discussion is the concept of political identity paradox.

Author of Hegemon How-to Jonathan Matthew Smucker writes:

“The political identity paradox suggests that while political groups require a strong internal identity to foster the commitment needed for effective political struggle, this same cohesion tends to isolate the group. Isolated groups are hard-pressed to achieve political goals.

This is true of all groups, but tends to have particular consequences for a group involved in political struggle, which has not only to foster a strong internal identity: it also has to win allies.” …”

The reason that we don’t have allies is because anyone who thinks of allying with us violates the biggest taboo in American politics and is purged from the mainstream as a consequence. This has nothing to do with our behavior. The system was created decades ago long before most of us were born. It is a dandy’s conceit to believe that it is about how pretty we look in public. That has nothing to do with it.

“So while having a group identity is necessary for any collective political or metapolitical endeavor, it can easily become counterproductive. To put it simply: Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.”

At the end of the day, there has never been any difference in the status of mainstreamers and vanguardists. Both have been treated as equally beyond the pale. Both are equally stigmatized because the norm is a product of the power of the elites above us at the top of the social pyramid. These Jews scaled that pyramid between the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Kennedy administration.

“As such, we need to avoid becoming too subcultural lest we alienate the very people we’re trying to win over. Furthermore, we shouldn’t adopt an “us against the world” mentality. …”

As I said on Twitter, the things which attract people to our movement are 1.) the truth, 2.) self-interest (we’re swiftly becoming a degraded minority group), 3.) idealism (attraction to a noble cause) and 4.) our relative freedom from oppressive taboos (being an edgy subculture). We really don’t have anything else going for us so I believe it is best to double down and play to our strengths.

The world really is also very much against us. In the last year, we’ve been condemned by the entire political, corporate and media establishment! We scare the hell out of them!

“In a 2013 speech, French Identitarian leader Philippe Vardon said:

“For decades, we’ve seen activists indulge in the idea of being hated, of scaring everyone, of being seen as bad guys, and welcoming it! Under these conditions, every provocation was worthwhile, every excess was legitimate. This mindset is close to the philosophy of the last square that I mentioned before. It’s a “one against all” mentality, which leads the activist to think that the more he is detested, the more he is right! It’s stupid, and tragic when one wants to be involved in politics. We consider that since we fight for a strong ideal, we have no right to be weak. However, even if our enemies must know that we will never let them trample us – here I’m thinking in particular of leftists and gangs of immigrants who would like to assault us – our people have to see that this force is at their service, for their defense. Frightening those we pretend to represent, those we pretend to defend, is the worst politics one can imagine…”

There are transgressive people who delight in shock value. Those personality types are always found in fringe movements. The latest incarnation of it is the trolling subculture. Granted, there are people who say things like “gas the kikes, race war now” and sluts should be raped and tortured with scold’s bridles. Those people are going to make others uncomfortable and scare the normies. Shock jocks like Howard Stern can attract large followings though. Normies used to enjoy watching public executions too.

“The last line is particularly important. Any strategy we adopt is to appeal to disaffected White people, not the media – or even our enemies – as some seem to believe. …”

I believe in appealing to the disaffected too.

It is a waste of time to appeal to the average person. The average White American is an individualist and conformist whose world ends at his own driveway. He wants a full belly. He wants to be left alone to enjoy his weekends fishing on his big bass boat. Those people need permission from their leaders to adopt any controversial political and cultural position like White racial identity.

“Ultimately, the question to ask is whether or not we want to have a movement that will create a better world for people of European heritage, or a small, insular club that allows alienated people an opportunity to feel edgy, antinomian, and worthful. …”

The funny thing is, identitarianism is also a subculture. It is also a small, insular club that appeals to a narrow slice of the nationalist movement. If these people looked in the mirror, they would see they have their own haircut, clothes, lingo and other class signifiers. Does anyone else see the irony in knocking “WN 1.0” when the people who fund this organization have been around for the last 30 or 40 years?

“To each his own, but given the gravity of our predicament I’ll opt for the former.”

I’ve been around long enough to find this amusing and see value in both perspectives. To be perfectly honest, I swing between both poles. I was more of a mainstreamer when the Tea Party got started and Trump was MAGAing during the campaign. I’ve been more of a vanguardist lately since Drumpf sold us out.

Anyway, I only bring this up because McLovin has gone full bore on Twitter with coming across as being as bland and boring as possible in order to win over the eternal normie:

The flaw here is the operating assumption that we are the problem rather than the system and the people in power. Thus, if we look good, dress nice and come across as a polite, harmless and respectable boy band, fellate Trump and distance ourselves from all those LARPers THEN the eternal normie will want to join us.

The SCV has been picking up trash, cleaning monuments, polishing gravestones and explaining how the Confederacy wasn’t racist for two or three generations now. It doesn’t matter how many Confederate monuments are torn down or how many times HK Edgerton does his shuck and jive to no avail. It doesn’t work because the Southern heritage movement isn’t the problem.

Now that I think about it, what Patrick Casey is saying here is essentially the White Nationalist version of “uplift suasion,” which I happen to be reading about at the moment. Blacks spent generations having these internal debates about destigmatizing their community.

Note: I will have more to say about this over the next few weeks. We’re about to take a big plunge into America’s racial history and political science

About Hunter Wallace 12392 Articles
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13 Comments

  1. Interesting mention of the late Willis Carto and the mainstream versus vanguard appeals. Carto ran Liberty Lobby and then the AFP, but also ran the Barnes Review. He tried to appeal to working class White Americans and patriot types with AFP, yet also was into historical revisionism about the 6 mill fairy tale and even positively quoted George Lincoln Rockwell on the back of his pamphlet about WWII. https://barnesreview.org/product/a-straight-look-at-the-second-world-war-the-final-truth-about-world-war-ii/ It looks to me like Carto tried to simultaneously work both angles, mainstream and vanguard. In retrospect, he probably should have focuses solely on the vanguard.

  2. I liked a lot of Identity Europa activism – and the leaders were/are intelligent, good in communications. I was disappointed that IE rejected a very intelligent, highly motivated activist for “membership”. No reason was given – maybe it’s a question of age.

  3. The basic issue facing WN is that facing all people wanting to effect political change. Human beings will not be moved until the crisis is already upon them, and not when it is only affecting those in the next town, etc (bass boats are much more important until it is your job that disappears or your daughter that gets dindued).

    As the decline accelerates, there will be more and more disaffected who will become easier and easier to reach.

    Also, Gen X and Millennials are not as cossetted and prosperous as the Boomers. As the Boomers numbers and influence wane, it will become easier and easier to smash the Boomer taboos.

    Generation Zyklon have had their birthright, America, stolen from them, and they are likely going to be the easiest to recruit as well – it will be their generation that brings about change and that reaps its rewards.

    Patience and hard work are required – impatience is a black pill (and I say this knowing that I am not likely to live long enough to see the re-birth of White society, only the chaos as the decline accelerates (and I might have 30 years left).

    The Boomers have wrecked the economies and the currencies of the Western nations – the collapse is coming, and with it the re-birth.

    Take at look at the faces of (((Jake Tapper))) and (((Wee Wolfie Blitzer))) – they know what’s coming and they can’t hide their fear.

    Let me express my gratitude and admiration for all of you who are participating in the fight (often at great personal cost/risk).

  4. Politics is hard work. Going to all kinds of meetings, listening to all kinds of bullshit, and making contact with all kinds of people.

    You make a contact here, and a contact there, and you build a political following and a political machine.

    There’s an old book, it’s available in paperback, entitled “Plunkit of Tammany Hall”. Anyone wanting to be involved in politics should read it. Particularly, the chapter on “How To Become A Statesman”. It’s a classic.

    • I don’t think we are going to have a state pretty soon. Once the food runs out politics is not going to matter much. My worst fear is the Chinese motoring a few battle fleets into undefended sea ports and nationalizing the remains of the USA while it is in a weakened condition.

  5. Is this Patrick Casey related to the Holy Roman Catholic Casey political family in Pennsylvania? The Father, the Son and the rest of the family? It’s always good to find these things out going in, that way you know who is going to knife you in the back, or not keep a promise. That’s politics.

  6. The last few paragraphs here are the most important. Patrick stated more than once that the debate is about far more than just dress presentation but rather an entire framework and organizational perspective. Hunter conflates merely not advocating for violence with something akin to the ‘we’re not racist’ approach.

    Look, Hunter was pictured alongside convicted criminals at rallies. IE put hundreds of college kids next to hammer-skins all for the sake of ‘not cucking’ at Charlottesville. If we want to build a mass movement, then we’re going to need to gain widespread sympathy among European Americans. If that isn’t the goal, then that’s okay, but it should follow then that the widespread alt right orgs should cease expecting IE membership support.

    It should probably be noted in addition that we’re all really talking past each other here if Hunter thinks AFP was a meaningful break from 1.0.

    IE is not your girlfriend. Let it go.

    • 1.) The core of the dispute is over whether the system can be reformed and a majority of White people can be won over to our cause. Violence is a secondary dispute over tactics. I don’t advocate violence either. I’ve always said it is counterproductive on this website.

      2.) So what? The perceived moral failing of the Hammerskins and IE’s college kids is the same. It is the sin of racism. Both groups are stigmatized for the same reason.

      3.) If you want to build a mass movement of European Americans, that necessarily requires tackling the dominant taboos – racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, nativism – this moral language which stigmatizes and marginalizes our cause. In turn, that necessarily requires confronting the people who are in power who created and enforce those taboos through their policing.

      4.) I find this funny because some of these same people were “WN 1.0.” They were having the exact same arguments in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. “WN 1.0” always had people who wanted to blend in with conservatism and be respectable and who thought Nazism and the KKK aesthetic was a bad idea. David Duke himself pioneered the shift away from that.

  8. I think there’s room for both approaches….the main thing is to create propaganda…image board posts, graphics, memes, video, music…I imagine both of you have heard the reports that middle school and high school white kids are very interested in memes and pepe etc…one report says that all the white kids in the local high school are nazis…there may be a grassroots rebellion in the white youth…but propaganda is the key…propaganda is how the establishment warped the minds of white youth in school during the decades before internet usage became widespread, before cell phones…

    the approach is not the issue…the issue is generating reams of propaganda to counter establishment propaganda…we are only now getting into the game…choose whatever approach you like…but crank out the propaganda!

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