Left-wing deplorables

The Charlottesville brawl, which culminated in vehicular homicide, has brought the Alt-Right to national attention again. Make no mistake: the people marching in Charlottesville were genuine deplorables. Vice news interviewed one of the keynote speakers, Christopher Cantwell, who informed them that he wanted a president "way more racist than Trump." During the campaign, Hillary placed half of Trump's supporters in the "basket of deplorables." The invited speakers, along with the attendees of this event, truly belong in that basket. Good people don't march shoulder to shoulder with Klansmen and neo-Nazis. Good people don't show up to cheer Richard Spencer and Matthew Heimbach.

Still, the uncomfortable question remains: who truly belongs in the basket of deplorables? In the past, progressive organizations have been quick to place right-wingers in that basket but extremely reluctant to place left-wingers there. To use one example, the SPLC placed immigration restrictionists, men's rights activists, pick-up artists, and conservative Christians in their basket of deplorables. The only thing these groups have in common is that they irritate the left. Mainstream immigration restrictionists want to limit immigration and encourage assimilation, a position totally contrary to the one held by white nationalists, who consider assimilation "white genocide." Mainstream Christian conservatives and mainstream MRAs do not disagree with equal rights for women. They object to the agenda of post-civil rights era feminism – an agenda that includes abortion on demand at any period of gestation and the pursuit of gender parity in all academic and professional fields. Liberals and progressives would vigorously oppose these positions, but that doesn't make those who hold them "Alt-Right." The people they now label bigots and hate-mongers largely accept the post-civil rights era order, with few caveats. Labeling them bigots makes it impossible to distinguish mainstream conservatives from people who truly reject democracy and individual rights. Those attempting to maintain a moral quarantine around the Alt-Right face another problem. Liberals, progressives, the left generally refuse to ostracize their own extremists. Hillary embraced Black Lives Matter without qualification, despite the fact that BLM supporters have rioted and murdered police officers. Unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers went on to enjoy both mainstream acceptability and a successful academic career. Overt bigot Mary Daly, who endorsed the idea of eliminating 90% of men, also enjoyed social acceptability and a successful academic career. Just as there is a vile and disgusting Alt-Right, there exists a vile and disgusting Alt-Left. The deplorables who marched in Charlottesville deserve to be condemned on their own merits. The task of condemning them would be easier if the left didn't attempt to label all of their enemies bigots and didn't defend their own lunatic fringe at all costs.