As common as rhetoric is utilized for positive awareness and communication, negative rhetoric is likewise prevalent in today’s society, skyrocketing after President Trump’s inauguration into office. Commonly, the presentment of negative rhetoric takes place during riots and protests due to the media attention they typically get, but with the prominence of social media and its mass participation, it has become a commonplace for alt-right groups and hateful intentions to be showcased for vast persuasion.
Interestingly, the Proud Boys have been debated in class in regard to whether or not they should be forbidden from certains bars and restaurants. This discussion is interesting, however, as they undoubtedly are representative of an alt-right group, yet deny it and deny similar accusations. On the basis thereof, founder, Gavin McInnes, impassively states that the entailments of the group merely include beer as he states that the group’s participation is representative of “a men’s club that meets about once a month to drink beer,” while also claiming to represent western pride as a “Western chauvinist” group rather than white, male supremacy.
Although most people don’t agree with the ideologies that hate groups preach (obviously), the Proud Boys, however, remain successful in their tactics of exploiting hateful, racist, and sexist rhetoric–this success lies in its ambiguity. For instance, in spite of their overt popularity today, it seems that their heinous philosophy deems directly proportionate with their success; as their acts of violence expands, as does their success. Why?
Founder, Gavin McInnes, cleverly utilizes rhetoric through false advertisement in that he publicly condemns white nationalism, yet likewise publicly enforces acts of violence. Although Twitter has banned accounts affiliated with the group, the Proud Boys engage their beliefs on Facebook. Manipulating masses and targeting the uneducated, their page recruits members through false advertisement that details qualities that refuse racism.
The simplicity of their recruitment is utilized to mask their violent intentions while also ensuring consistent participation on social media to make their group look less crucial and grim. Additionally, they utilize social media in hoping to present a sociable page that showcases a group of people with common interests rather than a hate group.
Further, in addition to false advertisement, they often manipulate their words to justify their participation in acts of violence. For instance, after violence had been publicly displayed succeeding recent protests, theguardian.com displays a comment from the McInnes CRTV show that introduces McInnes’ justification of violence in that “violence isn’t great, but justified violence is amazing.” To the less educated citizen, his comment may come off as justifiable if for the right cause, however, how are we to know when it is justifiable? He claims it is justifiable in effect to groups they condemn. However, in response to sexist accusation he validates that “I’m sexist is because women are dumb”(The Gavin McInnes Show), but how is that justifiable?