Across many groups like Proud Boys there seems to be a general trend of taking passionate or angry people and sending them in a direction with an undeniable claim. At the root of this passion is a feeling of being persecuted or made out to be the “bad guy.” While Proud Boys stands for policies that are not hand in hand with that of Nazis, their policies  do represent a far-right ideology. Proud Boys want to “close the borders” however, closing the borders is just obscure enough of an idea that it does not inherently support white supremacy or xenophobia, even though many of us immediately think so. As such, they take advantage of a commonplace amongst liberals and anyone who skip a couple steps and denounce them as Nazis or white supremacists. In creating this hostility, they can emerge as a more intelligent group, navigating through false assumptions to support their own agenda.  

Proud Boys member Tattoo

At the same time, Proud Boys relish in this space between a far-right group and a white supremacist group because they draw in a wide range of people. Those who take to this commonplace, this somewhat radical space, can easily join and uptake the ideology of the group. Regardless of the debate as to whether they are a radical group, some people may be drawn to a group that is being dissented by those “crazy liberals.” In a time period where more and more white people are feeling discriminated against, individuals may spring to join a union of people who feels marginalized in the way that they do. In some sense, Donald Trump has continued a trend of white Americans fighting to hold power that is being usurped by new laws and policies. Groups like Proud Boys relish in this fight, this response to national change, and manifest their struggle in the form of a far-right ideology. 

Additionally, people can join who first and foremost want to support the agenda of Proud Boys. Some people may feel like “giving everyone a gun” is extremely important to them and as a result, Proud Boys serves as a perfect place for them to participate in politics. America is full of people who love their guns and want to keep their guns. In developing an ideology that fits a more conservative opinion, Proud Boys draws in a wide range of passionate, right-leaning people. The same thing could be said for their stance on prisons and drugs. By creating general stances, the radicalness of the stance itself becomes less of an issue because more people can tap into the basics of what they are aiming to do. 

Proud Boys creates a space for people who at the very least feel they are political victims of the United States Government and allows them to speak out. In speaking out, they are unified through radical, yet abstract policies that give them an undeniable passion. They may come off as Nazis or white supremacists, but because there is no clear sign of such qualities, they consequently grow from a commonplace of liberal hate and intolerance.