What is the “patriot” movement? Contrary to what you might think the “patriot” movement as defined by the SPLC does not refer to every person who self-identifies as a patriot, or as patriotic. Rather, it applies to a very specific sect of people who might be more accurately characterized as militant conspiracy theorists with a survivalist streak. From the SPLC’s definition: Generally, Patriot groups define themselves as opposed to the “New World Order,” engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines. Antigovernment groups do not necessarily advocate or engage in violence or other criminal activities, though some have. Many warn of impending government violence or the need to prepare for a coming revolution. Many anti government groups are not racist. Some public figures who SPLC associates with the “patriot” movement include former Constitution Party Presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin, radio host Alex Jones and Joseph Farah, publisher of WorldNetDaily. Other, more mainstream Tea Party figures like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, etc don’t even have profiles on SPLC’s website, and their names are not mentioned in the article on the Patriot movement (though some are mentioned in separate articles as mainstream sources of inspiration for extremists, if not extremists themselves). Indeed, the closest SPLC gets to impugning any of the above figures directly through the “patriot” movement is in this passage on that movement’s beliefs about Agenda 21: A particularly prominent conspiracy in the antigovernment movement is that the United Nations, which is usually seen as spearheading the “New World Order,” is imposing a global plan, called Agenda 21, to take away citizens’ property rights. There is a UN program with that name to develop sustainable communities across the globe. Agenda 21 was agreed to by political leaders from dozens of countries, including the first President Bush. But in typical fashion, these antigovernment activists have twisted it into a global conspiracy. Still, the definition of a member of the “patriot” movement invokes more than simple patriotism or conservative beliefs. According to SPLC, it requires a belief in a conspiracy theory concerning the “New World Order.” This may describe some conservatives, but it is not an inherently conservative belief. Peter Joseph, author of the Zeitgeist conspiracy theory, pretty clearly identifies as being on the left, and yet he believes the New World Order exists, albeit he refuses to use the term, and conceptualizes it differently from other figures: As to the definition of “patriots” as right-wing, or part of the hard-right, SPLC’s definition of who is on the “right” is rather unconventional. For instance, they describe the New Black Panther Party as part of the “Radical Right” in spite of the fact that conservatives revile the group. What this suggests is that when the SPLC uses these loaded terms, they are either unintentionally using terminology in a different way from most people, or intentionally using terms that will spur controversy, without actually meaning what their critics assume.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 15:10:57 +0000