Now, part of that is recognizing that white males seem to be the ones who made it, and respecting that, but it doesn't mean you're not invited to the party." "If you're Black or Hispanic, whatever, I don't really care," McInnes said on one of his online broadcasts, as reported by Campbell. You don't have to be white to be Proud Boy, per its founder, but you do have to know your place. Although some key leaders have been outed as neo-Nazis, the group as a whole tends to avoid explicit racism, trumpeting the fact that some of its members are indeed non-white (women, however, are not allowed).īut as Campbell notes, racial supremacy is at its core. While Proud Boys are encouraged to boast of their membership, obfuscation is an essential part of being in the group. In fact, members, including small business owners, have openly boasted of their membership, sometimes managing to obtain press coverage that paints them as simple, color-blind patriots. Unlike similar far-right groups (or its "antifa" foes), this is also not a group or political tendency that wishes its followers to remain anonymous. They were on the front lines of the January 6 insurrection, its leaders collaborating with paramilitary groups such as the Oath Keepers in an effort to halt the certification of the 2020 election, and several have since been charged with offenses ranging from illegal gun possession to seditious conspiracy.īut as journalist Andy Campbell details in his new book, " We Are Proud Boys," while the group ultimately takes itself very seriously, mimicking the operational security language of a military organization, complete with tacticial units on the prowl for trouble at street protests, it is essentially a drug-and-drink fueled fraternity based on a cult of personality and cultural grievances still potentially dangerous, as evidenced by its arrest record, but also cringe-worthy. Over the past six years, Proud Boys have shown up at Black Lives Matter demonstrations and marched through liberal cities, serving as the self-styled vanguard of the MAGA movement. Its members identify as "Western chauvinists" and they see their enemy as "antifa." Chapter leaders mimic the operational security language of a military organization at war and celebrate violent clashes with leftists in the streets. When Gavin McInnes, the far-right Canadian shock jock, announced the formation of the Proud Boys back in 2016, the stated aim was defending the historical contributions of white men and their champion, former President Donald Trump.
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