According to The Hill, “The founder of the Hawaii chapter of the far-right white nationalist group the Proud Boys and another person who rioted at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection were sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for their involvement in the attack. Nicholas Ochs, a 36-year-old from Honolulu who founded the Hawaii chapter, and Nicholas DeCarlo, a 32-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, each pleaded guilty in September to obstruction of an official proceeding. They were sentenced on Friday to 48 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, according to a Justice Department (DOJ) release.”
I was so baffled by this family picture that I needed to double-check who the Proud Boys were. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “The Proud Boys’ actions belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings such as the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Former Proud Boys member Jason Kessler helped organize that event, which brought together a broad coalition of extremists including Neo-Nazis, antisemites and militias. Kessler was expelled from the group after the violence and near-universal condemnation of Charlottesville rallygoers.”
Yup, they are exactly who I thought they were. So, I renew my objection to the family picture. What the actual fucking hell is going on here? As usual, all these people think their racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and bigoted beliefs don’t apply to them. This is how racists can be in interracial marriages. This is how a trans woman can be part of the Oath Keepers. It’s always the other person, for those are the ones they hate, but that hate can never be reflected back on them. I’m tired of calling this hypocrisy or some sort of unresolved issue of cognitive dissonance. And I don’t care about some deep-seated psychological notion of self-hate. It’s all bunk. I’m tired of trying to justify these people’s actions or calling them out. It’s time we started doing something about it, and sending these people to jail for a few years is not the remedy. The left needs to be harsher and more determined. Where is our counter to the alt-right? And don’t say Antifa. That’s not actually an organization; it’s a collection of aggregators. It is time we start to organize in force. Welcome to stupid America!