Do you know anyone personally who belongs to a Far Right group?

[FortunesFave]

I was just thinking about far right extremists because of something I saw on Youtube and then thought about how I've never and would probably never meet one of these people because of my line of work (the arts) then I began thinking about people who might be like that but hide it...

Does anyone know any? Are they open about their ideals? I promise I am not a journo. Just interested.

Most people in this country know members of a far right cult. You just don't recognise them as such.
But those that take their adherence seriously are definitely far right

Yes, I know a couple of TRAs and quite a few people who are Antifa. They are scary people. I keep out of their way.

I think it could be argued that Antifa are an example of The Horseshoe Effect, ie. They have gone so far to the last their actions are now very close to right wing extremists. Wearing a black "uniform", opposing free speech, intimidation and violence against people they don't agree with (including non violent protestors),not believing in constitutional democracy.
I assume that is what the PP is referring to.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_theory%23:~:text%3DIn%2520political%2520science%2520and%2520popular,a%2520horseshoe%2520are%2520close%2520together.&ved=2ahUKEwju3J7ikdPxAhWailwKHSZpCTgQFjABegQIBBAF&usg=AOvVaw2VMb6Vl7pYjtWMmwHC_fn2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_theory%23:~:text%3DIn%2520political%2520science%2520and%2520popular,a%2520horseshoe%2520are%2520close%2520together.&ved=2ahUKEwju3J7ikdPxAhWailwKHSZpCTgQFjABegQIBBAF&usg=AOvVaw2VMb6Vl7pYjtWMmwHC_fn2
Link for anyone interested in the definition of the Horseshoe Effect.

An acquaintance was high up in a banned far right organisation. He never gave any inkling that he held such abhorrent views so it was a shock when he was arrested. Even more so when it became apparent how far into it all he was. I hadn't seen him for years by that point. I wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire now. He's an awful man.

I agree with Wbeezer; antifa are a great example of the Horseshoe theory of politics. I used to be sympathetic to them, but having seen their methods and tactics I think there’s little to separate them from the fash.

I think most of us who meet wide range of people personally know someone. My former classmate is a member of far right. It was already there when we were 14. What's scary is that he is not really stupid. He is not academic, but he is quite ok when it comes to smartness. Except that he believes that muslims are planning to take over

All extremes are bad. Left or right.

@Mammyofasuperbaby

I have a relative who's views are very EDL although they are not a member. I've cut this person out of my life as those views are horrific. This person pretty much hates all forigners which is hilarious considering they are of dual nationality themselves

Funnily I can apparently join EDL now because theyoved onto Muslims not all foreigners. 👀

If you want to hear far right views just go on twitter and look for any TRA but they will claim to be Liberal/left wing intersectional feminists(ie centering mens wants rather than womens needs).
Yet they claim that anyone who disagree with their extremist views and authoritarian new speak is alt right in a classic case of DAVRO .
So if you work in the arts and are surrounded by woke people you already know lots of far right people

There was someone I went to school with that started spouting UKIP crap on Facebook so I unfriended him.

Not sure I’d class UKIP as far right - They’re certainly not at the same level as BNP, EDL etc

My work brings me into contact with a lot of criminals so I’ve met many who are far right EDL types with hate crime and violent convictions and a few who have been flagged for terroristic activities. It can be a challenge not to judge and more of a challenge not to rise to the bait and debate their beliefs… I’ve been coming home and straight into the shower long before COVID just to feel clean again

Not exactly, although I do have a friend in another country who votes for the furthest right party in elections. I'd say he was nationalist, maybe borderline xenophobic, rather than outright racist; he doesn't think people from other countries / races are 'lesser', but he thinks his government should concentrate on domestic issues and put tighter controls on immigration and so votes for the party who promises this. He's definitely not the stereotypical 'thick stupid racist' though; he's very intelligent and has pretty tolerant views on other issues (big supporter of women's rights, for example; very supportive when his son came out as gay) so we remain friends and simply agree to disagree on what we think our respective governments should be doing with our countries' borders.

I think there is a point where far left views (and I am left-leaning myself) border upon fascism (intolerance of others' opinions and their right to voice them, chiefly) and therefore become right-wing. The irony is these people believe they are the 'goodies'.

@beastlyslumber

Yes, I know a couple of TRAs and quite a few people who are Antifa. They are scary people. I keep out of their way.

Yeah, famously far right antifa.

Why do people keep saying antifa are far right? The op hasn't asked for extremist groups, just far right. You may not agree with antifa, but they are NOT far right.

My cousin believes ‘not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim’.

Not sure our Catholic grandma from Belfast would agree with him there.

Posts loads of Britain First crap on his Facebook but lives with my Aunt & Uncle in France 🙄 wouldn’t call him ‘extreme’ but definitely uncomfortably left wing.

@whitemirrors

It depends what you count as far right tbh.

I don’t know any BNP members but I know people who voted for UKIP, follow Britain first on Facebook. I wouldn’t personally say they were far right though.

why not?

A friend of a friend is. She posts the occasional fb post which he pops up on spouting utter harmful bollocks. She feels she can't challenge him directly becuase he's the husband of a close family member. Fortunately for us he's a bit thick, and she knows I'm eloquent and good at doing reasoned takedowns, so she alterts me and I pop along to coldly and ruthlessly dismantle his arguments whilst he gets increasingly irate and starts typing in caps. It gives us a giggle occasionally!

What is far right ? What is racism ?
The defintion seems to be getting wider and more all - encompassing.
According to some, I am a far right racist.
These are the things that make me a far right racist:

1. I don't want anyone getting their cock out around me and my family.
2. I can read music ( this is a function of white supremacy).
3. I try my best to be punctual ( punctuality is another function of white supremacy ).
4. I think that maths should be taught to kids in a way that helps them get the correct answer ( again , white supremacy ). So , there you go, I'm a bigot.

Far left and far right meet in the middle , Id say recently many people have slipped into the so called far left without realising it - eg claiming to want people to have intelligence tests and education screeners before allowing them a vote ( view widely expressed on here after Brexit. )

Surely any extremist groups and views are not good, I do not understand the fixation on the far right, rather than any extremist group.

Yes, two, one was someone I went to school with who believed that white people are naturally superior to black people, since they used to "own" them. He lost his place at University because of some of it.

The other is an ex-friend of DS', who is what you would call an Incel, a proper far-right misogynist who thinks men that kill women are sent by God. He's extremely hateful and DS thinks he will never, ever be happy due to believing that as a white, straight, male, the world is working against him.

The latter also believes rape should be legal because it's a man's need...

A few. I had a friend who was quite normal, with some slightly dubious opinions which didn't use to come up very often so it took several years of friendship to realise he held them. And then he moved back to the US and we lost touch. We caught up earlier this year and he's gone full-on far right QAnon activist. I believe he took part in the storming of the Capitol.

The others I know are UKIP voters or the equivalent in other countries. A friend of my sister, ex-PIL, neighbour, SIL's family. No actual friends. I guess it's debatable whether they could legitimately be labelled far right, but they definitely have some very unpalatable views. And only one of them is the stereotypical thick racist. The others are reasonably well educated and intelligent but generally a long way right of centre economically and socially very conservative.

I was involved in student politics as an undergraduate, so I know quite a few people who are politically engaged across the spectrum. None of them are BNP/EDL types though, more right wing Tories (and on the other side plenty of socialists/Trotskyists/Marxists).

Yes some leftists go so far in their anti-imperialist stance that they end up in bed with dictators like Assad, Putin and Xi Jinping (which to be clear, I find despicable). That does not mean antifa is inherently right-wing. It's more that extremist ideologies of all sorts tend to veer toward authoritarianism, precisely because they are not popular among the mainstream.