Laurie Penny about Trump’s alt-right internet army

Reading the book reviews I learned about Cybersexism by Laurie Penny and how this is a must read. Reading the bio on her blog it states Laurie Pennie is an award-winning author, columnist, journalist and screenwriter. She reported for the Guardian about the republican convention in 2016 where various alt-right characters united behind Donald Trump. I ‘missed’ this at the time and we were still wondering how Trump could ever win after having insulted, women, Mexicans and hispanics in general among others. I still find it surreal that voters could forgive all that but apparently could not forgive Clinton for having referred to them as deplorables. The story of the tight connection between alt right and Trump is old news but reading it even now I still find it very disturbing. I remember having discussions with people about Trump and what he said and some defended him by claiming that it wasn’t important what politicians say and that we should judge them based on what they do. I can’t say I agree with that. ‘Saying’ is also a form of ‘doing’ and we have seen what speeches about fraudulent elections can lead to. But if covid has taught me anything it is that people believe what they want to believe and they will even lie to themselves and others simply to justify their behaviour. Maybe the attraction of thinking in terms of black and white, us and them lies in the fact that it makes you right just by belonging to a camp. It gives the great comfort of certainty, the only thing you have to do is chose a side and stop thinking.