The Conundrum Of Nick Fuentes
Christian Nationalists are always saying that they know what’s right and know what’s wrong for sure. That’s why they feel so confident in declaring that their religion is the right way to go, not just for themselves, for but for everybody else.
Reality isn’t so simple. Politics doesn’t move in a simple straight line. Human behavior is full of obliquity and ambiguity. Sometimes, pushing in one direction leads to a stronger counter-reaction.
Those of us who oppose the extremist ideology of Christian Nationalism are encountering this difficulty in the personality of Nick Fuentes. Nick Fuentes is a particularly nasty Christian Nationalist who openly advocates for Nazi ideology, including violent antisemitism and the replacement of American democracy with a Christian dictatorship that he wants to establish a global Christian Nationalist empire.
Nick Fuentes is just 22 years old, but he’s not at the margins of Republican Party politics. Nick Fuentes just had a dinner meeting with Donald Trump and Kanye West. West has also threatened violence against Jews in the name of Christian values.
People have been warning about the Nazi extremism of Nick Fuentes throughout 2022. People have raised awareness about Kanye West’s own furious antisemitism. Yet, Donald Trump, the former President of the United States and presumed frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, just had dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes at the same time.
How on Earth did Nick Fuentes become so politically influential? He’s been successful in promoting himself by being outrageous. What Fuentes says is genuinely outrageous. We should be outraged by it, but what do we do with that outrage? If Nick Fuentes is building his political reputation through outrage, can we speak about our outrage without promoting Fuentes himself?
I’m going to be honest with you about this: I don’t know the answer. Christian Nationalists pretend that their religion has the answer to every question. I can’t offer the same false certainty.
So, with this episode, the Stop Christian Nationalism podcast is taking a pause. This is the final episode for Season One… but Season Two will follow, after a period of reflection and consideration about the Nick Fuentes conundrum.
Come back in the spring of 2023 for Season Two. We’ll have a lot to talk about.