1,162 words
“It takes courage to come to AFPAC,” Nick Fuentes greeted his cheering crowd. Fuentes has been put on the no-fly list, he’s had $500,000 seized from his bank account, and he has been subpoenaed as part of the investigation into January 6.
This deterred no one. AFPAC — the America First Political Action Conference — II had nearly 600 attendees; AFPAC III boasted 1,200.
One of the keynote speakers, Joe Arpaio, aka “America’s Sheriff,” known for his pragmatic polities at the southern border to stop illegal immigration, began his speech by observing, “We got so many young people.” He paused to scan the audience, and then added, “You might be in prison one day.”
For some of the attendees, this was already true. I spoke to a few who had been detained as part of the January 6 mostly peaceful protest. But they were cheerful, the real happy warriors, led by an example in Nick Fuentes. Arizona Representative Wendy Rogers professed, “I respect Nick Fuentes because he’s the most banned person in the world.”
AFPACIII was the most professionally-produced grassroots political event I’ve ever attended. Others wiser than myself (see the Zman’s review here) have commented on its outstanding production values (a tiny taste here), to which I can add little.
Instead, I’ll focus on three themes that stood out to me: Christianity, Being Normal, and Overcoming Obstacles.
Christianity
“Jesus Christ is King of Kings. These are the truths we must profess if we are to succeed . . . Jesus didn’t command us to sit around being crushed by Satan waiting to die.” — Andrew Torba
After the enormous room sat down to dinner, a Franciscan monk led the room in prayer. Marjorie Taylor Greene opened with the words, “I am a daughter of God — a forgiven sinner.”
Some fellow attendees were concerned that all this public fervor might be disingenuous, but I don’t think it’s political theater. I’m convinced that Nick Fuentes, while a race realist and a white advocate, is above all else a Catholic. His very first speech at American Renaissance 2018, which I reviewed here, focused almost entirely on the need for a conservative religious revival. At the time, he said that 40% of Generation Z is going to church.
By the way, Nick Fuentes gave a heartwarming tribute to the great Jared Taylor that inspired a standing ovation: “Show me somebody saying these things when it was not popular.” And concerning heroic former Iowa Representative Steve King, he reminded the audience, “If the world hates you, remember it hated Jesus first.”
Being Normal
“When I walk into a room and I think these people are normal, that’s when I know we’re going to win.”
You can buy The Alternative Right, ed. Greg Johnson, here
The man who said this was my age; as a now 31-year-old boomer (see my notes from last year’s comments), we were among the oldest attendees. He was commenting on the dramatic evolution of dissident Right-wing political groups from the Roman-saluting The Right Stuff (TRS) “pool parties,” to the more polished Identity Evropa, which in turn became the American Identity Movement (AIM). TRS was vulgar to this man, and AIM had lacked charisma, but America First was almost “normal.”
At AFPAC, except for the occasional strange encounter (I was asked once if I am an “e-girl”), attendees were friendly, engaging, and confident. More than a few young gentlemen recognized me from the year prior and we excitedly exchanged stories of all the interesting things that have happened since last year.
Despite their reputation as “extremely online” gamers, most attendees were pro-social and discussed interesting topics with ease. Our dinner conversation ranged from current events, to memes, to political strategy, to sharing religious conversion experiences.
America First has the characteristics of a vanguard movement — a movement that does not compromise on core principles. America First does not compromise on Christianity, social conservatism, or the white identity of the Historic American Nation.
But American First also understands nuance and accepts the endorsement of well-meaning allies, even if they haven’t totally grasped the movement’s generally accepted precepts. For example, when talk show host Stew Peters made snide comments about Marjorie Taylor Greene’s commitments after she risked her career to appear at AFPAC, Peters was quickly disavowed by the organizers.
And then came this golden moment from Arpaio: “They call me the biggest racist,” he said. When the crowd erupted in applause, he asked, “Why are you clapping at that?”
He then continued, “They say I’m the biggest racist, but I have a Mexican grandchild.” The audience was respectful, but grew quiet and exchanged cringes. Arpaio meant this as a positive illustration to show that he really isn’t racist. But he nevertheless made the Great Replacement personal. According to the 2020 US census, non-Hispanic white Americans still make up 57% of the country, but whites under 18 are already a minority. The Great Replacement is not just over the horizon; it’s already here.
Nick Fuentes has done it. He’s earned enough political clout to get speakers who don’t know that his audience doesn’t care about being called racist. This is a huge win for everyone on the Dissident Right.
Overcoming Obstacles
“America First is not an ideology. It’s a call to action.” — Nick Fuentes in his closing speech
I know people who are waiting to find and prop up the perfect, blemishless spokesperson. But we can’t wait any longer, and Nick Fuentes’ success shows you can overcome almost any criticisms.
Fuentes boasted, “They said I couldn’t have a career because I refused a free trip to Israel. . . . They said I couldn’t have a career because I’d said the n-word.”
Fuentes follows the number one rule in politics: never apologize. Nor does he have to. They banned him from YouTube, so he built Cozy.tv. They banned him from Twitter, so Andrew Torba built Gab. They banned him from CPAC, so he built AFPAC.
Nothing seems to damage his credibility, and he joyously bothers the Left. He can even play their race card when it’s funny or useful. In response to Jared Holt’s accusation that AFPAC III was a White Nationalist event, his response on Telegram was, “I’m literally Mexican, bro.”
Despite any criticisms that have been raised of Fuentes’ style or some of his goofy compatriots such as Baked Alaska, he’s the Trump-like, energetic populist people want to lead them in the charge against wokeness. Is he naturally abrasive? Is being abrasive a genius political move? Who cares? He’s getting results — 1,200 of them.
In 2018, I thought Fuentes was a bit harsh on the boomer generation. I understand his anger. The boomers, who are afraid to be called racist, fell asleep at the wheel while anti-white, anti-Christian (they literally want to kill you) Democrats — and Republicans — seized power. They did nothing to oppose Martin Luther King Day, and now Ahmaud Arbery Day. But I believe America First is a movement that has the political will to take that power back.
In his closing speech, Fuentes said, “I am willing to die for this cause. But we won’t die. Because we’re going to win.”
* * *
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50 comments
Good to know that the people threatening to kill me and rape my wife look normal. I’m also glad to hear that the future of white nationalism is safely in Fuentes’ swarthy hands.
Nick Fuentes is poison.
Sir, this is a Wendys.
You don’t live in the USA so Nick Fuentes shouldn’t be your concern. He’s for White well being and that makes him NOT an enemy. If he was to ever speak out against White Americans who aren’t Catholic but do have concern and cares about White erasure then I would consider him a problem.
Like Nick, this is laughably pathetic. Imagine thinking “groypers” and America-First will ever accomplish anything. You should feel ashamed.
Being Christian today is about as LARPy as being a neo-pagan, I really don’t see the point in its inclusion, especially into a youth-oriented movement.
I disagree with the commenter above me, America First is hugely influential and is definitely going places.
You’re right, it is going somewhere. Right into the dumpster fire where it belongs. Screencap this and find me when AF accomplishes anything, ever.
Given how riddled conservatism is with The Tribe, one benefit of making Christianity a central plank in your platform is that it tends to keep them out.
“one benefit of making Christianity a central plank in your platform is that it tends to keep [the Tribe] out.”
You think? In 1940, America was far more Christian that it is now, and nearly 500,000 soldiers decided it’d be a good idea to give their lives to save the Jews from Hitler.
One benefit of NOT making this Semitic religion a central plank in your platform is that it tends not to alienate the non-Christians who realize religion is an entirely different issue than race.
Christianity also tends to keep out people who aren’t Christians as well as people who realize Christianity originated with The Tribe and is centered around the worship of The Tribe’s God.
Christianity is majority nonwhite worldwide. Galatians 3:28 might be the first “anti-racist” sentiment ever recorded in history.
Religion is being used as a distraction, and why not? It worked as a distraction in the past.
To be fair, most Americans did not fight in WWII to save the jews from Hitler. Prior to Pearl Harbor, more than 80% of Americans opposed our entry. The holocaust narrative and the idea that Americans fought to save the jews was cultivated many years after the war.
Pearl Harbor? Most American soldiers, my father included, fought in the European theater, not the Pacific. Were they getting the “holocaust narrative” retroactively beamed to them from the future?
Your kind of hostility toward Christianity is standard in the Dissident Right. No wonder pro-White anti-Israel Christian nationalists would group together among themselves. Cohesion always requires exclusion.
Well said. Many anti-Christian dissidents fail to realize that a growing number of White Christians are beginning to realize that their race and culture DOES matter. More and more of them are starting to recognize Jews as the principle enemies of our people too.
Granted, it may be a slow awakening, but we forget that White Christians are like every other ‘normie’ American who has been spoon-fed lies about race and the Jews. We would be wise not to discount these Christians.
My point is, the U.S. could not have entered the war in either theater without the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. The overwhelming majority of Americans prior to that event wanted no part of it. The extent of the jewish plight was not widely propagated until after the war. This is evident by the fact that the holocaust was not even mentioned in the voluminous post war autobiographies of the three leading allied leaders (Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower or Winston Churchill).
The widespread practice of duel covenant theology, the doctrine that Christians should support Israel/jews, is a post WWII phenomena. And it is legitimate problem with modern Christianity that we must dismantle. However, throwing the baby out with the bathwater is rash. Christianity is woven into the fabric of Europeans and you can’t just discard 1500 years of intertwined history. Yes Christianity started off as a jewish sect but it’s been thoroughly Germanized since its introduction into Europe.
“The extent of the jewish plight was not widely propagated until after the war.”
Hitler made his feelings about Jews quite evident long before the war. It’s even a central theme to Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940). It’s disingenuous to pretend that soldiers who were fighting the Nazis were kept in the dark about the fact that the JQ was central to World War II in the European theater.
“The widespread practice of duel [sic] covenant theology, the doctrine that Christians should support Israel/jews, is a post WWII phenomena. [sic]”
Pretty sure it goes all the way back to Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Anti-racist universalism is a feature, not a bug, of the entire belief system. Once more, the global Christian population is majority nonwhite.
The fact that the Bible is split into two Testaments strongly suggests that we’re dealing with one of the central contradictions of Christianity, which is that it’s a heretical offshoot of the Old Testament that entirely contradicts the “eternal” covenant promised in Leviticus. And again, none of this has anything to do with Europe or white people.
I’m not claiming that Americans were completely unaware of Hitler’s disdain for jews but I take issue with the notion that saving jews was an important motivation for white Christians to fight Germany in WWII. And as I iterated before, all the final solution business was a post war “revelation.” In Charles Lindbergh’s now infamous speech, he was correct in pointing out that Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anglophiles and world jewry wanted the U.S. to enter the war at the onset. And yet despite the desires of these powerful groups, the American public was overwhelmingly opposed to U.S. involvement until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. If saving jews was an important issue, America would have entered the war much earlier.
Christianity has been used to justify both slavery and abolition, Crusades and pacifism, racism and anti-racism, ethic nationalism and multiculturalism. One thing it was not used for until very recently was worshiping unconverted jews (duel covenant theology). The many expulsions, inquisitions, pogroms, etcetera of jews in the Christian world are proof of that. Christianity is very malleable depending on the time and people who practice it. Yes the majority of Christians in the world today are non-white but what they practice is a different version. That doesn’t negate the fact that for over 1,500 years, Europeans were Christian and Christianity was European. In other words, the initial Christians were not European but we colonized it and made it into our own image.
“Christianity is very malleable depending on the time and people who practice it.”
So it’s whatever what anyone wants to wrangle it into rather than some sort of eternal, unassailable truth? I’ve been saying that for years. So why is it even needed?
Boomers inherited their values from their parents: The Greatest Generation. There wasn’t a single Boomer eligible to vote when the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Immigration Act were passed. The Greatest Generation’s reasoning was about Cold War propaganda and general back-patting by Northerners against Southerners (can’t never get too much Reconstruction, y’all).
In short, blaming Boomers for believing what their parents told them while droning on and on about ‘tradition’ and ‘authority’ is, a best, hypocritical and, at worst, lacking in self-awareness.
As long as the Civil Rights Act and the Immigration Act (and all the rulings handed down as a result of them) are in place, Whites will have only two choices: Be constantly on the back foot or fight.
The movement has to stop trying to respond to political problems with cultural solutions.
I wasn’t at AFPAC, but the reports seem to indicate that it went nowhere. There were no ideas presented on how to move forward nor any frameworks or infrastructure created for organizing a response to the problems that virtually everyone in the movement agrees are problems.
I think we’ve defined the problems pretty well at this point.
What’s missing is any ideas for fixing the problems.
You’re absolutely right – the boomer generation received LBJ’s Great Society reforms and the 1965 Immigration Act from the previous generation. The ball was already rolling on demographic replacement. Generalized boomer-blaming is inappropriate. But it’s an important exercise to call out specific boomer republicans currently in power for doing silly things. Like, why is this white republican, Don Hogan, sponsoring Ahmed Arbury day? Or, why did only three republicans (good boomers?) vote against the Emmet Till Anti-Lynching Act? (as if lynching isn’t already illegal… late-breaking Emmet Till news as Steve Sailer would say…) They ought to be primaried.
Your comment reminded me of one of the most important notes of the evening which I forgot to include in my report: Fuentes announced in his concluding speech that there would be 100 AF candidates running next election cycle. This is big news. My hope is that thought leaders such as Greg Johnson, Jared Taylor, Peter Brimelow, etc. can provide ideological red meat on which these eager young candidates can build a political platform.
Neil Kumar is an excellent example. I hope everyone comes to this event! He’s a very intelligent, articulate and presentable young man with secure ideological footing. I hope we see more people like him whether they’re inspired by AF or independent.
‘My hope is that thought leaders such as Greg Johnson, Jared Taylor, Peter Brimelow, etc. can provide ideological red meat on which these eager young candidates can build a political platform.’
Yes. I thought that was what the Institute was going to do.
Getting asked if you’re an e-girl is par for course with Fuentes leading an army of incel gamers. But credit where credit is due, it seems like it went well and it’s getting the message across. Was Jared Taylor actually there?
Yes! Jared Taylor was seated with the guests of honor. Nick gave him a warm tribute & he received a standing ovation from the audience. Full text here: https://vdare.com/posts/vdare-com-s-peter-brimelow-thanks-nick-fuentes-for-graceful-tribute-at-afpac-3
No mention on the fact that MTG later claimed she didn’t even know who Nick Fuentes was, followed by her denouncing white nationalism? It’s clear that most of the big names at AFPAC 3 had no idea what the event stood for. This was reflected in their speeches.
Greene also said that AF/groypers have to be part of the conversation. That’s all it takes because once they are, they will win. Her personal opinions are irrelevant.
America First might not compromise its core values, but Counter-Currents’ readers would have to compromise theirs to support it.
When most of us speak of optics, we mean presenting our key ideas in a way that is respectful, sane, relatable, and rational. When Fuentes and his followers discuss optics, they mean rejecting those key ideas in favor of largely mainstream conservative positions, like Christianity. Fuentes discusses white people as a group with legitimate interests and rights, which is a welcome departure from most conservatives. But he prioritizes other sociopolitical concepts, most which have already proven totally impotent in the face of the Left. Ironically, he usually presents these often mainstream beliefs in a very caustic, alienating way. It’s a total inversion of optics. Instead of presenting radical ideas in a moderate way, he presents moderate ideas with all the abrasiveness and vulgarity of the most stereotypical wignat.
This is a very interesting analysis.
Hunter Wallace made a good point: Fuentes isn’t really “optical.” He is gaining traction, though, because mainstream people care less and less about the establishment’s boundaries of respectable opinions. This is a shift that all of us can benefit from. It isn’t an argument for breaking out the plastic Stahlhelms, though, because we still want to present our ideas in the most persuasive way possible.
This is my 5,000th comment at CC, by the way.
Six years ago this was a mental turning point for me. My country club in-laws believed Jeb Bush was really the most “acceptable” choice for president. That’s when I realized what their generation had done to the country.
I have a terrible mouth at times, and hold people in disdain who are afraid of words, but all the rape talk the Fuentes crowd engages in is off-putting, to say the least. Here’s a guy with some ideas I like, but I won’t support him because he has no self control and/or can’t or refuses to control those on his team. Doesn’t bode well for his movement.
The biggest handicap these guys have is that they’re failures with women. That makes them irrelevant to the real world.
There were 1,200 attendees. I’d assume a fairly wide variety of life experiences among them. But even if you’re right, they’re young. Giv’em a chance.
Irrelevant to simps, maybe. The women will follow.
Women aren’t anywhere near AF, so they’re doing something wrong despite supposedly being totally normal guys with a lot to admire about them.
If you can’t keep the attention of Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s a serial adulteress and known whore, how can you keep the attention of better adjusted women?
These women (MTG and Wendy Rogers)just talk all the time. I can’t bear to read Gab’s news feed hardly because Wendy Rogers is always squawking about something. Shut up and do something. The Founders wanted our nation governed by men for a reason.
Zing!
“That makes them irrelevant in the real world”
Right, behind every strong man is an alpha-widowed single mom towing the small POCs.
I think you’ll find something like 50+ percent of men under 45 are in some phase of “faiulre with women”, by mid-’80s Boomer standards. And that’s conservative.
Fact is the modern dating market is a soul-strewn minefield that the strong might well avoid.
A man alone, left to set his own objectives and work towards them with undistracted obsession is the underdog to Chad Dudebro with the drinking problem?
You got it all backwards.
I don’t require another group to think just like me in order to support it. I require that their views are compatible with mine. By compatible, I mean that we could satisfactorily coexist in a society with each other, given proper freedom of association laws.
The progressive left is not compatible with my views. While I don’t know enough about AF to say for sure, what I hear about them makes me think that they are.
We must reject the purity spiraling if we have any hope of building a national coalition.
Christianity – I don’t think any actual Christian people take these extremely-online warriors-of-Christ larpers seriously. Also, Christianity is the least popular it has ever been in all of American history. Being a Christian fanatic is completely fringe and weird.
Being Normal – Normal people find the groypers repulsive and completely out of touch. Normal people definitely don’t say that little White girls deserve to get run over by a truck because they were going to grow up to be whores anyway.
Overcoming Obstacles – Credit where credit is due. Nick has done a fantastic job securing donors and building infrastructure. This is remarkable given the incredibly low caliber of people he still associates with.
Arizona Representative Wendy Rogers professed, “I respect Nick Fuentes because he’s the most banned person in the world.”
Andrew Anglin would like a word.
There is a major difference between the older dissident right and the newer one. Although race was certainly a platform of the old right, money and the National issue of currency was the prime motivation. Ezra Pound’s books on money are essential to understanding the world system. This is why I have so much respect for Kerry Bolton’s works. I know Kerry has written and reads CC. He has done a great amount on getting to the core of the problem. Likewise, the late Scottish radio host, Alan Watt. Watt broke down the system better than anyone I’ve ever heard, save possibly Pound. I am curious if AFPAC and the younger generation truly understand the system? Do they know the history of Mandel House and the Warburgs? Do they know about the CFR? I don’t think America can ever be first, unless we understand the enemy within the gates. The older right worked vehemently against this throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. Perhaps these young people need educated. I think Kerry should tutor Nick and polish him on some of these things, especially money. The great Alexander Del Mar defined in his works only two forms of money, one that was sovereign and one that was dominated by a private elite.
I should also add I just received one of our new quarters as change. I have no clue who “Maya Angelou” is and I’m not bothering looking it up. The quarter seems lighter than previous ones. Perhaps debased. Follow the money(the clipping/debasement) and you can quite literally weigh out the decline of your nation.
Not a fan of Fuentes – too immature, too annoying. Not much of a Christian myself, either. But what I do know is that Fuentes is bringing a message in a way that’s easier to hear, and damn if he isn’t getting some traction. Here’s to hoping the groypers grow up to men men who stand tall — because if they don’t, who will?
“We’re winning. We’re going to win. The fact that we will win is inevitable.”
Yeah, Trump said that, too. It wasn’t original, profound, or accurate then, either.
Agreed.
Taking “winning” for granted is foolish, considering the predicament white people are in.
I like to be optimistic, but only if this optimism is at least somewhat anchored in reality. We can’t assume we’re going to win, whatever that entails.
Also, I read “The Bomb Inside My Brain” recently.
I had not read the stories about your pug or family privilege before. They were excellent.
Charlie Sheen used to talk a lot about winning, too.
I am far from an expert on Christian theology, but is it admissible (from the perspective of that religion) to declare oneself forgiven of one’s sins? I had thought that dispensation to be the prerogative of the Almighty, or at the very least one of His ordained ministers. Or perhaps the possibility of absolving oneself in advance, previously confined to Judaism (and in a very limited sense) is now available to Christian gentiles? That would leave Islam as the ‘odd man out’ and exposed to ‘market pressure’ to follow suit.
The Christianity aspect of things is what many outside America can’t wrap their heads around with this stuff. It’s a bizarre anachronism to many outside the USA. And the idea of antisemites worshipping Jesus, a…Jew, is just hilariously confused. Though I do know about the whole deranged evangelical Israel obsession thing, in some ways I just don’t get you guys. At all.
Christ forgives us even if we hate him. (I’m half joking).
On one hand I am thrilled by AF’s potential, on the other I am terrified that they will squander it through their perennial immaturity. Fuentes has accomplished a lot and has great potential, but to realize that potential he’s going to need an intervention of sorts. He’s also going to need to start influencing his fans instead of allowing them to influence him.
So who should perform this intervention? I agree that he’s prone to outbursts of immaturity and led by his zoomer followers at times. Nick Fuentes would do well to have Jason Kühne from NWG help him cultivate his maturity and online presence but I think ego may be an obstacle on Nick’s part.
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