There has been justifiable outrage Monday over The Los Angeles Times story, “White nationalists dress up and come to Washington in hopes of influencing Trump.” The piece recounts a Washington, D.C., conference Saturday for alt-right activists intent on the United States becoming a white ethno-state, but it had the feel of a fluffy feature, preoccupied with attendee fashion choices and complete with an apparently posed photo of movement leader Richard Spencer looking stylish in dark sunglasses.
Naturally, it didn’t go over well:
Journalists in the 60s realized racism/discrimination were empirically evil and reported accordingly. This OTOH... https://t.co/1peT9AfPIg
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 21, 2016
This wasn’t the first time a media outlet has focused on Spencer’s fashion either. Mother Jones tweeted out this headline earlier this month.
Meet the dapper white nationalist who wins even if Trump loses https://t.co/zM62uetRAA pic.twitter.com/sKFjSpmPOn
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 1, 2016
The frightening truth is, with the election of Donald Trump, Neo-Nazis feel like they’ve gotten a foothold in America’s political mainstream. These kinds of pieces will only encourage that view.