The Dingoes are a new part of the Australian alt-right community. Picture: TwitterSource:Supplied
THEY’RE young, educated and alternative right. The political force sweeping the US and Europe is a “growing movement” in Australia with “big plans” for the future, members of the group claim.
Those involved style themselves as “politically incorrect larrikins” quick to lampoon politicians and the media, claiming no rational thoughts are off limits and the system of unaffordable housing and shrinking opportunities is “fixed against them”.
They’re social media savvy with podcasts, blogs, memes and websites to vent what are often coded views on everything from US politics to Islam, free speech and the cost of living.
But the narrative of disaffection felt by many young Australians masks a controversial view that rejects “the premise of universal humanism” in favour of “white identity”.
One group, known as The Dingoes, has a regular podcast and use nicknames like “Aussie Tory”, “King Bogan” and “Digger” to cover everything from “god-Emperor” Donald Trump to Pauline Hanson.
An image retweeted by The Dingoes. Pic: @dingotaryanSource:Twitter
They claim to “promote the interests of our people” and their core message is to advocate for “living out a vision of Australia that is united, nativist and homogeneous”.
A member, known only as Mammon, who is an upper middle class professional in his late 20s, told news.com.au he did not see himself as part of the “alt-light” as espoused by Brit Milo Yiannopoulous and American Gavin McInnes, saying they believe in a kind of “civic nationalism” where “if you believe in Western values, to them you are a westerner”.
“To me the West is my genetic ancestry. It’s all about who did these things, who built these things who achieved these things? … That is a genetic inheritance. It’s not just OK I came to France as an Algerian and now I’m French. That’s a degradation of identity,” he said.
@TheDingoes pic.twitter.com/hhtNIoJdFo
— 🇦🇺AdolfTrumpler 🐺 (@AdolfCuddler) November 27, 2016
Mammon said the group had been “substantially” energised by the election of Donald Trump thanks to what he claims are “white values” embodied in his ideas.
He didn’t always think this way but changed his mind after listening to podcasts on international sites five years ago.
Now, as a middle class professional, he said his greatest fear is not housing affordability, but a kind of “wrong think” dominating Australian society.
“I had very hostile views to the things I espouse now to the point where I was vitriolically disgusted by it,” he said, adding that now he believes in a “white identity” that immigrants cannot share.
“When someone says there is not enough diversity in this area, they’re implicitly meaning that ‘this is too white’. That again terrifies me because in the current society you aren’t really allowed to think positively of white identity.
“People could argue there is legitimate reason to, but I don’t think there is and I want to talk about that but I can’t bring that up at work, and I can’t bring it up with even with my family.
“The level of hostility that you get for thinking even remotely positive things about you and your ancestry and wanting your children to be like that is quite profound, and that’s where a lot of the support we have comes from.
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“My great concern is not necessarily that I will be disenfranchised or have a lower material conditions. My concern is that we live in a society that self-censors itself and think ‘Oh no, no, no, it’s wrong think to even question these things’. That actually troubles me to my core.”
Mammon would not disclose audience numbers for The Dingoes but said the group is “growing”. A sample of posts online include missives on rap music, Islamophobia being a “linguistic construct”, how to deal with “normies” and ways a “young dingo” can maintain integrity in the office without getting the sack.
It’s one of a handful of forums that also include The Unshackled and the hashtag #DingoTwitter used by some to connect online. While many would not reveal their identity or speak on the phone, NSW 20-something Kev Renner, said the American alt-right has laid out a “rough template” which Australians are looking to adapt.
His Twitter account includes his tweet of a meme of Mr Trump holding a gun with the words “Get in faggot, we’re making America great again”.
He told news.com.au over email: “We have huge plans for next year where a lot of this will be revealed.
“The alt-right is effective, efficient. We deliver results that the nominal right can only dream of. This is an attractive feature for a lot of ex-libertarians.”
The One Nation voter said he had been involved in local politics in the past and was “not comfortable” divulging the level of activity at present.
“Suffice to say we are most definitely not limited to a Twitter movement. We have our own websites, podcasts, regular meetings etc. We have huge plans for next year relating to all this stuff. The alt-right is a global network. The preservation of Western Civilization (sic) and her peoples is not a task for lone nations to pursue.”
The alt-right regards Donald Trump as a ‘god emperor’ and has adopted the same heart over head politics as Nigel Farage. Picture: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images/AFPSource:AFP
The claims echo that of the young “identitarian” movement which began in France and has swept across Europe in recent years, advocating for a specific national identity based on genetics rather than values.
It’s at odds with the older blue-collar workers feeling the squeeze from the loss of manufacturing industries around the world which are often seen as responsible for delivering results like the Brexit vote and election of Mr Trump.
Social media researcher Josh Smith from UK think tank Demos watches how these groups interact online and said many use the same “heart, not head” strategy tapped by Nigel Farage and Mr Trump and have “thrived” with a social audience.
“People saying things which aren’t themselves objectionable, which appeal to people’s sense of patriotism and identity. It is often used as a way of smuggling in a kind of much more nationalist politics, a politics which is much further right than most people would agree with,” he said.
“The identitarian movement doesn’t represent anything strikingly new, the far-right has been on social media forever …. This problem has been around for a long time but we’re starting to see the rise of a snappily packaged different face of the far right.”
Australian Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said having a robust debate on issues like race and immigration is vital to Australia’s democracy and the kind of speech some might deem offensive is protected under freedom of expression.
“But this freedom is not absolute,” he said. Instead, other laws on racial discrimination and against the incitement of violence protect those who fear their rights may be infringed upon.
“When Australians disagree on free speech and human rights issues, it’s almost never a winner-takes-all contest. Protecting the rights of one group does not involve trampling the rights of another. Instead, we focus on striking the right balance. We search for a middle ground that protects individual dignity while impinging no more than absolutely necessary on any individual right,” he said.
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