What Will You Sacrifice to Belong? [INTERVIEW]

Kelvin Frimpong Shares His Struggle in Escaping the Alt-Right Pipeline.

With the release of Barantini’s ‘Adolescence’ on Netflix, a show host to a highly discursive online audience, the topic of toxic masculinity, incel culture, and more specifically, the increasingly popular alt-right pipeline has become increasingly prevalent in recent weeks, particularly as warranted fears amongst Gen-Z regarding a general shift toward conservatism continue to grow.

In the centre of alt-right spaces online, are lone individuals who, having been convinced right-wing ideology will offer them some kind of community and a hand to help them down a path of ‘belonging’. At the same time, compromise is almost guaranteed, manifesting as a deep hatred for the ‘other’.

Previously, these values consistent with intolerance and entitlement typically only associated with exclusively white communities, where a society favouring white exceptionalism has historically facilitated their existence.

“The alt-right’s presence on Twitter was substantial, probably encompassing more than 100,000 users as a conservative estimate. More recently, Jacob Davey and Julia Ebner presented data showing that the pan-European white nativist group known as Generation Identity had—as of May 2019— approximately 70,000 followers of its official Twitter accounts”.

M. Conway, R. Scrivens, L. Macnair, “Right-Wing Extremists’ Persistent Online Presence: History and Contemporary Trends” 2019.

Still, the whole truth illustrates a wider picture of the alt-right pipeline, recognising where minorities can be made equally as vulnerable to its rhetoric. Specifically, black men are some of those susceptible to right-wing ideology, where the great emphasis on misogyny over other systems of oppression, namely, race, leaves this door ever-so-slightly ajar should they wish to enter.

As a Ghanaian-born and raised young man, 22-year-old Kelvin Frimpong never expected to fall down the pipeline. However, having done so, eventually managing to reel himself back in, he shared with his TikTok followers four distinct causes for his own vulnerability, which he later explored further in an interview.

Initially, Kelvin mentioned how feelings of alienation can lead to getting caught up in alt-right spaces. Though this isn’t a necessary cause, those within the black community facing ostracisation and rejection from black culture can begin to feel isolated, he claims. Growing up in Ghana, this alienation manifested itself in feeling unliked due to differing interests and hobbies. As a young boy fascinated with anime and fantasy fiction, Kelvin often faced the kind of judgement born from religious and cultural associations of these things as promoting anti-religious and demonic imagery.

“A lot of kids saw me as weird”, he says, “So when I moved to the UK and saw a lot of people with my interests, I assumed it was a white identity”.

The association of his own interests with whiteness mistakenly led Kelvin to believing he’d feel more accepted in white spaces online, and where he attended a predominantly white school in his adolescence, it became progressively easy to identify with pervasive whiteness. Kelvin’s earliest memories of the alt-right community online came from the gaming circles, which have become prolific for their lack of regulation regarding hate speech and intolerance. He recalls earlier memories of jumping on Call of Duty team plays, where he notes slurs were dropped consistently. For Kelvin, the desire to belong, and combat feelings of alienation he’d become sensitive to prevented him from speaking out against small injustices.

“The thing is, when you’re silent you start tolerating things”.

For some, it becomes difficult not to adhere to right-wing ideology particularly for the young with impressionable and malleable minds. Kelvin shared that despite the fact that he was able to detect and ignore the most extreme instances of hate speech as exemplified by Nazi sympathizers in these spaces, he still found himself absorbing the more widely anti-LGBTQ+ and white idealist rhetoric.

The frequent exposure to right-wing ideology that Kelvin faced left him vulnerable in another way, where gradually, he became desensitised to racism and white nationalism. A large misconception surrounding the alt-right pipeline is that the signs are clear as day for all to see. And whilst some are able to detect the subtleties of alt-right rhetoric, others fail to realise just how insidious certain talking points are.

“It begins with the ‘facts over feelings’ rhetoric or critiques of black culture. You might hear things like ‘What about black on black crime’ or images of ‘black single motherhood’.

Where these talking points might not constitute full-scale fascism on their own, they often act as the seed planted in your mind, bound to grow by themselves.

“At some point, you’ll be so deep in the ideology that you start justifying things you never would have before”.

By the time Kelvin realised a change in his mind, he found himself justifying rhetoric he would have previously deemed unacceptable, from anti-queer talking points to downplaying slavery. What’s more is that as an educated and articulate young man, he was able to remain fixated in his newfound views for a time, often utilizing the perfect forms of 'evidence’ to support his claims. But whilst his level of intelligence provided him with the tools to argue right-wing ideology, it failed to stop him becoming indoctrinated in the first place due to the emotional soothing and comfort derived from a community that continuously validates the individual.

“You’re never too smart to become indoctrinated”.

For Kelvin, the gradual consumption of alt-right ideology led to a dissolution of self, where he found himself increasingly reactionary to identity politics. First and foremost, he found himself rejecting what was perceived in alt-right spaces as being a ‘victim mentality’ adopted by black people in the event that they highlighted the reality of tackling racism. Whilst Kelvin’s aversion to identity politics was likely the result of a projected racial inferiority complex,he was for the moment unable to see past pervasive narratives.

“I used to think, I don’t know why black people keep victimizing themselves, (...) you too can be successful. I was blatantly ignoring racism because of those around me”.

Nevertheless, Kelvin failed to realise where alt-right ideology often uses minorities to weaponize their voices against those in their own communities, like puppets. In this case, Kelvin became the perfect ambassador for promoting ideas of an individualistic meritocracy, a world in which systemic racism was overlooked, and one's own injustices were the result of poor life choices. Where racism as a concept is known for being intrinsically violent and abusive, too many fail to see benevolent racism as it stares them in the face; the moment we decide that ‘race doesn’t matter’ on the path to success. Even the well-intentioned are capable of perpetuating these subtleties, and Kelvin even recalls memories from his earliest schooldays where teachers might parrot the same unknowingly harmful rhetoric.

Beyond race, Kelvin also faced hegemonic ideas of manhood that were all-too restricting.

“I started policing myself, the way I walked to the way I talked and dressed”.

He internalised the limited illustration of manhood often pervasive in alt-right spaces, which is often predicated upon exhibitions of violence, rigidness, and over-intellectualisation over expression. For Kelvin, these restrictions led him down a depressive path, where his identity as a Ghanaian man created tension with new and foreign ideals of masculinity.

Primarily, ideals of manhood vary depending on culture. For West Africans, the idea of expression in any form is hardly associated with femininity in contrast to masculinity, which opposes stereotypical associations of gender roles in the Western world.

But where certain aspects of Kelvin’s cultural identity might have liberated him, there were other aspects that helped to reinforce right-wing ideology. Those colonial influences on religion that have helped to uphold christianity over indigenous spirituality in West Africa over time, have become pervasive, even as a host to white supremacist and capitalistic notions of success.

“Unfortunately, Christianity is a religion that was given to us, and whenever things are given to you, they come with their own things [trade offs]”.

This tradeoff manifested itself as materialism, where this worship of success became yet another source of vulnerability to indoctrination. Kelvin shared how wealth and power are often associated with God's favour in Ghana, where your success can be indicative of an intrinsic deservedness. So then, upon being confronted with new ideology, it became easy for him to start viewing rich powerful white conservatives as being deserving of their position, whilst marginalised black communities are seen as lazy or spiritually deficient, hence the glorification of capitalism.

“We should assume that if God exists he shouldn’t have anything to do with material wealth (...) when there are verses in the bible about heaven being paved with roads of gold”.

As uncomfortable a truth as it might be, the prioritisation of religion for West Africans and his upbringing helped to contribute to his susceptibility to right-wing rhetoric particularly surrounding ideas of wealth accumulation. For Kelvin, there were moments when he found that this glorification of capitalism shaped his views on the role of government in addressing poverty and inequality. He began to adopt a warped perception of the economically marginalised, assuming their lack of motivation or favour from God explained rapidly growing rates in unemployment and homelessness, removing blame from the institutions perpetuating wealth inequality.

The individualistic mindset found at the centre of capitalist rhetoric found its way into Kelvin’s personal relationships too, where he began to perceive them as largely transactional.

“I began to think in terms of what can this person do for me?”

And yet, he still failed to realise where the intersection between capitalistic and racist ideology meant that despite all his efforts to escape the isolation that brought him to these spaces, he would always face alienation. He began to realise where he was being utilised as a tool for his blackness, rather than being viewed as an equal by those he had built a rapport with.

The comradery he’d assumed online failed to translate to his real life interactions. As a rugby player, he recalled playing a rugby match for one of the senior teams, and noticed a lot of the older players held politically right views. Primed for socialisation in right-wing spaces, Kelvin assumed his safety here, only to be met consistently with microaggressions like cliched notions of how ‘he was one of the good ones’, or that his capability in the sport was the result of some kind of genetic predisposition.

Having realised that he remained standing alone, Kelvin began thinking more about companionship. As adulthood lay around the corner, he began to wish for romantic connection and intended to start interacting more closely with the women around him. The level of self-reflection required for this journey would naturally lead him away from the incel rhetoric that plagues alt-right spaces wherein young men learn to externalise their own short-comings, oftentimes blaming women and wider society for their inability to find love. Unsure of where to start this reformation, Kelvin simply searched online for popular books about love, and came across Bell Hooks and one of her most popular works to date.

“At first I couldn’t be bothered to read it but still decided to get it (..) my jaw dropped. On my 20th birthday I had a mental breakdown where I realised everything I’d been living was a lie”.

Ironically, reading feminist literature helped to inspire a paradigm shift for Kelvin - a poetic beginning for a new journey.

Kelvin began to deconstruct the ways of thinking he’d become accustomed to, identifying the four causes for his susceptibility; Alienation, Gradual Desensitisation, Ignorance to Identity Politics and lastly, Materialism. When asked which of these he felt was the most insidious, he highlighted one cause assuredly.

“A lot of people would say alienation, I’d say materialism. With capitalism you can never win, like a pyramid scheme”.

In service of materialism, it becomes all-too-easy to lose oneself, opening them up to consumption in all its forms, even if this comes in the form of alt-right ideology.

As demonstrated by his journey, Kelvin has been able to show where minorities can be made susceptible to right-wing ideology, and continues to promote ways to re-engage with one's community, taking necessary steps for healing and reconnection.

For those in the position he found himself in, he emphasised learning how to express oneself in order to hold a certain level of security which protects you from indoctrination. Where creativity lies as a manifestation of a deep knowledge of self, his self-actualisation came with his exploration into visual art.

“I used to make comics and sell them to some kids”, he claims. “When I stopped doing art and reading it became easier to fall down the alt-right pipeline because I was taking in what everyone was saying rather than self-exploration. Now, my art plays a massive part”.

Steering away from an anti-expressionist climate, Kelvin also advises on finding communities that allow each of us to be ourselves. He remembers visiting art galleries in Birmingham, where simply being in an environment around other black creatives was incredibly inspiring.

As a necessary part of his journey, Kelvin also advises to ‘learn any feminist literature’, where you have to get comfortable realising you know less than you initially thought. In tandem with this, Kelvin suggests listening to leftist podcasts, realising that a perspective outside of one’s own deserves to be heard.

But most importantly, Kelvin highlights where one has to hold a deep desire to change.

“No one will hold you at knife point and put the ideas in your head.”

That is to say, no one can help you if you don’t help yourself.