By Elle Reeve
Shortly after Trump was elected in 2016, we moved to Belgium. I was happy to be out of the country after the shocking and devastating defeat of Hillary Clinton. I wasn’t alone feeling sucker punched. In Europe, the news focused on NATO and Brexit. I avoided all but the top headlines coming from the US, and I was grateful to turn a blind eye. It wasn’t until I met up with my brother on his stopover during a river cruise that I felt I missed something important. He mentioned Charlottesville and I had barely a passing acquaintance with the events. But the way he wouldn’t let go of it gave me the impression, it was big. Still, I was in Europe and wanted no part of the US scene. I was free to ignore it, and I did.
Those of you who read this blog, know I’m an astrologer and all of us in that community, knew something big (and traumatic) was going to happen in 2020. It was looking like a time to be home and circle the wagons. Besides that, my first granddaughter was turning one. We had already missed so much. Home we came in late 2018. But recent events and especially the close (how is that possible????) election has me wanting to fill in the missing pieces of 2017/2018.
Black Pill by Elle Reeve is a book about how small groups in the darkest corners of the internet gained power and led to Charlottesville and beyond. As a journalist uniquely positioned to report on the rise of the alt-right, Reeve draws a line from Charlottesville to the siege on the Capitol. Along the way, she teaches us “normies” a lot of vocabulary, dispels common myths, and fills in the blanks of what was happening behind the scenes in parts of society that most of us are afraid to look at. Let’s start with the obvious—black pilled. To be black pilled is to believe that times are bad, the system is corrupt and beyond saving, and the end is coming. People who buy into this philosophy lack hope for a better tomorrow. Societal collapse is guaranteed. This fatalistic attitude prevails in many of these fringe groups who have recently had massive effects on society. A solid case can be made that the concept of black pilling has spilled into mainstream America. (More than once, I asked myself, have I been black pilled? I certainly have met young Americans who are expressing a lack of faith in being able to change anything about society. Have we all been black pilled to a certain extent?)
Elle Reeve starts her book talking about “incels” (a group of men who are involuntarily celibate). These guys banned together on the internet to banter about their frustrations over the unattainable beautiful “Staceys” and the lucky “Chads” who always get the girls. The larger frame here has to do with how the isolation of relatively small groups is overcome on internet platforms especially where there is little to no regulation. Places like 4chan and 8chan gave what became known as the alt-right, a home to gather together, multiply, and go unchecked. A new white supremacism grew on the internet to challenge the old traditional, racist power structure. It was fueled by internet savvy, disenfranchisement, what was termed “isms” (where people with autism spectrum were attracted), and radical political beliefs. Unite the Right was an attempt by the movement to leave the internet and be seen in real life. Charlottesville was shocking and violent. The way the book reads, however, if more people had been paying attention we probably wouldn’t have been so surprised. The tell-tale signs were there. Of course, even in the aftermath of Charlottesville many questions remain. Why do we bend over backward to allow Nazi and white power protests? (Would we allow armed black power protests?) Why did the police fail to protect the citizens of Charlottesville? Do we have one kind of policing for whites and one kind of policing for blacks?) Even the verdict in Sines v. Kessler seemed way off. Although the white defendants were found guilty of conspiracy and racially motivated harassment or violence, the judgement was reduced from $26 M to $300K.
(photos: Anthony Crider, Agnostic Preachers Kid, Redneck Revolt)
Mainstream America was appalled. The alt-right did take a hit in the court of public opinion. Initially, recruitment into the alt-right swelled after Charlottesville but as infamy and shame as well as real world consequences grew, their numbers and leadership suffered. They were kicked off social media, lost credit cards, jobs, and became pariahs.
In a bizarre twist, back in 2017, a 4chan user claimed to know details about Hillary Clinton’s imminent arrest and the countries that would extradite her should she flee the US. This unknown individual claimed to have a top government clearance called Q. This was the start of QAnon. QAnon moved to 8chan and grew into even more peculiar conspiracy theories attracting greater numbers than the alt-right and especially notable—many women.
Echoes of the internet and Charlottesville connections played out in violent episodes across the globe in the following years. In Toronto, in April 2018, Alex Minassian, an incel, drove a van into a crowd killing 11 and wounding 15. The following spring saw 51 killed in attacks on mosques in Christchurch, NZ. The killer posted his manifesto on 8chan and called on others to act to destabilize and radicalize society. Poway, CA became the scene of another death and 3 injured just a month later. The killer cited the Christchurch shooter as his inspiration. The one I remember the most happened in August 2019. A 21-year-old white man went into a Walmart and killed 23. He also cited the Christchurch shootings as well as the far-right, Great Replacement conspiracy theory. He posted his ideas on 8chan.
Elle Reeve spent most of 2020 covering Seattle and Portland during the right-wing backlash to the Black Lives Matter Movement. This is where the reader gets an introduction to the Proud Boys. She describes them as a group without a political agenda. “They had a vibe and they had a look.” In the northwest, they acted as a security force for conservative groups, but they were most known for street fighting. The Proud Boys attracted young, disenfranchised men who wanted to fight.
On January 6th, 2021, Reeve was at the Capitol watching events unfold. Since she had followed so many of these groups, she was not surprised at what happened.
(Jan. 6th violent insurrection at the Capitol, showing Oath Keepers)
The book did fill in some of the blanks for me. All are now part of history. Reeve makes a case for how personal choice can be exercised in the making of history. We are still standing on a precipice. Trying to decide who we are as a nation. The consequences couldn’t be higher. Lives are at stake. Holding a mirror to ourselves is not easy but how can we go forward without confronting our past? Black Pill is a cautionary tale about how small, radical groups can use technology to mobilize and influence American life. It is also a call to understand the deeper psychological forces at work which produce these movements in order to combat their negative effects on society. Highly recommended!
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