By August Adams

As the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests began to spring up across America, the names of groups such as the Proud Boys, the Boogaloo Bois and the Three Percenters have been brought into the national narrative. Even here in The Nevada Independent, journalists such as John L. Smith have aligned these groups with white supremacy and violence and have claimed they are “far right extremist” organizations. 

Searching for information on any of these groups on the internet will inundate you with a slew of sensational and misleading headlines and news stories — all of which sound strangely familiar: they echo the common cries of racism, sexism and fascism which is the playbook of the far left. It is now common for these “-isms” to be thrown at any person to the right of the extreme left. These broad claims are a type of political intimidation intended to silence differing voices and shut down civic complaints that run counter to the left’s agenda. 

The Three Percenters have a website that quickly squashes all racist claims against them. I urge you to go and read it. They believe the government must adhere to the Constitution and that a small segment of the population should, and historically has, protected us from governmental overreach. They are not instigators and claim that they will not “fire unless fired upon” and that violence must be a last resort. 

The Proud Boys are led by an Afro-Cuban named Enrique Tarrio. Tarrio has stated: “I denounce white supremacy. I denounce anti-Semitism. I denounce racism. I denounce fascism. I denounce communism and any other -ism that is prejudice towards people because of their race, religion, culture, tone of skin”. The group’s leadership has denounced racism over and over. They are Western chauvinists (not male, Mr. Smith) — which is another way of saying Western culturalists who are unapologetic for the contributions western society has made to the world. Some of their central tenets are small government, anti-racial guilt and even anti-racism.

The Boogaloo Bois are harder to pin down due to their disaggregated structure. The term Boogaloo was born out of an internet meme and eventually became a movement. Members of the group — there are exceptions — are generally against government overreach, believe the proper role of the U.S. government is outlined in the Constitution, and believe that an armed response to government or police overreach may at some point be necessary. (Many members of the Boogaloo movement have, for example, joined in on Black Lives Matter protests to stand against State-sanctioned violence.) Some of them are survivalists. Some add a clown nose or clown mask to their protest gear to echo iconoclastic “clown world” memes that signal the idea that multicultural liberal democracies are doomed to failure. 

Honest reporting on Boogaloo this year has touched on the fact that far-right and neo-Nazi groups have tried to co-opt the name and/or the movement amid anti-lockdown protests. Of course, with any of these kinds of groups you will be able to find cases of individuals or small subgroups going against the principles of the organization — and when they do, they are denounced by the groups’ leadership. It is clear that these organizations do not stand for inciting violence, racism or white supremacy. The common thread among the groups is an emphasis on liberty and protection of constitutional rights. This is what the far left is actually concerned about. The name-calling is intended to distract us. 

But turn on the TV and watch the riots and destruction going on in our cities. It is not the “extreme right” that is burning down or looting private businesses, blocking roads, harassing bystanders eating at restaurants, and demanding apologies and compliance with threats and acts of violence — it is people associated with (or taking advantage of the situation created by) the Black Lives Matter movement and Antifa. Yet the left is not concerned about this violence. The double standard is painfully obvious. They are concerned about resistance to their agenda and are not interested in anyone else standing up for their own rights. Just look up what happened to young American patriot Kyle Rittenhouse and his treatment in the media if you do not believe me.

If defending constitutional rights is extreme, we ought to note that all of our public servants in political office and the military swear an oath that states “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. Leftist politicians apparently may disregard their oath, but when American citizens abide by it, they are branded as extremists. It is not extreme to restrict our government to the Constitution — in fact, it is a defining American principle.

“It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”

—Thomas Paine

“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.”

—Samuel Adams

“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”

—Richard Henry Lee

“If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government.”

—Alexander Hamilton

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution”. 

—Abraham Lincoln

To the far left, these quotes are the language of far-right extremists. To everyone else, it’s called being an American. 

Indeed, the political spectrum has shifted so dramatically that most of the Founding Fathers are seen by the far left as villains. The political left has migrated so quickly and radically that the far left now supports: arson and looting as legitimate means of protest; suppressing some kinds of public speech; defunding the police; mandatory gun confiscation; and institutionalized racism (against white people). If “far-right extremist” means you believe in a constitutional republic where the government is restricted in power by the people and in which all citizens have basic inalienable rights, sign me up — right alongside the other extremists like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the original Three Percenters.

August Adams is a free thinker, skeptical citizen, political independent and a proud Nevada resident.