‘A taste of victory’: galvanized by US supreme court, far right turns to ‘legal vigilantism’ – By MacKenzie Ryan (The Guardian) / July 10, 2023
Experts point to a new, lawsuit-threatening brand of rightwing activism in the wake of recent supreme court decisions
After the supreme court’s recent strike down of affirmative action and anti-discrimination precedent, researchers who track the far-right movement are flagging a new model of conservative activism: legal vigilantism, an aggressive, lawsuit-threatening tactic used to intimidate universities and private institutions to comply with the new rulings.
Experts have called the decisions a “catalytic event” while far-right groups and influencers are celebrating them with bigoted rhetoric online and mobilizing member support to roll back decades of progressive policy. Despite what they view as significant victories, hardline Trumpist politicians that rely on mining grievances in their quest for power may face a bleak fundraising season.
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, said far-right groups see the supreme court’s affirmative action decision as the first step in ending discrimination against whites. He called it a gateway for “all kinds of vile and racially bigoted statements” with engagement that crosses over to the mainstream. He compared the exchange of far-right extremist ideologies and mainstream conservatism to the wax mixtures whirling together in a lava lamp. For example, the “alt-right”, anti-immigration website VDARE published an Ann Coulter column about legacy admissions and university donor preferences being less impactful than race quotas.
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