Author Archives: Full Beard

Note on the Highland Park Shooting

While much has been made of the alleged Highland Park shooter’s attendance of Trump rallies, more alarming is his presence in online subcultures detached from reality. The shooter inhabited communities focused on conspiracy theories, the paranormal, and deep nihilism. These communities cut off their participants from consensus reality at large and serve to lower the inhibitions of their participants towards violence.

The 2022 VCDL Lobby Day Was a Bust

his year’s “Virginia Citizens Defense League Lobby Day”, held on January 17, 2022, in Richmond, Virginia, went much quieter than in recent years. Nonetheless, as with years prior, armed far-right groups appeared alongside friendly media. Front and center of the spectacle in the Virginia capital–once again–were members of the waning “Boogaloo movement”. 

White Rose Stickers and the Transnational Antivax Network Behind Them

An international network with roots in the UK is pushing a message against life-saving pandemic health measures. Stickers from “The White Rose” group appeared around the world, from Australia to the USA to South Africa to Japan. Beyond limited reports of this guerrilla “activism” in a few local UK papers, the English-language reporting on the group remains weak.