November 23, 2020, 12:21 pm
A member of the violent far-right group known as the “Proud Boys” got surprisingly candid while being interviewed by a 17-year-old at a Denver rally on Saturday. The Proud Boy called himself “kinda dumb” and admitted to failing to do research into many issues.
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“I don’t really do research, I just kinda live by the knee-jerk. I just kinda think and move, like a f—ing dog.”
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The young interviewer denies that the Proud Boys member is dumb, but he insists. He also admits to being 43 years old. “I’m just stuck in my ways.”
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“You literally, you’re not dumb, you’re not stupid, you’re not!” the 17-year-old says. “I dunno who’s telling you this.”
They continue to tell the Proud Boy that he doesn’t need to think so negatively of himself, and he further admits that “I don’t want this to be the way it is.”
The Proud Boys have been in the news periodically over recent years as they have joined together with explicitly white supremacist groups and known neo-Nazis to have pro-Trump rallies across the Pacific Northwest. They have a habit of provoking or starting fights with counter-protesters or anyone who stands up to them, often celebrating what has commonly come to be called toxic masculinity.
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Not long ago, the group suffered a schism when one of their national leaders came out as a full white supremacist and declared himself as “president” of the organization, which he wanted to rename the “Proud Goys.” This refers to the term “goyim,” sometimes used by Jewish individuals to refer to non-Jewish persons.
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He also evoked the white supremacist conspiracy theory of “white genocide,” or the fear that some sinister cabal is trying to wipe out all the white, non-Jewish people.
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“We will boldly address the issues of White Genocide, the failures of multiculturalism, and the right for White men and women to have their own countries where White interests are written into law and part of the body politic,” wrote Kyle Chapman.
For these reasons and more, anybody not already part of the far-right regards the Proud Boys with caution, at the very least. However, individuals like Denver street reporter Vixxy Vyohr hope that some of their members might just need a different perspective and could perhaps be de-radicalized.
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Unfortunately, the same interviewee also used an anti-gay slur and said he didn’t really believe racism exists.
“I don’t believe that there’s actually hundreds of people who hate Black people,” he said.
*First Published: November 23, 2020, 12:21 pm
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