Kill All Normies

Leading up to Donald Trump’s election to the Oval Office, online networks such as Reddit and 4chan emerged as crucibles for new forms of right-wing ideology. In this deep dive into the nether world of Internet society, media critic Angela Nagle tracks the connections between these Internet subcultures and the mainstream that powered Trump’s rise. Nagle catalogs the contributions of 4chan incels, Tumblr cry-bullies and alt-light celebrities to the culture wars that not only brought a Twitter troll to the White House but also caused a radical shift in the range of acceptable political discourse. Nagle’s book seems to suffer from a rushed production – some topics lack sufficient development, and sentences sometimes loop erratically. Still, the book makes important arguments about the ways liberal identity politics contributed to the rise of the online right, how trends in sexual behavior patterns may tie into white nationalism and why counterculturalism represents a dangerous ideal. getAbstract recommends Nagle’s often entertaining and sometimes horrifying book to readers looking for valuable insights into political power in modern America.