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We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism
A gripping investigation into the nation’s most notorious far-right group, revealing how they created a new blueprint for extremism and turned American politics into a blood sport
After the 2016 election, Americans witnessed a frightening the sudden rise of a host of new extremist groups across the country. Emboldened by a new president, they flooded political rallies and built fervent online presences, expanding rapidly until they were a regular sight at everyday demonstrations. Amid the chaos, one group emerged as a leader among the others, with matching outfits, bizarre rituals, and a reputation for the Proud Boys.
From leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell, We Are Proud Boys is the definitive narrative exploration of this notorious street gang and all the far-right movements they’re connected to. Through groundbreaking new reporting, Campbell delivers the untold story of a gang of blundering, punch-happy goons who grew to become the centerpiece of American extremism and positioned themselves as the unofficial enforcement arm of the GOP. Beginning with their founding by Gavin McInnes, the media personality best known for co-founding VICE , Campbell takes us deep into the Proud Boys, laying bare their origins and their rise to prominence. As he exposes the group's noxious culture and strange rituals, he reveals how the ultimate project of the Proud Boys–to desensitize Americans to political violence–has succeeded entirely, culminating with Republicans calling the January 6 insurrection "legitimate political discourse." The bizarre, frightening story of the Proud Boys reveals the playbook they have created for domestic extremism, giving us the necessary insight to push back against radicalism in America before it swallows our democracy whole.
After the 2016 election, Americans witnessed a frightening the sudden rise of a host of new extremist groups across the country. Emboldened by a new president, they flooded political rallies and built fervent online presences, expanding rapidly until they were a regular sight at everyday demonstrations. Amid the chaos, one group emerged as a leader among the others, with matching outfits, bizarre rituals, and a reputation for the Proud Boys.
From leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell, We Are Proud Boys is the definitive narrative exploration of this notorious street gang and all the far-right movements they’re connected to. Through groundbreaking new reporting, Campbell delivers the untold story of a gang of blundering, punch-happy goons who grew to become the centerpiece of American extremism and positioned themselves as the unofficial enforcement arm of the GOP. Beginning with their founding by Gavin McInnes, the media personality best known for co-founding VICE , Campbell takes us deep into the Proud Boys, laying bare their origins and their rise to prominence. As he exposes the group's noxious culture and strange rituals, he reveals how the ultimate project of the Proud Boys–to desensitize Americans to political violence–has succeeded entirely, culminating with Republicans calling the January 6 insurrection "legitimate political discourse." The bizarre, frightening story of the Proud Boys reveals the playbook they have created for domestic extremism, giving us the necessary insight to push back against radicalism in America before it swallows our democracy whole.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published September 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
June 23, 2022
Let’s get one thing out of the way before we get started unpacking this book. Andy Campbell is not an unbiased reporter, giving “just the facts”. This is evident from the beginning, when Campbell repeatedly refers to the Proud Boys as “goons” and other rather elementary names. Campbell is an editor for The Huffington Post, which is not exactly known for it’s unbiased reporting in the first place, so you should know going in that there may be some things that aren’t exactly given to you straight. The thing is, this doesn’t necessarily make him wrong. The Proud Boys are a big group of “goons”. They are, for the most part, violent racists, who want to literally destroy anyone and anything they disagree with politically. These guys are a street gang, plain and simple. They’re the same as the Bloods and the Crips. The difference is that these “goons” have somehow convinced everyday people that they’re the good guys, fighting for freedom wherever there’s trouble, like G.I. Joe. Campbell does a great job explaining the history of the Proud Boys and the awful humans who lead them like Gavin McInnes and Enrique Tarrio. Campbell may not give “just” the facts and let’s his opinions shine through regularly, but he does provide a lot of factual information. There’s enough verifiable evidence here to understand that the Proud Boys are a danger to the American way of life, not it’s saviors. It may be Andy Campbell’s opinion that the Proud Boys are a bunch of dimwitted, drunken buffoons…but he’s not wrong and he backs it up within these pages.
In We Are Proud Boys, Andy Campbell begins with the origins of the Proud Boys hate group and follows them up through the January 6, 2021 insurrection and the immediate fallout. The book spends a lot of time explaining how Donald Trump and his group of sycophants in the GOP assisted in the Proud Boys’ rise and rapid growth over the past several years. From Trump’s “Stand back, Stand by” comment during the 2016 Presidential debates through his encouragement to violently take over the United States government, it’s all here. What is also here is a lot of evidence that the Proud Boys and other right wing extremist groups have gained much popularity with the right-wing populace in the U.S. and given rise to the notion that it’s ok to hurt people as long as you’re hurting people with whom you disagree politically…or if you simply don’t like them.
So, is We Are Proud Boys a good book? It’s well-written and informative and honestly, it’s interesting as hell to read about how a bigoted, semi-intelligent immigrant could start an entire movement based on drinking, hatred and violence. Yet, it’s also terrifying that this many people think the way these people do and more so that it’s only going to get worse, especially if Trump manages to con his way into a second term in the future. I only wish Andy Campbell would have kept his own politics out of things a little more. Not that I necessarily disagree with them, but a book like this is bound to incite rebuttals from the players mentioned and those that support them. They aren’t going to care about the facts presented, they’ll focus on Campbell’s own leanings coming through in these pages and spin it as a hit piece by a disgruntled Leftie. I also wish Campbell would have talked a little about violent left-wing groups just to preemptively counter those counterarguments. The book does make it sound like left-wingers are almost always peaceful, which is not the case either. In other words, it’s worth mentioning that there are two sides to extremism. Still, it’s an important book, whether your politics lean left or right. It’s important that people understand what this group and those like them really are and how their actions are not appropriate in any society. Maybe if more people knew what was really going on, they wouldn’t be so quick to support them. Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.
In We Are Proud Boys, Andy Campbell begins with the origins of the Proud Boys hate group and follows them up through the January 6, 2021 insurrection and the immediate fallout. The book spends a lot of time explaining how Donald Trump and his group of sycophants in the GOP assisted in the Proud Boys’ rise and rapid growth over the past several years. From Trump’s “Stand back, Stand by” comment during the 2016 Presidential debates through his encouragement to violently take over the United States government, it’s all here. What is also here is a lot of evidence that the Proud Boys and other right wing extremist groups have gained much popularity with the right-wing populace in the U.S. and given rise to the notion that it’s ok to hurt people as long as you’re hurting people with whom you disagree politically…or if you simply don’t like them.
So, is We Are Proud Boys a good book? It’s well-written and informative and honestly, it’s interesting as hell to read about how a bigoted, semi-intelligent immigrant could start an entire movement based on drinking, hatred and violence. Yet, it’s also terrifying that this many people think the way these people do and more so that it’s only going to get worse, especially if Trump manages to con his way into a second term in the future. I only wish Andy Campbell would have kept his own politics out of things a little more. Not that I necessarily disagree with them, but a book like this is bound to incite rebuttals from the players mentioned and those that support them. They aren’t going to care about the facts presented, they’ll focus on Campbell’s own leanings coming through in these pages and spin it as a hit piece by a disgruntled Leftie. I also wish Campbell would have talked a little about violent left-wing groups just to preemptively counter those counterarguments. The book does make it sound like left-wingers are almost always peaceful, which is not the case either. In other words, it’s worth mentioning that there are two sides to extremism. Still, it’s an important book, whether your politics lean left or right. It’s important that people understand what this group and those like them really are and how their actions are not appropriate in any society. Maybe if more people knew what was really going on, they wouldn’t be so quick to support them. Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.
November 26, 2022
This book is garbage. I’m not entirely clear how I actually managed to finish it.
I came into the book knowing very little about the Proud Boys. I was dimly aware of the fact that they were a group of Trump sycophants who liked to get into fights. I hoped to learn about how these far-right groups form and grow. This is not that book, not in the slightest.
What I got instead was eight hours of the author editorializing and making damn sure that readers know how much he hates the Proud Boys. He plays pretty fast and loose with facts, never missing an opportunity to slant the reporting to further his bias. There were a few cases where I looked at primary sources he referenced. Each time, I would find that the primary sources did not quite paint the picture he presented. He exaggerates and strategically leaves out details, all to serve his intended message.
The most infuriating part of the book is how he presents Antifa as this group of people who are tirelessly working to save the rest of us from the Proud Boys. Any violence committed by Antifa is perfectly justifiable. When Antifa shows up to a Proud Boy rally to fight, it’s the Proud Boys who are at fault. If the Proud Boys show up to an Antifa rally, then it’s the Proud Boys who are at fault. No matter what happens, just remember: Proud Boys = Bad, Antifa = Good. Except Antifa isn’t really a thing, expect it is, unless it isn’t. The doublespeak was exhausting.
One last thing I found interesting, he could never quite decide if the Proud Boys were evil geniuses or bumbling idiots. I see this a lot when people speak in a highly biased way about a group of people. Mr Campbell clearly hates the Proud Boys. So he never misses an opportunity to denigrate them. He also has a vested interest in presenting them as an existential threat to democracy, which doesn't work if they're just a bunch of drunken idiots. Personally, over the course of the book I became progressively less worried about the Proud Boys. They come off as pretty incompetent.
I came into the book knowing very little about the Proud Boys. I was dimly aware of the fact that they were a group of Trump sycophants who liked to get into fights. I hoped to learn about how these far-right groups form and grow. This is not that book, not in the slightest.
What I got instead was eight hours of the author editorializing and making damn sure that readers know how much he hates the Proud Boys. He plays pretty fast and loose with facts, never missing an opportunity to slant the reporting to further his bias. There were a few cases where I looked at primary sources he referenced. Each time, I would find that the primary sources did not quite paint the picture he presented. He exaggerates and strategically leaves out details, all to serve his intended message.
The most infuriating part of the book is how he presents Antifa as this group of people who are tirelessly working to save the rest of us from the Proud Boys. Any violence committed by Antifa is perfectly justifiable. When Antifa shows up to a Proud Boy rally to fight, it’s the Proud Boys who are at fault. If the Proud Boys show up to an Antifa rally, then it’s the Proud Boys who are at fault. No matter what happens, just remember: Proud Boys = Bad, Antifa = Good. Except Antifa isn’t really a thing, expect it is, unless it isn’t. The doublespeak was exhausting.
One last thing I found interesting, he could never quite decide if the Proud Boys were evil geniuses or bumbling idiots. I see this a lot when people speak in a highly biased way about a group of people. Mr Campbell clearly hates the Proud Boys. So he never misses an opportunity to denigrate them. He also has a vested interest in presenting them as an existential threat to democracy, which doesn't work if they're just a bunch of drunken idiots. Personally, over the course of the book I became progressively less worried about the Proud Boys. They come off as pretty incompetent.
May 30, 2022
In We Are Proud Boys by Andy Cambel gives The best description of the groups incarnation in the bloody path to popularity. From Charlottesville to the insurrection on January 6 the author gives very detailed inside to the group. I appreciated him reporting the fax and not his opinion. The proud boys are the Republicans answer to antifa and in my opinion both groups are ridiculous. They have the exact same tactics just differing opinions. I think The proud boys are just grown men frightened of anything different from them. I think the author is right when he says government institutions cannot change fast enough to fit the crime they commit. Just because we haven’t heard from them doesn’t mean they’re not still around as the last chapter in the book explains. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as frightening as it was. I was given this book by Natali and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any errors I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own. #NETGALLY, #Andy Campbell
December 23, 2024
Very interesting, well documented, and very, very scary. It shows how the gang was normalizing violence and how the GOP legitimized them. He also mentions efforts to thwart them, but those are not strong enough as of yet, which is worrisome. Highly-qualified recommend
January 13, 2023
Can't fault the research -- this is everything you wanted to know about the Proud Boys, and then some. Unlike many reviewers here I wasn't put off by Campbell's lack of "objectivity": he makes the point, and I agree with him, that the evidence clearly establishes the PBs as a violent, racist, misogynistic gang, so why mince words? To use temperate language is in a way to both-sides right and left, when the reality in this country is that almost all political violence is committed by members of the right wing.
Yet I do think there's a case to be made for somewhat temperate language. I came into this book with a pretty good idea of who the PBs are and what makes them awful, but if I were starting from an uninformed position I might feel I was being told what to think -- this, even though Campbell has his factual ducks all in a row.
I could have wished for more context about how the PBs relate to the QAnon cult and to some of the other specifically masculinist RWNJ organizations, like the Three Percenters. The Oath Keepers get some play; more would have been welcome to me. But informationally We Are Proud Boys is a solid piece of work, with loads of those detailed endnotes that are a complete PITA to edit but that are so reassuring to the picky reader. Campbell's prose -- it's clunky, at best, aside from what objections one may or may not have to his explicit expressions of opinion -- gets in his way. I think that won't matter to most people, since one doesn't usually read this kind of book for the quality of the prose. But if you are the kind of reader [raises hand] who can't help but attend to sentence structure & word usage, every instance of ineptness in that quarter is a niggling attention-interruptor. For comparison purposes see Elie Mystal, in the Terrific Prose That Is Sharp Invective department, and Luke Mogelson, in the Quietly Devastating Indictment department. Or, in the Yes I Can Make You Feel Sympathy for People You Were Sure You Loathed department, Azadeh Moaveni (Guest House for Young Widows).
Yet I do think there's a case to be made for somewhat temperate language. I came into this book with a pretty good idea of who the PBs are and what makes them awful, but if I were starting from an uninformed position I might feel I was being told what to think -- this, even though Campbell has his factual ducks all in a row.
I could have wished for more context about how the PBs relate to the QAnon cult and to some of the other specifically masculinist RWNJ organizations, like the Three Percenters. The Oath Keepers get some play; more would have been welcome to me. But informationally We Are Proud Boys is a solid piece of work, with loads of those detailed endnotes that are a complete PITA to edit but that are so reassuring to the picky reader. Campbell's prose -- it's clunky, at best, aside from what objections one may or may not have to his explicit expressions of opinion -- gets in his way. I think that won't matter to most people, since one doesn't usually read this kind of book for the quality of the prose. But if you are the kind of reader [raises hand] who can't help but attend to sentence structure & word usage, every instance of ineptness in that quarter is a niggling attention-interruptor. For comparison purposes see Elie Mystal, in the Terrific Prose That Is Sharp Invective department, and Luke Mogelson, in the Quietly Devastating Indictment department. Or, in the Yes I Can Make You Feel Sympathy for People You Were Sure You Loathed department, Azadeh Moaveni (Guest House for Young Widows).
October 11, 2022
I really wanted to read this book. I really wanted to learn more about the direction my country is going in. Who are these Proud Boys? What do they stand for other than Donald Trump? How did they get to be so popular when, so little is said about their ideology on mainstream media? I began reading and did not progress past page 25 when I had a literal pain in my neck from stress and anger. I had to put this down. I could not read any more about what a racist, homophobe, misogynist Gavin McInnes is.
Yes, the writing is biased even though it is, (sadly) accurate and probably thorough from one point of view. The author makes it pretty clear in the first 25 pages that there is no defense for Gavin McInnes' statements, so it's no surprise that he doesn't try to offer any. The reason I just couldn't read any more was because of the portrayal of McInnes' show, the statements he made on the show, and the statements made in his early career publishing a free magazine called Vice. He is just an abhorrent, loathsome individual who wants to see more violence in public. "I think there's not enough violence in today's day and age." It occurred to me that McInnes is the cliched stereotyped character in The Purge movies who wants to kill/rape/maim every person who isn't him. Or at least I assume this is true since I've never watched any of those movies. How on earth can anyone find enjoyment watching someone like this spit out his venom against people? Are there truly that many angry, damaged souls walking around who find sustenance from this kind of rhetoric? I simply can't understand it.
I live by the moto "you are what you feed." And I don't want to feed anger and rage in my soul, I'm happiest when I can be mostly optimistic about people. And this book would kill any optimism I may have left.
Yes, the writing is biased even though it is, (sadly) accurate and probably thorough from one point of view. The author makes it pretty clear in the first 25 pages that there is no defense for Gavin McInnes' statements, so it's no surprise that he doesn't try to offer any. The reason I just couldn't read any more was because of the portrayal of McInnes' show, the statements he made on the show, and the statements made in his early career publishing a free magazine called Vice. He is just an abhorrent, loathsome individual who wants to see more violence in public. "I think there's not enough violence in today's day and age." It occurred to me that McInnes is the cliched stereotyped character in The Purge movies who wants to kill/rape/maim every person who isn't him. Or at least I assume this is true since I've never watched any of those movies. How on earth can anyone find enjoyment watching someone like this spit out his venom against people? Are there truly that many angry, damaged souls walking around who find sustenance from this kind of rhetoric? I simply can't understand it.
I live by the moto "you are what you feed." And I don't want to feed anger and rage in my soul, I'm happiest when I can be mostly optimistic about people. And this book would kill any optimism I may have left.
December 9, 2022
I didn’t know much about the Proud Boys before reading this book, and now I do. I suppose that is one of the reasons I pick up books like this, so mission accomplished there. But I didn’t really enjoy the execution of this book, for two main reasons.
First, there are a LOT of opinions in here. I totally agree with what Campbell thinks about the Proud Boys - don’t get me wrong - but it would be nice to have a modicum of journalistic detachment here. It felt like there were no objective statements in the book and that every paragraph was an opportunity for the author to mention that he hates the Proud Boys. Me too, man, but the facts speak for themselves here! There’s no need to be constantly inserting your opinion.
Second, it felt a bit meandering and structureless. Each chapter was on a specific topic - like how the Proud Boys get funding, the role of the media, explaining the Antifa bogeyman that they’ve created - but I wish there was more of a story connecting it all. It more felt like the author was saying, “Oh, and that reminds me, now I need to tell you about the role of the Republican Party in tacitly endorsing the Proud Boys!!”
So if you want to learn about this terrifying but somehow buffoonish group, this is probably the most comprehensive book on them so far, despite its narrative flaws. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!
First, there are a LOT of opinions in here. I totally agree with what Campbell thinks about the Proud Boys - don’t get me wrong - but it would be nice to have a modicum of journalistic detachment here. It felt like there were no objective statements in the book and that every paragraph was an opportunity for the author to mention that he hates the Proud Boys. Me too, man, but the facts speak for themselves here! There’s no need to be constantly inserting your opinion.
Second, it felt a bit meandering and structureless. Each chapter was on a specific topic - like how the Proud Boys get funding, the role of the media, explaining the Antifa bogeyman that they’ve created - but I wish there was more of a story connecting it all. It more felt like the author was saying, “Oh, and that reminds me, now I need to tell you about the role of the Republican Party in tacitly endorsing the Proud Boys!!”
So if you want to learn about this terrifying but somehow buffoonish group, this is probably the most comprehensive book on them so far, despite its narrative flaws. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!
November 4, 2022
Brilliantly biased, I am impressed!
January 3, 2025
[ audio ]
As pathetic as these individuals are, it would be incredibly dangerous to not learn about these militias and take their threats to people and democracy seriously.
As pathetic as these individuals are, it would be incredibly dangerous to not learn about these militias and take their threats to people and democracy seriously.
November 1, 2024
The Proud Boys are a group of white supremacists who call themselves a drinking club defending America against left-wing violence. At every point, they create deniability between themselves and racism, violence, and the events they incite. This allows them to be seen as more reasonable than other extremist groups like the KKK in the media. This book explains the structure of the Proud Boys and how antifascist activists are working to combat them. Since its founding in 2016, members of the group have been escalating their size and violence, leading to the siege of the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. The Proud Boys played a huge part in planning the event, and the first person inside was a self-proclaimed Proud Boy, despite the higher-ups wanting to distance themselves from it, as always. They have labeled everyone on the left as “Antifa,” and a perpetrator of violence, even though the Proud Boys are an actual organized group who kill innocent people and are designated as a domestic terrorism threat by the FBI like the Proud Boys are. One controversial thing about the book is its wording pertaining to the Proud Boys themselves. But I really appreciated that Andy Campbell did not try to mediate with their views, because it is unacceptable to compare the opinions of groups of people who want human rights and extremists who say the other group shouldn't exist. I would recommend this book to any staunch supporter of antifascism, or the loved one of someone in danger of right-wing extremist groups.
December 31, 2022
An essential book for our time, it explains how the often buffoonish, rarely effective Proud Boys hate group nevertheless represents an existential threat in our society. It's not so much their individual marches and attacks, though those are bad enough, as the way they have proven successful at using modern technology to fund their antics and to repeatedly sanitize their image so that the authorities are left floundering to counter what they are able to project as "just a bunch of guys who like to get together and drink beer." Campbell ably tears down this self-perpetuating illusion, never more convincingly than in the chapter "The Gang Tries Civil War" (love the Always Sunny reference, btw), which details all the ways that the Proud Boys not only participated in the deadly January 6 insurrection, but were instrumental in planning it, provoking it, and literally guiding otherwise normal-ish protestors into an orgy of violence.
Along the way, what stands out is the bravery of the researchers, journalists, and counterprotestors who always show up to study, document, expose, and push back against the Proud Boys' vile waves of hate. Sadly, in contrast to those efforts, Campbell documents the many ways in which our law enforcement not only fails us - neglecting to take the obvious threat of the Proud Boys seriously - but often sides with them, standing with their backs to the violent racists and with their weapons trained on, and firing upon, the actual patriotic Americans putting their bodies on the line for justice, democracy, and love. (Many police officers are documented members of the Proud Boys and other far-right extremist organizations.) And of course the Republican Party has fallen in completely with the Proud Boys, aiding in the sanitization of their image as "good patriotic men" while also acknowledging their propensity for extreme violence by literally hiring them as security for events, like 1960s concert promoters relying on the Hells Angels as muscle.
I scrawled many notes as I was reading this book, and found myself worrying about the influence of the Proud Boys and similar groups in the blood-red, rural, Trump-loving area of central New York where I live. Just two days ago the local far-right crank (who also happens to be the chair of the county Republican Party and the chairman of one of our town boards) stood up at a county legislature meeting to decry Governor Kathy Hochul's directive for each county to develop a plan for dealing with domestic terrorism. In the mind of this wild-eyed paranoiac, such a plan is just another way for power-hungry state officials to stick it to the reliably-conservative little guy while giving the shadowy forces of local antifa a tool to finger hapless gents like him. This is why we need plans to deal with domestic terrorism, actually. "Antifa" isn't waiting in the wings to ruin Republican gun owners' lives, but a quick Internet search revealed that there are active Proud Boys chapters in Rochester and Syracuse, each just a little over an hour away. Extremist sentiment is never far from any of us, and it is a true threat.
Of the many questions this book leaves me with, three stand out as paramount: how can we confront the very real threat of domestic terrorism in a way that preserves civil liberties and inspires at least a modicum of buy-in from the likes of our county GOP chief, the type of person who might, ostensibly, be privy to the kinds of conversations that should raise alarms? How do we disrupt the path to radicalization that seems to snare so many disaffected young men? And how do we deal with a media environment that seems content to normalize extremism, and both accept and promulgate these groups self-serving disinformation campaigns? I will be carrying these questions with me into 2023, and I thank Andy Campbell for provoking them.
Along the way, what stands out is the bravery of the researchers, journalists, and counterprotestors who always show up to study, document, expose, and push back against the Proud Boys' vile waves of hate. Sadly, in contrast to those efforts, Campbell documents the many ways in which our law enforcement not only fails us - neglecting to take the obvious threat of the Proud Boys seriously - but often sides with them, standing with their backs to the violent racists and with their weapons trained on, and firing upon, the actual patriotic Americans putting their bodies on the line for justice, democracy, and love. (Many police officers are documented members of the Proud Boys and other far-right extremist organizations.) And of course the Republican Party has fallen in completely with the Proud Boys, aiding in the sanitization of their image as "good patriotic men" while also acknowledging their propensity for extreme violence by literally hiring them as security for events, like 1960s concert promoters relying on the Hells Angels as muscle.
I scrawled many notes as I was reading this book, and found myself worrying about the influence of the Proud Boys and similar groups in the blood-red, rural, Trump-loving area of central New York where I live. Just two days ago the local far-right crank (who also happens to be the chair of the county Republican Party and the chairman of one of our town boards) stood up at a county legislature meeting to decry Governor Kathy Hochul's directive for each county to develop a plan for dealing with domestic terrorism. In the mind of this wild-eyed paranoiac, such a plan is just another way for power-hungry state officials to stick it to the reliably-conservative little guy while giving the shadowy forces of local antifa a tool to finger hapless gents like him. This is why we need plans to deal with domestic terrorism, actually. "Antifa" isn't waiting in the wings to ruin Republican gun owners' lives, but a quick Internet search revealed that there are active Proud Boys chapters in Rochester and Syracuse, each just a little over an hour away. Extremist sentiment is never far from any of us, and it is a true threat.
Of the many questions this book leaves me with, three stand out as paramount: how can we confront the very real threat of domestic terrorism in a way that preserves civil liberties and inspires at least a modicum of buy-in from the likes of our county GOP chief, the type of person who might, ostensibly, be privy to the kinds of conversations that should raise alarms? How do we disrupt the path to radicalization that seems to snare so many disaffected young men? And how do we deal with a media environment that seems content to normalize extremism, and both accept and promulgate these groups self-serving disinformation campaigns? I will be carrying these questions with me into 2023, and I thank Andy Campbell for provoking them.
November 30, 2023
This one read like Cullen's Columbine. I lost 5lbs, couldn't sleep well, and am now wanting to read the book on Antifa - The Antifascist Handbook, by Mark Bray, to get the other side of the story. But I sense it will be the same - just from another perspective. I was unable to watch much of the Jan 6 commission on TV, but I remember when they got to the extremist groups. I was unable to comprehend what I was hearing and wondered HOW did they come into mainline society? How did I miss this?
Turns out, I was going through my cancer in late 2017/2018 and was focused on staying alive instead of watching what was happening on the pacific coast. I saw bits and pieces of Portland and Seattle, I knew about Patriot Prayer, but this book seemed to fill in the gaps I missed during that time my brain was down.
I would recommend anyone to read this to gain a better understanding of how PB came about and got into mainstream media.
Sadly, these men don't give a crap about anything but fighting. It was interesting to see how the media had spun them (while my brain was out). The book showed me they are just another loose street gang that drinks, does cocaine, and get into fights. It showed me that trying to talk to them is stupid because they just want to fight. It's the modern version of the Vikings, the Fight Club or ISIS with political hatred in the mix. No one is autistic here or mentally ill. They all seem to be pulled into the current of "true hatred", which gives them a thrill. The fact that embracing true hatred can turn people so quickly into monsters, is terrifying. Many in the GOP still seem to enable their action, which will boomerang someday because hatred always ends in suicide. Like agreeing with the anorexic that they are obese at 92lbs, so as not to hurt their feelings. Un-huh. "How's that working for you?"
I'm so glad I read this book.
Turns out, I was going through my cancer in late 2017/2018 and was focused on staying alive instead of watching what was happening on the pacific coast. I saw bits and pieces of Portland and Seattle, I knew about Patriot Prayer, but this book seemed to fill in the gaps I missed during that time my brain was down.
I would recommend anyone to read this to gain a better understanding of how PB came about and got into mainstream media.
Sadly, these men don't give a crap about anything but fighting. It was interesting to see how the media had spun them (while my brain was out). The book showed me they are just another loose street gang that drinks, does cocaine, and get into fights. It showed me that trying to talk to them is stupid because they just want to fight. It's the modern version of the Vikings, the Fight Club or ISIS with political hatred in the mix. No one is autistic here or mentally ill. They all seem to be pulled into the current of "true hatred", which gives them a thrill. The fact that embracing true hatred can turn people so quickly into monsters, is terrifying. Many in the GOP still seem to enable their action, which will boomerang someday because hatred always ends in suicide. Like agreeing with the anorexic that they are obese at 92lbs, so as not to hurt their feelings. Un-huh. "How's that working for you?"
I'm so glad I read this book.
October 4, 2022
WOW! I had heard of the Proud Boys, who hasn't. But I didn't know how they formed or who led them. I knew a little bit about how they were Trump lovers.
The author does a deep dive into how the Proud Boys gang was introduced, who started it, the main players, the uniform, and the degrees of Proud Boys.
I also learned about Anitfa and what that looked like.
I was surprised that the Proud BOys have gotten away with so much violence and hate and I wondered if it was just a continuation of the HYPER masculinity that is now plaguing the United States.
I know that the Proud Boys go one step further in that they have racism, violence, and hatred.
I also wonder what is their end goal, what would their perfect United States look like? Yet, do I even want to know.
This book should be required reading for anyone interesting in White Nationalism, Racism, and Gangs.
Thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
The author does a deep dive into how the Proud Boys gang was introduced, who started it, the main players, the uniform, and the degrees of Proud Boys.
I also learned about Anitfa and what that looked like.
I was surprised that the Proud BOys have gotten away with so much violence and hate and I wondered if it was just a continuation of the HYPER masculinity that is now plaguing the United States.
I know that the Proud Boys go one step further in that they have racism, violence, and hatred.
I also wonder what is their end goal, what would their perfect United States look like? Yet, do I even want to know.
This book should be required reading for anyone interesting in White Nationalism, Racism, and Gangs.
Thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
June 1, 2023
Well that was certainly an eye opener! If you want to know more about the street gang, Proud Boys, who have showed up in Central AB a time or two, this is the read for you! They call themselves 'western chauvinists; I call them beer swilling racists addicted to violence who somehow managed a call to action from non less than the Donald! Need I say more? When I read about this kind of stuff I always have to shake my head and ask myself what is wrong with people.
There's a Canadian connection; British born Proud Boys founder, Gavin McInnes, quoted for declaring there's 'not enough violence in today's day and age' was raised in Montreal. Oddly, McInnes publicly resigned from the Proud Boys in late 2018, as soon as the FBI categorized it as an extremist group with ties to white nationalists which poses a threat to national security. Canada followed suit immediately after the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. After faking his own arrest, McInnes's followers even had to admit he was nothing more than an attention seeking bully. 3.5/5*
There's a Canadian connection; British born Proud Boys founder, Gavin McInnes, quoted for declaring there's 'not enough violence in today's day and age' was raised in Montreal. Oddly, McInnes publicly resigned from the Proud Boys in late 2018, as soon as the FBI categorized it as an extremist group with ties to white nationalists which poses a threat to national security. Canada followed suit immediately after the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. After faking his own arrest, McInnes's followers even had to admit he was nothing more than an attention seeking bully. 3.5/5*
January 8, 2023
Absolutely the most biased piece of garbage I have ever read. I had hoped to learn something about this group. After reading this I wouldn’t believe a single word printed within. Do yourself a favor and chose another book, and by all means another author.
December 8, 2022
Kudos to the author for being able to write this book. Good information, just be in the right headspace when you read it.
Read
January 28, 2023This just solidifies my disgust with the Proud Boys. Well researched and completely appalling.
February 5, 2023
3.5 for me. Really enjoy Andy Campbell's writing and prying open the can on the Proud Boys' workings, leadership, successes and failures is a great journalistic objective that he carries off really well.
January 15, 2024
A truly terrifying deep dive into alt fight extremism.
September 11, 2023
If you want to see what happens when toxic white masculinity is taken to the extreme, read this.
February 8, 2023
We Are Proud Boys
Author: Andy Campbell
Publisher: Hachette Books
Publishing Date: 2022
Pgs: 311
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
A gripping investigation into the nation’s most notorious far-right group, revealing how they created a new blueprint for extremism and turned American politics into a blood sport
After the 2016 election, Americans witnessed a frightening trend: the sudden rise of a host of new extremist groups across the country. Emboldened by a new president, they flooded political rallies and built fervent online presences, expanding rapidly until they were a regular sight at everyday demonstrations. Amid the chaos, one group emerged as a leader among the others, with matching outfits, bizarre rituals, and a reputation for violence: the Proud Boys.
From leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell, We Are Proud Boys is the definitive narrative exploration of this notorious street gang and all the far-right movements they’re connected to. Through groundbreaking new reporting, Campbell delivers the untold story of a gang of blundering, punch-happy goons who grew to become the centerpiece of American extremism and positioned themselves as the unofficial enforcement arm of the GOP. Beginning with their founding by Gavin McInnes, the media personality best known for co-founding VICE, Campbell takes us deep into the Proud Boys, laying bare their origins and their rise to prominence. As he exposes the group's noxious culture and strange rituals, he reveals how the ultimate project of the Proud Boys–to desensitize Americans to political violence–has succeeded entirely, culminating with Republicans calling the January 6 insurrection "legitimate political discourse." The bizarre, frightening story of the Proud Boys reveals the playbook they have created for domestic extremism, giving us the necessary insight to push back against radicalism in America before it swallows our democracy whole.
_________________________________________
Genre:
Non-Fiction
Politics
Crime
Gangs
United States
Why this book:
It’s important to look behind the curtain.
_________________________________________
The Page 100 Test:
Ω ◄ - struggle to finish this.
? ◄ - Just not sure about this.
(≖_≖ ) ◄ - side eyeing this
± ◄ - could go either way
Ÿ ◄ - this is causing fallopian discomfort
(ಠ_ಠ)┌∩┐◄ - angry, offended no
❚█══█❚ ◄ - this requires heavy lifting
△ ◄ - the illuminati want to erase this from the multiverse
¶ ◄ - the monolith disapproves of this
DNF: Pg#Read/TotPg#
The Feel:
Review has been sanitized due to assholes being assholes.
Hmm Moments:
Never realized that the Proud Boys were basically born out of a podcast by McInnes, a wannabe Joe Rogan. The timing might flip the script. Maybe instead of a wannabe, maybe he was an inspiration to Rogan.
I knew about the homeland fortification immigration that went on to the unpopulated West of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas. Didn't realize that it extended into Washington and Oregon.
Was there any blowback on the Portland PD after they sided with the Proud Boys et al in the streets during that series of protests?
Uhm Moments:
Effectively the Proud Boys tried to forge themselves into the MAGA version of the Brownshirts. I always suspected as much, but it's pretty well spelled out here. Wonder if any of them are aware of what happened to the brownshirts when they “won”?
I thought the McInnes dildo thing was an urban myth. How did that line up with his "proud" persona?
Calling the Ball:
They're one of the ultimate expressions of the politics of I'll-show-you that emerged during and following the Obama years.
WTF Moments/RUFKM Moments:
The Proud Boys' name came from Aladdin.
Turd in the Punchbowl:
This book should be read in the toilet. That's not because it's a bad book, a difficult read, or that Campbell is a bad writer. This subject matter is hard. It is straining. It's horrifying and sad at the same time. It's grubby and it's dirty. The subject matter is hateful.
Juxtaposition:
Campbell's assumption that the hate-filled screed pep rallies are what American political rallies look like now is mistaken. Hopefully.
Vice Media has undergone an epic evolution from its roots as a hate vehicle to where it is today. I like today's Vice Media. But I was unaware of its dark beginnings.
The Unexpected:
Oregon being a hotbed of white supremacy and its whites-only history seems to have largely been left out of the history books that a standard academic education would expose the reader to.
_________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
The subject matter is so vile that it makes it hard to read. The book is very well written. That is profoundly disturbing. Profoundly is the more family-friendly term.
=======================================
Author: Andy Campbell
Publisher: Hachette Books
Publishing Date: 2022
Pgs: 311
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
A gripping investigation into the nation’s most notorious far-right group, revealing how they created a new blueprint for extremism and turned American politics into a blood sport
After the 2016 election, Americans witnessed a frightening trend: the sudden rise of a host of new extremist groups across the country. Emboldened by a new president, they flooded political rallies and built fervent online presences, expanding rapidly until they were a regular sight at everyday demonstrations. Amid the chaos, one group emerged as a leader among the others, with matching outfits, bizarre rituals, and a reputation for violence: the Proud Boys.
From leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell, We Are Proud Boys is the definitive narrative exploration of this notorious street gang and all the far-right movements they’re connected to. Through groundbreaking new reporting, Campbell delivers the untold story of a gang of blundering, punch-happy goons who grew to become the centerpiece of American extremism and positioned themselves as the unofficial enforcement arm of the GOP. Beginning with their founding by Gavin McInnes, the media personality best known for co-founding VICE, Campbell takes us deep into the Proud Boys, laying bare their origins and their rise to prominence. As he exposes the group's noxious culture and strange rituals, he reveals how the ultimate project of the Proud Boys–to desensitize Americans to political violence–has succeeded entirely, culminating with Republicans calling the January 6 insurrection "legitimate political discourse." The bizarre, frightening story of the Proud Boys reveals the playbook they have created for domestic extremism, giving us the necessary insight to push back against radicalism in America before it swallows our democracy whole.
_________________________________________
Genre:
Non-Fiction
Politics
Crime
Gangs
United States
Why this book:
It’s important to look behind the curtain.
_________________________________________
The Page 100 Test:
Ω ◄ - struggle to finish this.
? ◄ - Just not sure about this.
(≖_≖ ) ◄ - side eyeing this
± ◄ - could go either way
Ÿ ◄ - this is causing fallopian discomfort
(ಠ_ಠ)┌∩┐◄ - angry, offended no
❚█══█❚ ◄ - this requires heavy lifting
△ ◄ - the illuminati want to erase this from the multiverse
¶ ◄ - the monolith disapproves of this
DNF: Pg#Read/TotPg#
The Feel:
Review has been sanitized due to assholes being assholes.
Hmm Moments:
Never realized that the Proud Boys were basically born out of a podcast by McInnes, a wannabe Joe Rogan. The timing might flip the script. Maybe instead of a wannabe, maybe he was an inspiration to Rogan.
I knew about the homeland fortification immigration that went on to the unpopulated West of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas. Didn't realize that it extended into Washington and Oregon.
Was there any blowback on the Portland PD after they sided with the Proud Boys et al in the streets during that series of protests?
Uhm Moments:
Effectively the Proud Boys tried to forge themselves into the MAGA version of the Brownshirts. I always suspected as much, but it's pretty well spelled out here. Wonder if any of them are aware of what happened to the brownshirts when they “won”?
I thought the McInnes dildo thing was an urban myth. How did that line up with his "proud" persona?
Calling the Ball:
They're one of the ultimate expressions of the politics of I'll-show-you that emerged during and following the Obama years.
WTF Moments/RUFKM Moments:
The Proud Boys' name came from Aladdin.
Turd in the Punchbowl:
This book should be read in the toilet. That's not because it's a bad book, a difficult read, or that Campbell is a bad writer. This subject matter is hard. It is straining. It's horrifying and sad at the same time. It's grubby and it's dirty. The subject matter is hateful.
Juxtaposition:
Campbell's assumption that the hate-filled screed pep rallies are what American political rallies look like now is mistaken. Hopefully.
Vice Media has undergone an epic evolution from its roots as a hate vehicle to where it is today. I like today's Vice Media. But I was unaware of its dark beginnings.
The Unexpected:
Oregon being a hotbed of white supremacy and its whites-only history seems to have largely been left out of the history books that a standard academic education would expose the reader to.
_________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
The subject matter is so vile that it makes it hard to read. The book is very well written. That is profoundly disturbing. Profoundly is the more family-friendly term.
=======================================
May 24, 2023
Recently, we’ve seen leaks of the private texts of Tucker Carlson, formerly Fox New’s most popular talking head and long-time launderer of far-right rhetoric into the increasingly rabid Republican mainstream. Among it all, Carlson’s fretting about his eagerness for blood while watching a group of Trump supporters beating up what he describes as “an antifa kid” on the streets of Washington DC really stood out to me. Describing the attack as “not how white men fight” and realizing that “somewhere somebody probably loves this kid” it is ironic how much Carlson bears responsibility himself for the actions of what were almost certainly Proud Boys, as made evident to me by journalist Andy Campbell’s recent book, We Are Proud Boys.
Taking a deep dive into the origins, goals, messaging, and actions of the far-right street gang the Proud Boys, Campbell lays bare how the group became a ubiquitous fixture of right-wing violence. I myself have been part of a crowd staring down a gaggle of the dopes peacocking in my own neighborhood, so I was very interested in learning more about their whole deal, and the picture Campbell paints is a disturbing one, illustrating the link between reactionary political rhetoric like Carlson’s and the violent action celebrated and executed by the group. Writing in a casual, engaging style without downplaying the gravity of the situation the Proud Boys represent, We Are Proud Boys is a breezy but informative read.
While the book is a bit disorganized in its structure, whether focusing on a specific Proud Boy and his crimes, like the so-called Rufio, or their specific presence at an important far-right event such as Charlottesville or January 6th, Campbell occasionally becomes a bit repetitive. However, his reporting deftly links much of the Proud Boy’s funding to mainstream Republican groups, for instance, even after their legal problems following the Capitol attack. Most interestingly, he devotes a lot of analysis to how journalists can effectively report on such extremists without falling into the trap of repeating their platitudes.
Campbell illustrates the disturbing influence of the group among mainstream Republicans, including law enforcement, as they maintain a successful facade as diverse and patriotic, even as they base their group on its ex-founder the edgy Canadian immigrant asshole Gavin McInnis’ exhortations to “celebrate nationalism, reject multiculturalism and immigration, keep women at home, and punch anyone who disagrees.” Even with this mask of respectability, violence against their political opponents and those they reject as un-American remains the major mission of the group, keeping the tradition established by McIness. For me, his work shows how the Proud Boys represent a perfect encapsulation of the trend of stochastic terrorism, as a bombastic way for influencers on the right, politicians and media alike to direct rage, harassment, and physical violence toward opponents while maintaining plausible deniability. As we’ve seen throughout the country in recent months as Proud Boy members threaten and bully Drag Queen story hours in conjunction with the far right’s campaign against “grooming,” they put the rhetoric of the talking heads into practice.
I discuss this and other recent books wrestling with the threat of gun violence and right-wing terrorism at Harris' Tome Corner, Against Fascism Part Four: Stochastic Terrorism.
Taking a deep dive into the origins, goals, messaging, and actions of the far-right street gang the Proud Boys, Campbell lays bare how the group became a ubiquitous fixture of right-wing violence. I myself have been part of a crowd staring down a gaggle of the dopes peacocking in my own neighborhood, so I was very interested in learning more about their whole deal, and the picture Campbell paints is a disturbing one, illustrating the link between reactionary political rhetoric like Carlson’s and the violent action celebrated and executed by the group. Writing in a casual, engaging style without downplaying the gravity of the situation the Proud Boys represent, We Are Proud Boys is a breezy but informative read.
While the book is a bit disorganized in its structure, whether focusing on a specific Proud Boy and his crimes, like the so-called Rufio, or their specific presence at an important far-right event such as Charlottesville or January 6th, Campbell occasionally becomes a bit repetitive. However, his reporting deftly links much of the Proud Boy’s funding to mainstream Republican groups, for instance, even after their legal problems following the Capitol attack. Most interestingly, he devotes a lot of analysis to how journalists can effectively report on such extremists without falling into the trap of repeating their platitudes.
Campbell illustrates the disturbing influence of the group among mainstream Republicans, including law enforcement, as they maintain a successful facade as diverse and patriotic, even as they base their group on its ex-founder the edgy Canadian immigrant asshole Gavin McInnis’ exhortations to “celebrate nationalism, reject multiculturalism and immigration, keep women at home, and punch anyone who disagrees.” Even with this mask of respectability, violence against their political opponents and those they reject as un-American remains the major mission of the group, keeping the tradition established by McIness. For me, his work shows how the Proud Boys represent a perfect encapsulation of the trend of stochastic terrorism, as a bombastic way for influencers on the right, politicians and media alike to direct rage, harassment, and physical violence toward opponents while maintaining plausible deniability. As we’ve seen throughout the country in recent months as Proud Boy members threaten and bully Drag Queen story hours in conjunction with the far right’s campaign against “grooming,” they put the rhetoric of the talking heads into practice.
I discuss this and other recent books wrestling with the threat of gun violence and right-wing terrorism at Harris' Tome Corner, Against Fascism Part Four: Stochastic Terrorism.
July 30, 2023
I really need to stop thinking I can get unbiased background from political books, and just give up on the whole genre. The slant in this one is incredibly strong, which makes me question what the point of the book even is. Anyone who falls to the right of Bernie on the political spectrum will be immediately turned off within the first few pages. I was hoping to pass this onto a moderate conservative relative when I was done with it, but the constant bashing of all Republicans and sympathizers made me decide against that. Campbell is supposedly trying to warn people about the rise of extremism, but warn who? The liberal echo chamber? They're the ones that DON'T need the warning. Campbell's slant and obvious emotional rage against not just the extremists, but Republicans in general leads to plenty of times when he stretches the truth and makes liberal use (hah) of hyperbole.
As for the good, I hadn't heard of the Proud Boys before January 6th. I heard of Tarrio in the aftermath of that, but had never heard of McInnes or the others, so there was some interesting background in this book. I did learn something, just not much.
Campbell has a lot of citations in the back of the book, but they're almost exclusively articles that are also slanted. He talks about data showing stuff, but except for once (which linked to an article saying there was data, but not the actual data...fortunately the original article had a link to the real data), doesn't seem to actually reference any of this data, so his assertion is very suspect. Granted, I didn't follow up on all of his references, I just picked a few at random that seemed more interesting, but they didn't necessarily support the assertions he was making in the text. He also cites his own articles several times.
The organization is poor. Each chapter is supposedly centered around a topic, such as how the Proud Boys make money, how two leaders f'ed around and found out (which left me totally unconvinced that they really "found out"), how they make connections with mainstream politicians, etc. While Campbell may start out on these topics, he pretty quickly devolves into tangents. Since it isn't organized temporally either, this is very irritating and makes it hard to keep everything straight. There are also a lot of names of the more minor players, so an index would have been very nice to help jog my memory of who was who, but there are much bigger problems with this book than that.
As for the good, I hadn't heard of the Proud Boys before January 6th. I heard of Tarrio in the aftermath of that, but had never heard of McInnes or the others, so there was some interesting background in this book. I did learn something, just not much.
Campbell has a lot of citations in the back of the book, but they're almost exclusively articles that are also slanted. He talks about data showing stuff, but except for once (which linked to an article saying there was data, but not the actual data...fortunately the original article had a link to the real data), doesn't seem to actually reference any of this data, so his assertion is very suspect. Granted, I didn't follow up on all of his references, I just picked a few at random that seemed more interesting, but they didn't necessarily support the assertions he was making in the text. He also cites his own articles several times.
The organization is poor. Each chapter is supposedly centered around a topic, such as how the Proud Boys make money, how two leaders f'ed around and found out (which left me totally unconvinced that they really "found out"), how they make connections with mainstream politicians, etc. While Campbell may start out on these topics, he pretty quickly devolves into tangents. Since it isn't organized temporally either, this is very irritating and makes it hard to keep everything straight. There are also a lot of names of the more minor players, so an index would have been very nice to help jog my memory of who was who, but there are much bigger problems with this book than that.
March 23, 2023
Isaac Asimov wrote that Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. The Proud Boys are so incompetent, so unapologetically hateful and misguided that violence isn’t their last refuge it becomes their first recourse.
Andy Campbell charts the rise of the proud boys from their inglorious beginning as an informal collective of bibulous fascists to an equally inglorious but much more politically connected and influential extremist group. Alcohol is the through line and the Proud Boys are almost always buzzing with booze and bellicose rage. Why, one might ask, would anyone get into bed with a gang of malcontent meatheads like the Proud Boys? Every would-be autocrat understands the political expedience of violence and the value of a blunt instrument. The proud boys are simply the latest iteration of a violent underclass that can be weaponized and deployed for political leverage.
Campbell explores some broader concepts too, like how the current fractious political climate foments extremism. He shows how fringe groups often develop as the result of the punch and counter punch of right-wing and left-wing politics. Partisan news media, disinformation, and accelerationist white power movements have reduced civil society to a seething mosh pit of rival ideologies.
This a thoroughly entertaining and exhaustively researched book (there are thirty pages of references and notes at the back of the book) that drills down to the bedrock of the proud boys. A highlight for me was Chapter Nine which focuses almost entirely on Jason Lee Van Dyke (the former Proud Boys attorney) and his blood feud with Thomas Retzlaff. It’s a luridly funny and dark chapter that reads like a Shakespearean tragedy directed by Vince Gilligan.
Andy Campbell charts the rise of the proud boys from their inglorious beginning as an informal collective of bibulous fascists to an equally inglorious but much more politically connected and influential extremist group. Alcohol is the through line and the Proud Boys are almost always buzzing with booze and bellicose rage. Why, one might ask, would anyone get into bed with a gang of malcontent meatheads like the Proud Boys? Every would-be autocrat understands the political expedience of violence and the value of a blunt instrument. The proud boys are simply the latest iteration of a violent underclass that can be weaponized and deployed for political leverage.
Campbell explores some broader concepts too, like how the current fractious political climate foments extremism. He shows how fringe groups often develop as the result of the punch and counter punch of right-wing and left-wing politics. Partisan news media, disinformation, and accelerationist white power movements have reduced civil society to a seething mosh pit of rival ideologies.
This a thoroughly entertaining and exhaustively researched book (there are thirty pages of references and notes at the back of the book) that drills down to the bedrock of the proud boys. A highlight for me was Chapter Nine which focuses almost entirely on Jason Lee Van Dyke (the former Proud Boys attorney) and his blood feud with Thomas Retzlaff. It’s a luridly funny and dark chapter that reads like a Shakespearean tragedy directed by Vince Gilligan.
October 12, 2022
(Audiobook) This work looks at the rise and current state of one the more prominent and aggressive far/alt-right groups in the US right now: The Proud Boys. Their origins are discussed, as is the life story and actions of those responsible for their creation and rise. Taking advantage of the rise in right wing angst about the the US and actions of the “left”, this group of primarily white men banded together throughout the nation to engage in socializing, terrorizing, fighting and expressing themselves, usually in crude and violent ways. Under the Trump administration, the Proud Boys evolved into a highly visible and active part of the Trump support universe. They kept running into legal trouble, but it never completely shattered them. Even after the insurrection of Jan 6, 2021, the Proud Boys are still a force in right-wing politics, even as they move their focus to localized events, but no less emphasis on intimidation and violence.
Campbell offer some good insight and history. One point that will detract from any dispassionate analysis is that Campbell is clearly a liberal writer, as noted by the publications he writes for and deals with. That should not completely detract from his work, but some element of bias is noted. That being said, given the actions of the Proud Boys, it is hard to look at them as not a concern for US law enforcement and government.
Worth a listen/read, even if the work is not the most uplifting.
Campbell offer some good insight and history. One point that will detract from any dispassionate analysis is that Campbell is clearly a liberal writer, as noted by the publications he writes for and deals with. That should not completely detract from his work, but some element of bias is noted. That being said, given the actions of the Proud Boys, it is hard to look at them as not a concern for US law enforcement and government.
Worth a listen/read, even if the work is not the most uplifting.
December 21, 2022
I wavered back and forth between wondering if this was just pandering to my already solidified confirmation bias about groups like the proud boys or feeling like this was barely biased at all, and a true depiction of who these guys actually are (even though the language shows clear distaste and alarm). Ultimately I think it's a bit of both, and the author reminded me that with all the focus in the media about covering "both" or "all sides," often times we are giving way too much airtime to very illegitimate sides of an "argument" (for instance, should we hear out a Neo-Nazi white supremacist?). Overall, there was a lot of interesting information about where they started, who is in their ranks, who they rub elbows with and who funds them. It was also an important reminder of what really happened at BLM protests and MAGA rallies from 2015 - 2021 - the cops defended far right demonstrators, yet the far right was responsible for a lions share of the violence (data from even Trump administration studies shows this). I think the author is potentially a bit too alarmist about the proud boys influence and power, as they are kind of a dumb frat club of low-key drunken bigots who are bad at keeping their information technologically private. What we should be alarmed about, however, is how such a group of belligerent assholes can get away with outright violence, often with very little consequence.
September 6, 2022
An important book for the times we are living in. Honestly, people need to wake up and become more aware of the dangers in our midst, for example the "Proud Boys'. The author does an excellent job of chronicling who and what this hate group is. Where they came from, how they are organized, and their goals.
Basically a bunch of thugs and bullies who like fighting (when they outnumber their victims) and chose "conservative values" as their rallying cry, the Proud Boys seized onto the Trump bandwagon as their savior. And he was more than willing to use them and promote them for his own needs.
Any student of history can recognize the parallels between Trump and Hitler in promoting this type of hate group, and their using them for their own personal militia. It's terrifying that we have not squashed this group through proactive law enforcement actions. Hopefully, if enough people become aware and start to push for action, we can stop this group (and others like it) before it is too late.
This is a frightening, disturbing book. It will make you angry. It will make you question why they are allowed to form and exist in today's world. I hope it will cause you to become active in pushing for action against them. Before it's too late!
Basically a bunch of thugs and bullies who like fighting (when they outnumber their victims) and chose "conservative values" as their rallying cry, the Proud Boys seized onto the Trump bandwagon as their savior. And he was more than willing to use them and promote them for his own needs.
Any student of history can recognize the parallels between Trump and Hitler in promoting this type of hate group, and their using them for their own personal militia. It's terrifying that we have not squashed this group through proactive law enforcement actions. Hopefully, if enough people become aware and start to push for action, we can stop this group (and others like it) before it is too late.
This is a frightening, disturbing book. It will make you angry. It will make you question why they are allowed to form and exist in today's world. I hope it will cause you to become active in pushing for action against them. Before it's too late!
December 24, 2022
"We are Proud Boys" is a solid overview of the far-right, neo-fascist (but hide it behind "irony") Proud Boys. Andy Campbell looks at the groups early years, how Gavin McInnes, formerly of Vice, birthed the group and kindled it's worse aspects and, more recently, how it cozied up to law enforcement and the GOP, allowing it to survive despite the indictments coming from their outsized role at the January 6th insurrection.
If you've followed the rise of right-wing extremism over the last few years, many of the big moments in the book (Unite the Right, all the chaos in Portland, the insurrection) and even details about the Proud Boys (like the fact that the name come from a song in the Aladdin musical) aren't new information. However, seeing them as part of a larger thread helps to connect these moments and give you a bigger picture of where the Proud Boys fit within modern-day right-wing extremism.
Reading this book reaffirms that, ultimately, the Proud Boys are a bunch of losers (e.g., naming cereal as part of the way to move up the ranks), but that they're losers who have over the years amassed political prestige with the GOP, allowing them to get away with the violence they incite and commit.
If you've followed the rise of right-wing extremism over the last few years, many of the big moments in the book (Unite the Right, all the chaos in Portland, the insurrection) and even details about the Proud Boys (like the fact that the name come from a song in the Aladdin musical) aren't new information. However, seeing them as part of a larger thread helps to connect these moments and give you a bigger picture of where the Proud Boys fit within modern-day right-wing extremism.
Reading this book reaffirms that, ultimately, the Proud Boys are a bunch of losers (e.g., naming cereal as part of the way to move up the ranks), but that they're losers who have over the years amassed political prestige with the GOP, allowing them to get away with the violence they incite and commit.
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November 15, 2022Some people like horror movies; I like books about political extremists. They let me work out my fears/anxieties. They tend to follow common patterns. Usually, a book like this would be an easy read.
But this one is a DNF, though I may try again someday. I couldn't get past the pile-ups of adjectives and adverbs. It's not that I want a balanced approach or a feint at taking this group's claims about itself seriously. It's okay to not be neutral about violent extremists. But I wish there had been more show, less tell.
Especially because some of the adjectives and adverbs, some of the labels the author urges on the reader, have nothing to do with why the Proud Boys are troubling. I don't care about their weight and fitness levels. And I care about their fighting skills and sexual conduct only in so far as they define themselves as loving (fetishizing) violence, bond over weird ideas about masturbation, and "joke" about women's consent. So it struck me as lazy, at best, to mock their potbellies. Repeatedly.
I do care about their ideology and their access to politicians and dark money. Those are parts of the book I didn't get to and might come back to someday.
But this one is a DNF, though I may try again someday. I couldn't get past the pile-ups of adjectives and adverbs. It's not that I want a balanced approach or a feint at taking this group's claims about itself seriously. It's okay to not be neutral about violent extremists. But I wish there had been more show, less tell.
Especially because some of the adjectives and adverbs, some of the labels the author urges on the reader, have nothing to do with why the Proud Boys are troubling. I don't care about their weight and fitness levels. And I care about their fighting skills and sexual conduct only in so far as they define themselves as loving (fetishizing) violence, bond over weird ideas about masturbation, and "joke" about women's consent. So it struck me as lazy, at best, to mock their potbellies. Repeatedly.
I do care about their ideology and their access to politicians and dark money. Those are parts of the book I didn't get to and might come back to someday.
November 3, 2022
Unlike the right wing cucks who believe without question whatever nonsense supports their world view, I did my due diligence and fact-checked Campbell's claims. Yep. Astonishingly, Campbell's claims about the stated goal of the Proud Boys to gain political power by violence and insurrection is all true. He uses the words and documented video evidence of founders and leaders of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other violent radical right extremist groups to support it, evidence that is still available online. The best and most easily accessible compilation of evidence is, as Campbell noted, provided by Vic Berger. Campbell's main thesis is not so much that conservative violence occurs, we all know this, but how it has been normalized and accepted by charlatans who believe that they are due obeisance strictly on the basis of race and sex. There is a ton of valuable, verifiable information in this courageous book - information that you won't find very easily anywhere else. Clear and cogent writing. Five important stars, a rating I reserve for books that change my life or world-view.
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