The Proud Boys Raging Righteously at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021: A Hate Group in Action
Location
Littlefoot A Room 124A
Start Date
21-4-2023 10:30 AM
End Date
21-4-2023 11:27 AM
Publication Date
2023
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Law | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
Righteous rage constitutes an expression of political power for many hate groups operating currently in the United States, enticing them toward emotionally charged aggression against their adversaries. We offer a case study of one such group—the Proud Boys—in the context of their violent attack of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Rather than a momentary feeling, their righteous rage is a potent force for forming, defining, and organizing their mission to overpower their adversaries. In particular, their righteous rage is defined by (a) behavioral manifestations, (b) the emotional contagious impact of such manifestations, and (c) the centrality of raging to one’s identity as a social movement. Regarding their identity, they tend to don Proud Boy symbols on their clothes, wear helmets, and carry lethal weapons, as if aspiring to exhibit the warrior’s bravery, valor, strength, and devotion. The Proud Boys members self-position as warriors protecting the nation, Western chauvinism and (more recently) the White race. In raging righteously, the Proud Boys are absorbed with evildoers, seeking to expose their malicious past and attempting to subvert their current designs. With such absorption, the emotionally charged rationale for aggression is set in place
Description Format
html
Recommended Citation
Rothbart, Daniel, "The Proud Boys Raging Righteously at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021: A Hate Group in Action" (2023). International Conference on Hate Studies. 11.
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/icohs/2023/seventh/11
Full Text of Presentation
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Media Format
flash_audio
Session Title
The Cry of Right-wing Righteous Rage: Vigilantism, Tribalism, Lynching, and Rioting
Type
Panel
The Proud Boys Raging Righteously at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021: A Hate Group in Action
Littlefoot A Room 124A
Righteous rage constitutes an expression of political power for many hate groups operating currently in the United States, enticing them toward emotionally charged aggression against their adversaries. We offer a case study of one such group—the Proud Boys—in the context of their violent attack of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Rather than a momentary feeling, their righteous rage is a potent force for forming, defining, and organizing their mission to overpower their adversaries. In particular, their righteous rage is defined by (a) behavioral manifestations, (b) the emotional contagious impact of such manifestations, and (c) the centrality of raging to one’s identity as a social movement. Regarding their identity, they tend to don Proud Boy symbols on their clothes, wear helmets, and carry lethal weapons, as if aspiring to exhibit the warrior’s bravery, valor, strength, and devotion. The Proud Boys members self-position as warriors protecting the nation, Western chauvinism and (more recently) the White race. In raging righteously, the Proud Boys are absorbed with evildoers, seeking to expose their malicious past and attempting to subvert their current designs. With such absorption, the emotionally charged rationale for aggression is set in place