An MSNBC columnist has been mocked for writing an op-ed warning that the far-right is using exercise as a means of recruiting new supporters.
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a researcher in extremism and a professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at American University in Washington D.C., wrote the article outlining her concerns.
Entitled ‘Pandemic fitness trends have gone extreme — literally,’ the article claimed that ‘white supremacists’ latest scheme to valorize violence and hypermasculinity has gone digital.’
On Monday, she was mocked online for the piece with Elon Musk and Joe Rogan slamming the idea that working out is tied to extremism.
‘MSNBC thinks you’re a nazi if you work out lmaooo,’ Musk tweeted. Later he claimed, ‘Parody & reality are becoming indistinguishable.’
‘Being healthy is ‘far right.’ Holy f***,’ podcaster Joe Rogan exclaimed on Twitter.
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an expert on extremism, wrote a much-mocked column that went viral on Monday as people blasted her suggestion the working out was tied to extremism
Miller-Idriss wrote: ‘It appears the far right has taken advantage of pandemic at-home fitness trends to expand its decade-plus radicalization of physical mixed martial arts (MMA) and combat sports spaces.’
She admitted in the article first published last year that ‘fitness of course is a staple and a hobby for many people, for whom it is enjoyable and rewarding for brain health and overall well-being.’
But, she warned, in some instances working out is being corrupted by neo-Nazis.
‘The intersection of extremism and fitness leans into a shared obsession with the male body, training, masculinity, testosterone, strength and competition,’ she wrote.
‘Physical fitness training, especially in combat sports, appeals to the far right for many reasons: fighters are trained to accept significant physical pain, to be ‘warriors,’ and to embrace messaging around solidarity, heroism, and brotherhood. It’s championed as a tool to help fight the ‘coming race war’ and the street battles that will precede it.
‘Recruits are encouraged to link individual moral virtues such as willpower, decisiveness and courage, with desired collective traits such as virility and manliness.
‘This also works in reverse, with white supremacists encouraging potential recruits or activists to stay in good physical shape as a way of managing self-presentation to the public.’
Miller-Idriss pointed out the far right’s embrace of physical fitness is not new, noting how Hitler encouraged boxing and jujitsu.
A gym used by far right figures is seen in a photo shared by anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate
Pre-pubescent German boys practice fighting moves during a Hitler Youth training session
She argued the problem is more pronounced in Europe, where ‘various reports have noted the role of combat sports and MMA in radicalizing and promoting far-right violence.’
She noted that a Maryland skinhead group once ran a gym to ‘recruit and train white supremacists in mixed martial arts’, and four members or associates of the racist Rise Above Movement pleaded guilty to conspiracy to riot after the 2017 Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally.
Their founder Robert Rundo leads what is described as the ‘premier MMA club of the Alt-Right.’
Rundo was arrested in March in Romania on a U.S. warrant for inciting violence after three years on the run.
Romanian police said he allegedly conducted mixed martial arts training for members of the movement.
He also is accused of posting videos online of the group assaulting people at political meetings and has also been active in Serbia and Bulgaria, advocating forming small fighting groups with a violent neo-Nazi ideology.
Romania is currently considering his extradition.
Miller-Idriss has a history of posting articles that connect various everyday activities to Neo-Nazis. In March, she wrote about homeschooling and its supposed ties to extremism.
The article, also published by MSNBC, detailed a Neo-Nazi-themed homeschooling channel in Ohio.
‘The story draws attention to a strategy that has long been key to white supremacist groups: indoctrinating their children through, while keeping them out of what they see as the brainwashing multiculturalism of public schools,’ she wrote.
She has long researched extremism and ‘youth radicalization’ and has talked frequently about the subject.
Musk has become an outspoken critic of many ‘woke’ ideas and has posted his thoughts on Twitter
Rogan has discussed the far-left’s agenda and in April slammed the teaching of ‘anti-racism’ to a nine-year-old in California
Musk, meanwhile, has become an outspoken critic of the ‘woke’ agenda that pushes far-left ideals.
Last week, Musk responded ‘interesting’ to a story that found people who put ‘they/them’ on their resume were less likely to get interviews. Musk has previously blasted the use of trans pronouns and seemingly responded to the article to back up his objections to their use.
Rogan has also spent countless hours on his podcast discussing the woke narrative.
In April, Rogan slammed a California school district that pushed woke ‘anti-racism’ on a parent’s nine-year-old daughter.
‘These kids are not even remotely racist. Like, they have all sorts of different kinds of friends,’ Rogan said at the time. ‘I’ve never heard them discuss it once. It’s just ‘I like this person and she’s nice to me and we like to play together and we both like the same things,” he said. ‘So to tell a 9-year-old that you have to be anti-racist, well, then they go looking for racism, they’re gonna go looking to confront it.’