The fascist idea of progress

 

“REM Theory” is a series of three video clips explaining a new Alt Right worldview known as Appoloism. Or kind of new, since the first clip was posted two years ago, perhaps when Trump was still president. The most recent clip is presumably from 2022. On Twitter, Appoloism is associated with the fans of Richard B Spencer in his current incarnation as White imperialist deep entryist into the Democratic Party. Spencer is probably the only Alt Right personality who endorsed *Biden* in 2020! It´s not clear whether he officially endorsed the Apollo project, though.

The second and third clips are the most interesting. In the second, the Apolloists attack Christianity, a line of action especially relevant today as the pro-Trump Alt Right seems to have embraced “Christian Nationalism” hook, line and sinker. To “REM Theory”, this is regressive, since Christianity represents a slave morality of “turning the other cheek”, and Western civilization was created despite it, not because of it. The pagan Roman Empire is the ideal of the makers of the video series. It´s quite explicit that they admire the Romans for their military prowess and social hierarchy, while also interpreting the Romans (and the earlier Greeks) in tribalist, eugenicist and crypto-racialist terms. Other Christian dangers include the religion´s multi-ethnic character and Jewish roots. Why should Europeans worship a “Jewish tribal god”?

Interestingly, the Appoloists also criticize neo-pagans who harken back to the ancient Norse and Celtic religions. Their myths are mostly known from later Christian sources and sometimes sound suspiciously Christian, Odin was a “trickster god” similar to the “Semitic” Mercury, and the gods are killed in Ragnarök, replaced by the Christ-like figure of Baldur. Nor did the Norse and Celts create great civilizations. Emulating them today is a form of primitivism and mystical individualism.

As should be obvious from their name, the alternative of the Apolloists is worship of Apollo, the Roman sun-god. My general impression of Appoloism from Twitter is that the current isn´t really neo-pagan at all, but atheist, and that Apollo is used as a symbol of the White race. The third video is fascinated by the fact that Apollo was associated with the mythological Hyperborea, a land in the far north, which would have been populated by White peoples. Apollo´s associates are said to have been giants, making them part of the good side, while in Norse myth they are usually seen as evil!

The Nietzschean overtones are obvious, but what strikes me most is the Western Idea of Progress, obviously in a kind of heroic-racialist and fascist form. I think Apolloists dream of a White “Roman” empire that will conquer space (and perhaps China). The cyclical view of history is explicitly attacked. Apparently, it really is different this time!

Personally, I think it´s more likely that even Apollo will meet his Götterdämmerung when the present cycle closes…