It's hard to believe that skinny jeans, tote bags, and veganism could be used for evil, but that's what nazi hipsters — or nipsters — are trying to do. Of course, they don't see it that way, but we don't know how else to put it. These young Germans recognize that they have an image problem and believe that upping their cool factor could fix it.
For years, skinheads with steel-toed boots and aggressive masculinity were the face of the neo-Nazi movement, but anyone who fit the mold found themselves an outsider in mainstream society. So, in the early '00s, when a German brand called Thor Steinar started selling trendy clothes featuring "ambiguously extreme-right" images and slogans, young neo-Nazis started shopping. And, now that millennial Nazis have come of age, they're taking it to a whole new level.
One of them is Patrick Schroeder, a 30-year-old nipster with an Internet show and a mission to make the neo-Nazi movement cooler and a lot more approachable in Germany. He's held workshops to help his comrades dress better and preaches a (sort of) tolerance, saying people shouldn't have to change themselves to join. And, make no mistake, he wants people to join — there's no indication that he's just a good-time Nazi who wants everyone to feel positive about themselves. (Not that there is such a thing.)
By using social media and some of the group's more palatable ideas such as animal protection as entry points, Schroeder and other savvy neo-Nazis are perfecting the art of luring young people into their more extreme beliefs — and extreme they are. Not even a Nazi vegan cooking show can hide that. (Rolling Stone)
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