Who Are the Proud Boys and Why Should We Care?
Investigation into the manifesto of the Proud Boys
The social media of today has a unique way of antagonizing the masses. From inflammatory tweets that are “re-tweeted” at a greater rate than that of real news outlets true accounts, to the hate-filled rhetoric that fuels the discourse of Americans everywhere. The constant sensation in hopes of going “viral” tends to lose the true sense of citizen journalism that may have been hoped for in the beginning. This leads to a true misrepresentation and perversion of the facts surrounding supposed facts, in a way to defend the institutions that we are told we must align ourselves with. Therefore, it’s important to dig deeper into where the information comes from, how it’s framed, and what purpose the information serves. Let this be the guiding principle moving forward.
Proud Boys Manifesto
In a document that was incredibly difficult to uncover but was eventually tracked down through an article written by Amy Beeman and posted to the website HeavyR.com, outlines how to conduct an official meet-up of the Proud Boys. It is widely accepted as the manifesto of the organization.
Before the proceedings are to begin, the area is to be cleared of all women and men who are not of first degree. It must be emphasized though, that women are specifically excluded from membership. The area must “as secluded as possible” and protected by two guards monitoring the perimeter.
At the commencement of the meeting the group must repeat verbatim: “I am a Western Chauvinist. Who refuses to apologize. For creating the modern world.”
It goes on to welcome the members to “the greatest fraternal organization in the world.” This being followed by a declaration that it doesn’t matter the race or the sexual orientation of the member, so long as they recognize that “the West is the best” and they be a man.
The document goes on to make direct reference to passages from Pat Buchanan’s The Death of the West, of which acknowledges Americas past involvement in the slave trade and declares that had it not been for the West, that Africans would continue to trade in their kin around the world. It must also be noted that there are explicit instructions pertaining to non-American chapters to explicitly not state a certain portion pertaining to America being a segregated society.
Next come the toasting of the various rungs of society as viewed from the vantage of the Proud Boy. The entrepreneur, who they claim is responsible for the risks of making life better. The housewife, who creates and shapes human life, building the communities we live in. Going on to toast to free speech and guns. The final declaration being directed to “the parasites both on the streets and in the white house” who are coined with wanting to attack them and take what they own, sabotage thier culture, family and way of life. Declaring to thier enemies to, “bring it on.”
Now the document does allow for a redress of grievances, of which is to be “handled like men.” The manifesto references this as the “Sharia court.” The process is in the form of a type of appellate court in which a judge renders the parties exchange testimony, and a decision is then made final.
The manifesto goes on to declare that singing along to the song Proud of Your Boy from the Disney film Aladdin, is “healthy” to be sung at least once a night, though it may not always be possible. The lyrics of the song are provided in the document to effectively corroborate the fact that this is in fact, from the movie Alladin. They go on to declare that it is ideal to seek out venues that have a jukebox that contains the song so that it may be played to be sung along to.
The Three Degrees and How to Perform Them.
First degree membership simply requires the declaration mentioned prior, that the member is a “Western chauvinist” be publicly declared. Each chapter gets to declare just how publicly this happens; however, it is not acceptable to make an anonymous declaration because “that isn’t ‘Proud.’” They also go on to explicitly declare that trans men are not allowed entry because they are not “Boys.” The lowest standard of declaration is a video of them declaring it and submitted to the local chapter, while the maximum is to declare it in every possible public platform available.
Second degree membership is achieved through “Five Cereals.” An act where a counter, of which is a member not involved in the activity, counts each cereal the person seeking second degree can utter. All this occurs while five members are mercilessly beating the pledge. The manifesto goes on to declare that shots to the head and below the belt are discouraged, but not against the rules. The pledge is not to fight back in this ritualistic beating; however, his achievement of second-degree status will not be adversely affected by doing so.
Between the second and third degree is where the document makes an odd declaration. It’s called “No Wanks.” What exactly does that mean though? Well, for the sake of brevity, it simply means that a member may not ejaculate alone more often than once every thirty days. The document goes on to mention that the member must abstain from pornogrophy and if ejaculation is required, it must be done “within one yard of a woman with her consent.” Prostitutes are not allowed for this exemption either. The document further describes that a video call with a woman is not considered a work around either.
On to the third degree. This one is simple. Get a tattoo of the words “Proud Boy” permanently inked anywhere on your body. Though there are no rules to the design of this tattoo, it is considered the norm to get the words done in what the document quotes as “the traditional font of Yore.”
Fourth degree, according to the manifesto, is “loosely defined as ‘engaging in a major conflict for the cause.’” It is relatively unknown why the document makes sure to clarify that this is a loose definition, although some may wish to put a more nefarious connotation to it. It is also makes sure to clarify that getting arrested is not encouraged, then going on to immediately declare that anyone that does is immediately rewarded with the rank of fourth degree. Again, a very puzzling statement. The next statement is where it takes a more nefarious turn. For the sake of clarity, it must be stressed that this is a direct quote from the document.
“Serious physical fights also count and it’s up to each chapter to determine how serious the conflict must be to determine fourth.”
Politics of the Proud Boys
The document moves on to declare that the Proud Boys are not a political group, comparing themselves to that of the Elk’s Lodge or Shriners. The Proud Boy manifest is sure to declare that the group is social liberal, welcoming gay members, going on to declare itself a multi-racial group. It does seem a bit suspicious to declare membership being open to gay men, when the “No Wank” declaration makes it only ok to ejaculate in the presence of a woman. This could be the reason that provision is listed between second and third degree, alluding to the exclusion of gay member to the higher rungs of the hierarchy. It could also be a miscalculation that exceptions are made specific to the gay member. It remains too ambiguous to fully understand.
Now, according to the Proud Boys manifesto, the chauvinism in which they demand loyalty to is not to be misconstrued by women’s assumption that it means “sexist.” According to Proud Boys, a chauvinist is “a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism.” According to Merriam-Webster’s website, this is completely accurate, sort of. The website defines chauvinism in three ways.
An attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex.
Undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs or has belonged.
Excessive or blind patriotism.
This is where the English language becomes complicated. The ways in which we use the word becomes critical. Even the way the sentences can be perceived can be vital to how we communicate. A reasonable person could exclude a portion of what is described in this document and consider the third definition to be the most accurate way to interpret the intent. Whereas a person could also take the entirety of the document to have the intent of the first definition. Clear and concise communication becomes critical to the interpretation of our intended communication. In this case, it may be the reason for defining the term specifically in the context in which it is. Better late than never, as the saying goes.
The group further makes sure to clarify that they disavow Nazi’s, going as far to say that they don’t want them at the meetups.
The Proud Boys make sure to firmly declare that they stand upon founder Gavin McInnes’ “10 Ways to Save America” as a compendium of proud Western beliefs. These ten beliefs on which the groups stand are listed as follows:
Abolish Prison.
Give Everyone a Gun.
Legalize Drugs.
End Welfare.
Close the Borders.
Outlaw Censorship.
Venerate the Housewife.
Glorify the Entrepreneur.
Recognize the West is Best.
Shut Down the Government.
The group finalized the manifesto to declare that they encourage thier members to be well dressed, especially when speaking with the media. They explicitly ban fedoras and cargo shorts and recommend a certain dress code. Thier declared “uniform” for gatherings and rallies, stating that a black Fred Perry polo shirt with gold piping should be worn. Specifically declaring: “A goal for the club is for people who try to shut down free speech to feel a deep sense of fear when they see the black and gold appear at a rally.”
Proud Boys in the Press.
A logical question that may come to mind could be: Why should I care about this? Well, actions are important when it comes to understanding what a group stands for.
A 2017 article written on the group for the Wisconsin Watch stated that when a female reporter was arranging an interview for thier story, she was met with inflammatory language. The article went on to say that the subject that was to be interviewed had asked if he should bring condoms. McInnes was also recorded as telling the interviewer that “she should give up her career” and that she should find a man because she would run out of eggs if she did not get pregnant soon.
An article published by WBNS Channel 10 News reported on December 5, 2022, that a local chapter of the Proud Boys in Ohio, vowed to return to protest should a story-time event featuring drag performers be rescheduled. The event, planned to be held at a local Unitarian church, was cancelled following a security dispute when the Proud Boys, along with other groups identified as far-right oriented showed up to protest the event.
The most condemning news surrounding the group comes from an October 6, 2022, press release by the FBI. In its press release, the FBI states that former leader of Proud Boys, Jeremy Bertino pleaded guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the January 6, 2020, incident at the U.S. Capital. Though Bertino was not at the Capital on January 6, 2020, the FBI states that he was in Washington D.C. in December, when he was involved in an altercation and stabbed. During the Capital event, Bertino was recovering nearby in a Washington D.C. hospital. According to the FBI press release, Bertino and then national president of Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, were involved in an active pursuit of planning a storming of the U.S. Capital in hopes of stopping the certification of the 2020 election results.
Though many people will undoubtedly complain of a media bias pertaining to the rallies and events of the Proud Boys organization, it begs to reason that the group does have a large presence in nefarious activities. Actions tend to speak louder than words and the actions leading to civil disobedience and anarchy appear to be adding up. It appears from this investigation, that the Proud Boys organization relies heavily on civil disobedience and intimidation to achieve its means, rather than peaceful organization. For this reason, one must make well informed decisions when attempting to condemn or condone thier actions.
One should always do thier best to investigate for themselves though, as that is the true nature of making informed decisions in a democratic society. No one group should ever be silenced simply for dissenting, unless of course that dissent is in violation of law or poses a threat to other safety and or well-being. It’s healthy for the marketplace of ideas to contain a multitude of perspectives and for people to avoid entering “echo chambers” of thier own beliefs. A healthy democracy must have free speech, in accordance with our first amendment right. So long as that speech is not intended to hurt, defame, or abridge the rights of others.