This is an astute observation by @JackPosobiec, that I had been waiting to respond to:
For decades, the American Right has been dominated by the image of the rural conservative — the pickup-driving, small-town patriot with deep roots in red-state soil. You can't help but love this guy. And I certainly do. But there’s a new archetype emerging on the New Right: the…
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 14, 2025
For decades, the American Right has been dominated by the image of the rural conservative — the pickup-driving, small-town patriot with deep roots in red-state soil. You can’t help but love this guy. And I certainly do. But there’s a new archetype emerging on the New Right: the citycon — the disaffected conservative trapped behind enemy lines in a blue-state metropolis. And when it comes to law and order, mass immigration, and crime, the citycon is often more radical than his rural cousin.
The ‘citycon’ shares similarities to what I have dubbed the ‘normcore-right‘. I have noticed that the rise of the normcore-right mirrors the decline of the alt-right, as the latter has become perceived as lower status. The division has become especially evident following the reelection of Trump, such as the divide between the Groypers vs. the MAGA-right. The Groypers are more disenfranchised and anonymous compared to the MAGA-right, who have careers, families and not uncommonly use their real names or don’t hide behind an avatar.
Similar to the Groypers, the normcore-right hold ‘extreme’ views, way beyond the mainstream right. But also have professional jobs, careers, and a social life offline. They are fully integrated into society in most respects, but this is is also a signifier of status online, compared to the archetypical basement-dwelling loser or keyboard warrior, which is why the alt-right fell out of favor. There is a certain delicate balance or contradiction in holding views that are anathema to polite society, yet integrating oneself into this very society and even thriving. Having your personal life put together and well-socialized is seen as more important of the right compared to the left.
Online, LARPing as tough guy–but hiding behind an avatar and inciting action or holding extreme views that one is too cowardly to take ownership of–conveys phoniness and is seen as low status. But on the other hand, anonymity is necessary for those who have careers and face consequences should their true views come to light. So this requires a balance, like on Twitter, of signaling having a successful and stable personal life, but without compromising on anonymity.
In conclusion, compared to the Left, the Right practices a sort of code-switching between the ‘real world’ and online. For the Right, successful switching confers status within the online in-group. This contrasts with how switching is seen as usually a defensive posture. For the left, such idiosyncrasies are seen as something of a badge a honor, and there isn’t an obvious split between one’s online persona vs offline.