Boogaloo: Rising anti-government subculture in US

The growth of a new anti-government culture across the world and the US, in particular, has been a matter of intense discussion. In this context, the Boogaloo movement has grown in profile and caught the headlines. The movement is primarily influenced by the core ideology of libertarians and anarcho-capitalists. The former seek minimal government and promote individual freedom; the latter seek the removal of central governments, while emphasizing free markets and private property.

‘Boogaloo’ is a code word for a ‘second civil war’, and comes from the 1984 movie Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo. It is prominently used in internet parlance, reflective of the memes and slang in social media platforms. The movement thus far has endorsed a range of views. White supremacy thought, an important part of the movement, is not necessarily its core. There seems to be a certain antipathy toward State violence and police brutality. Some adherents of Black Lives Matter (BLM) have found common cause with the Boogaloo movement, to show how their lives are impacted by police violence. Following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020 by Minneapolis police, the Boogaloo boys, as they are popularly referred to, have gained prominence and attention. As the BLM movement has grown, differences over issues of race and political ideology have become more visible within the Boogaloo subculture.

There are some who want to use the protests as an opportunity to take on law enforcement from a right-wing perspective. What seems to unite them is the view that the government has overstepped its bounds, opening out the possibility for a second American civil war. It is difficult to categorise the Boogaloo movement along the traditional far-left or far-right categories. Most of them are ultra/radical libertarians, steeped in gun culture, with their trademark tactical gear, flags and Hawaiian shirts. By doing so they hope to create a sense of community with a shared ideology. Hence Boogaloo imagery, terminology and merchandise have mutated in the US.

Boogaloo adherents are strongly against gun-control legislation of any kind. Some of them even perceive the federal government as being analogous to the British colonialists during the American Revolution. They object to every single limitation on human freedoms and want all liberties to be restored. The police are seen as the enforcers of such infringements on freedoms. Some of them even protested against the government’s Covid prevention measures.

The Boogaloo ideology is distinctly anti-government, anti-authority and anti-police. In fact, many of the whites and blacks who have died at the hands of the police are considered martyrs by Boogaloo-ers. They seek to achieve their goals through violence and civil unrest. Some links have even been established to the role of the Boogaloo-ers to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing tragedy that had resulted in mass casualties.

It is essentially a violence-oriented movement, envisioning the collapse of society and thereby the overthrow of the government. It has taken the shape of a loosely organised anti-government militia, who are convinced that an insurrection is necessary to protect individual liberties. In this context, the State is perceived as the single greatest enemy of the human race, its liberty, happiness and progress. Since the Boogaloo-ers have not specified the type of civil conflict that will take place, it has provided space for a variety of anti-government extremists to join in to promote their fantasies.

The movement is also represented by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, who envision a white ethno-state. Many white nationalists have called for a race war, often using xenophobic rhetoric. Hence, some white supremacists used ‘Boogaloo’ in the sense of an impending race war. For some, it’s a race war, and for others, a holy war. However, many Boogaloo-ers deny that they are racist, though some are quite open about it.

Of late, some of them have even been making a case for cooperation with left-wing organisations, who were traditionally considered adversaries. This puts additional pressure on the government, by withdrawing from the political and economic systems. Their mantra focuses on creating additional power structures, withdrawing from the existing system, and preparing for the impending change.

The Boogaloo movement represents a pretty large subculture in the US today. They represent a community showing up in quite large numbers during protests and rallies, especially against police brutality.

The term Boogaloo is still an inchoate concept without a clear ideology, but with some shared ideas. The worrying part is that the idea of violence is widely accepted as a political tool. The Boogaloo boys seem to be the manifestation of a larger problem of far-right paramilitarism.

(The writer is Professor, Dept. of International studies, Political Science and History, Christ (deemed-to-be) University, Bengaluru)