Thread by @DrJasonJohnson

The foiled terrorist attack on #GretchenWhitmer is another example of what's left of our justice system still working despite the best attempts of Trump. He is a terrorist sympathizer and has been for years. He cares nothing for Democracy, but that's not what this thread is about

The co-opting of comic book hemes, names and titles is one of the more disturbing recent trends in America and it's not addressed enough as one of the ways the Alt-Right recruits and targets young disaffected white, Asian and Latino men (Afam men are rarely Alt-Right recruits)

Right Wing groups have been using the gaming world to recruit angry white men for years. It's been covered, and most online systems like Playstation and XBox have done little to stop it, because frankly it's hard to censor
npr.org/2018/11/05/660…

But #WolverineWatchmen the group that targeted #GretchenWhitmer is specifically named after an X-Men character "Wolverine" and the "Watchmen" who, along w/ Hydra & the Punisher have become popular mascots and symbols of the American terrorist right

This is part of a larger movement by White Right Wing Terrorists to mainstream themselves by adopting pop culture icons that make them seem less scary. Tobacco companies adopted Joe the camel because he's a lot cuter sell than a 3 pack a day smoker, Same principle here

Right wing groups have attempted to co-Opt Star Wars, the Death Star, Punisher, Captain America, Wolverine, Magneto, just about any mishmash of violent psuedo patriotic characters they can even if those characters are completely at odds w/ the Alt-Right salon.com/2019/04/28/the…

Comic artists and creators have fought back against the Alt-Right appropriating these symbols, I especially love these quotes from Punisher creator @gerryconway and @jonnybernthal about the Alt-Right

But MORE can be done. Marvel and can sue these organizations/ individuals for copyright infringement. It's petty & tedious but KKK groups have been sued out of oblivion and bankrupted as much as shut down by the FBI in recent years.

If I'm Disney/Marvel I'd sue the hell out of the #WolverineWatchmen. I'd bankrupt anybody #MAGA #KAG #AltRight group
attempting to appropriate my brand or intellectual property. Disney has a LONG history of this as well shinyhappyworld.com/2014/05/disney…

The alt right has already co-opted pepe the Frog. If corporations and the public aren't more careful you'll have gun toting White Nationalist #AvengersGame and Nazi #xmen running around after #WolverineWatchmen