‘Tell them if they race-mix, they will rot in hell’: right-wing extremists’ narratives on children’s ideological socialization

A recent rise in right-wing extremist movements and activities has sparked international concerns over children raised in right-wing extremist households. The general consensus appears to be that these children are at risk of radicalization themselves, and could end up following in their parents’ footsteps. To understand how children’s ideological socialization is perceived within the milieu itself, a narrative analysis of white nationalist parents’ discussions on the online forum Stormfront was conducted. Five distinct narratives on children’s ideological socialization were identified. These narratives differ in terms of their underlying rationale and the action perspective that they imply. Findings suggest that in raising their children, right-wing extremist parents find themselves grappling with two conflicting ‘meta-narratives’ [see Walton, M. S. (2020). Defending white America: The apocalyptic meta- narrative of white nationalist rhetoric. Brigham Young University] underlying their ideology. One that departs from children’s autonomy and self-determination (vis-à-vis mainstream society), and one that stresses the importance of authoritarianism and obedience (vis-à-vis the family ideology). This is reflected in Stormfront users’ inconsistent and at times contradictory narratives on parenting.