The label “Alt-right” has been thrown about a lot lately. Gaining traction in 2015 and international attention this year, the term has become most relevant in the light of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. Before understanding what the “alt-right” does, it is important to be aware of who its members are and what they stand for.

Answers to such questions have become quite ambiguous; advocates of the “alt-right” have identified themselves as patriots concerned with the future of the United States, whereas others have deemed it a movement that promotes anti-Semitism, anti-Islam and white nationalism. Truth be told, the latter is the most accurate, and universally recognizing the odious intentions of the “alt-right” is key to assuring its necessary demise.

With “alt” standing for “alternative,” the “alt-right” is a term most commonly attributed to Richard Spencer, a U.S. white-nationalist and both the president and director of the National Policy Institute. According to Spencer, the “alt-right” is a movement that is “dedicated to heretical perspectives on society and culture — popular, high and otherwise — particularly those informed by radical, traditionalist, and nationalist outlooks.” This circumlocutory definition does little to characterize the true nature of the “alt-right.” In actuality, it’s a movement that views United States identity being inherently rooted in “Europeanism,” and where the key to Western civilization’s survival is essentially to have a more white population.

To be clear, the “alt-right” is not equivalent to the conservative right. Both those on the liberal left and conservative right have condemned the “alt-right” as being an isolated group of extremists. Some people are even eager to not use the term “alt-right” at all, because it euphemizes the prejudiced ideologies of those who subscribe to it.

Anyone interested in locating the activity of this group can look no further than Twitter or websites like 4chan and 8chan, where members of the “alt-right” use memes to broadcast their anti-establishment intent. Many of these memes incorporate demeaning caricatures, like illustrations of Jewish people and the prophet Muhammad, to endorse a white ethno-state that forbids immigration.

Through even the most cursory exploration, it’s clear to see this movement is predicated on absolute nonsense and needs to be fought in every domain. The trouble with the “alt-right” is that it’s almost like fighting a ghost; it has no formal ideology, its main platform is virtual, and contributors are almost entirely anonymous. In the rare instance that a decent person confronts someone of the “alt-right,” the accused will often cite sense of humor and trolling for the reason behind their rhetoric. This is a shallow evasion.

There is a massive difference between being politically incorrect and being an intolerant imbecile: Being politically incorrect is saying potentially offensive statements that are backed by facts, whereas being an intolerant imbecile is saying potentially offensive statements backed by nothing but ignorance. This distinction is imperative in the attempt of uprooting real hate in this country.

Over the course of Trump’s campaign, the “alt-right” has gained attention through its outspoken support for him. Given their views, there is little wonder as to why the “alt-right” endorses Trump and his promises of building a wall, forbidding Muslim immigration and focusing on an “America first” ideology.

Spencer has unsurprisingly supported Trump throughout his campaign as well, and was even recorded shouting, “Hail Trump!” at one of his speeches while his audience vehemently echoed him and saluted their arms in a gesture mirroring that of the Nazis. This is an instance where ostensibly benign trolling has transformed into hard and real hatred.

More recently, the “alt-right” has captured news stories through Trump’s appointment of Steven Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor for his presidency. Bannon is the former executive chair of Breitbart News, a far-right news outlet that has explicitly referred to itself as a platform for the “alt-right” and has even expressed admiration for Spencer as an “intellectual.” Trump’s failure to repudiate the Ku Klux Klan and the “alt-right” until only recently has understandably caused further alarm among U.S. citizens. With actual players from the “alt-right” emerging, it is critical to take them very seriously now — much more seriously than anyone took Trump during his road to the White House.

The “alt-right” can only be fought after developing a certain understanding of their message. This means that students ought to speak out against those who preach racial supremacy and prejudice against people of alternate backgrounds; it does not mean that hate speech should be punished institutionally. Freedom of speech is the central component of freedom and should be valued above all else. If someone of the “alt-right” or another hateful group says something offensive, they should naturally face the social ramifications of being labeled a bigot, rather than the institutional consequences of exercising free speech.

In a political climate that is becoming increasingly more hostile, it is absolutely vital that students engage in open dialogues that honor decorum, truth and decency, rather than the intolerance, hate and idiocy of groups like the “alt-right.”

Brian Deinstadt is a junior double-majoring in political science and English.