Animal advocates, Richard Hanania and white supremacy

There’s a growing number of animal advocates writing on Substack, which I think is really cool. For instance, I follow Kim Stallwood, Elise Myslinksi and many others on the platform. In some ways, it reminds me of the vegan WordPress community of the early 2010s, which I consider myself alumni from.

Still, I’ve been somewhat shocked by the frequency with which some advocates, and I’m not talking about Stallwood or Myslinski here, cite the far-right commentator Richard Hanania. They seem to do this approvingly or without noting he is, most charitably, a former white supremacist.

I’ll readily admit I haven’t read Hanania’s work. I know him only by reputation. So perhaps it’s possible to read a few of his articles about animal welfare and not be aware of his past or broader worldview. I certainly don’t run a background check on everyone I cite in my writing. That’s an unreasonable expectation.

In terms of Hanania himself, I’ll say I’m completely open to the possibility people can grow and change. However, my understanding is he’s continued to publish opinions under his own name, which aren’t markedly different from his past pseudonymous work, initially exposed by HuffPost.

For instance, in August of 2023, the liberal publication revealed its findings. Under the pen name ‘Richard Hoste,’ Hanania contributed to white supremacist outlets for years, expressing support for eugenics, opposition to interracial relationships, and other things. He was an influential voice in what was then called the alt-right.

Hanania went on to much more mainstream success. He wrote for The New York Times and The Washington Post. He made appearances on Fox News. When Hanania’s prior writings came to light, he dismissed them as youthful folly he’d long since evolved beyond. But, again, that doesn’t seem to be true.

Let me provide an example. In May of 2023, mere months before the release of HuffPost’s article, Hanania tweeted the following in relation to a murdered black man and the black district attorney who indicted his killer: “These people are animals, whether they’re harassing people in subways or walking around in suits.”

As a vegan activist, I believe it’s important to acknowledge humans are animals. But to suggest black people are somehow more animalistic than white people is indisputably racist. I’ll leave it to critical animal studies scholars, better versed in the intersection of race and species, to fully unpack Hanania’s statement.

A few days later, he tweeted, “I don't have much hope that we'll solve crime in any meaningful way. It would require a revolution in our culture or form of government. We need more policing, incarceration, and surveillance of black people. Blacks won't appreciate it, whites don't have the stomach for it.”

There’s a well-known cliche, which says, ‘Politics makes strange bedfellows.’ In short, to win power, you often have to make alliances with people you don’t necessarily like or agree with. I think that’s correct. However, there’s a significant difference between reactionaries born of ignorance and committed ideologues.

We all make mistakes. We all have political blindspots, where our thinking could use improvement. But that’s not Hanania’s issue. He’s a dedicated, far-right extremist, who has shown little indication of change. Most recently, Hanania contributed to Project 2025, the blueprint for the ongoing fascist takeover of the United States.