Pete Hegseth's Tattoos and the Crusading Obsession of the Far Right

[SpankMe]

The symbols sported by Trump’s defense pick reveal how the medieval past is being reimagined by Christian nationalists, behind a shield of plausible deniability

https://newlinesmag.com/essays/pete-hegseths-tattoos-and-the-crusading-obsession-of-the-far-right/

The internet was quick to respond to this compilation of images with charges of violent far-right ideology, if not outright white supremacism. Hegseth was equally quick to deny, with countercharges of anti-Christian sentiment. While we can’t ever know for sure a true intention or individual interpretation of symbols behind a tattoo, a closer look at the history of these particular images produces an undeniable picture of militant Christianity, drawing on a long history of iconography connected to the Crusades, one of the bloodiest periods of Christian history. It is also a fact that many of these symbols are ubiquitous among far-right communities, seen in events from the Charlottesville rally to the manifesto of the Norwegian far-right shooter Anders Breivik and the engravings on the gun of the Christchurch shooter. But though these symbols have a long lineage, they have only been put together in the way they are seen on Hegseth’s body over the past decade, from around the time of Trump’s first campaign and ever more openly since. Unpeeling the layers of history and meaning shows the tightrope of plausible deniability the far right is walking, with history as their weapon — simultaneously signaling to their supporters and enabling them to deny the implications of Christian nationalism to the rest of the world.

“There is no version of Deus Vult that means anything other than Crusader fanboy.” There aren’t multiple readings, as for the Jerusalem cross or Chi-Rho? “Absolutely not.” Lecaque stands firm, and Janega agrees. “It’s a call to religious violence, expressly linked to a pretty horrific episode in history. There isn’t another way of reading it other than that.”
__________________________________________________________________________

There have been many posts on DU about Hegseth's tattoos and what they mean, but I hadn't seen any references to the article I linked to above. It's a 20 or so minute read, but it's an extremely well done analysis and is eye-opening. Please take the time to read it. It's from November, 2024.

Bottom line - we will have a white, Christian nationalist with a victimhood complex and a hard-on for religious war with Muslims running the largest military in the world.