Who's Afraid of Antifa? - By Todd Gitlin

[DonViejo]

By TODD GITLINAUG. 28, 2017

During his speech in Phoenix on Tuesday night, Donald Trump spat out the nickname “antifa,” short for “anti-fascist” but also a reference to a particular strand of aggressive left-wing activism. In Mr. Trump’s telling, the presence of antifa activists during the violence in Charlottesville, Va., this month was evidence that the far left is just as violent as the far right: “You know, they show up in the helmets and the black masks, and they’ve got clubs and they’ve got everything.”

Surrogates have aped Mr. Trump’s “blame both sides” rhetoric; overnight, antifa — and its assumed synonym, “alt-left” — have become right-wing shibboleths, right there with “social justice warrior” and “liberal snowflake.” In truth, there is no symmetry between either “alt-right” and either “antifa” or “alt-left.” Antifa is the backlash to the backlash, a defensive response to the growing presence of right-wing extremism. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t worry. Because antifa groups are willing to use force when needed, provoking them can trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So far, there is a fearful asymmetry between the far right and antifa: Over the decade ending in 2016, estimates of the percentage of politically motivated killings committed by right-wing extremists range from 73 to 92 percent, according to the conservative Daily Caller. Despite the spurious rhetoric of equivalency, supporters of antifa have, to date, killed no one.

Who are the antifa, then? They do not advocate a positive doctrine, racial or otherwise. Some supporters consider themselves (as Mr. Trump accurately said) anarchists, some Marxists of different stripes; others don’t care much what you call them. There is no national antifa organization; most organized groups are local, concentrated in Texas and the Northwest. There’s not even a consensus among adherents as to whether to pronounce the term AN-tee-fah or an-TEE-fah. They aim to confront, expose, shame — and sometimes convert — white supremacists.

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/opinion/antifa-trump-charlottesville.html

[ck4829]

1. We need a dedicated anti-fascism force. Period.

We all oppose racism, but we're not all on par with the SPLC.

We all support reproductive freedom, but we're not all on par with Planned Parenthood.

We all support economic power for the people, but we're not all on par with Demos.


The point we're not all specialists in everything people left of center need to support and need to be opposed to. Like it or not, if we do not have dedicated anti-fascism, we might as well saw off our own hands. If you don't like the tactics of particular antifa groups then change them, we should work with non-violent groups, but we need to stop with the right wing frame of violence=antifa and non-violence=non-antifa. We need antifa. Our Republic needs antifa.

[mulsh]

2. Premature anti fascist is what my neighbor Lew was labled after serving in Spain and the US Army in

WWII. Lew had recently completed his residency when the civil war in Spain broke out. He joined the Abraham Lincoln brigade. Was a medic and did some fighting in their Civil War. After that he served in the US Army medical corp in Europe. Shortly after the war he discovered he had been designated a "premature antifascist". He was black listed, never again working as a doctor. Like the man in the article after the link he worked what ever jobs he could get. Lew say cynical but not bitter. He always said he would do it all the same way again.

So when I read and hear people bad mouthing antifa I always think of Lew and some of the other Lincoln Brigade guys I was fortunate to meet. we've been down this road before lets not go there again.

[link:https://www.thenation.com/article/premature-antifascist-and-proudly-so/|

[SharonClark]

3. Interesting, if somewhat vague, article by Gitlin

A couple of sections stood out for me " In antifa circles, the theme of hypermasculine bravado is often right out front, and unsurprisingly, a large majority of the antifa camp are men. Muscularity is prized." and "But many antifa activists do not think strategically about whom they alienate. They are convinced that the hour for normal politics has passed, and let the chips fall where they may."

So far, antifa has not overtly shown that behavior but 'Masculine bravado' and 'not thinking strategically' will not help our cause and will drive some people from attending rallies and publically voicing their concerns. Getting caught between two raging groups of men is not where I want to be. If antifa decides to join their voice with ours at rallies then they should start thinking about where the chips will fall and who their allies are.

[ollie10]

4. Fascism feeds on violence....

Hitler may never have risen to so much power without the burning of the Reichstag.....many now think the nazis were the ones who did the deed.

I understand that fascism needs to be resisted. However, the use of violence I believe is counter-productive. It is what the fascists want. It gives them a violent enemy to justify themselves with. And it gives support to Trump's notion that there were two sides at Charlottesville....

The fascists are not a weak enemy. They should be taken seriously.

So, when antifa uses violence that provokes a backlash against its cause, we really need to call them out.

Martin Luther King, Jr did not promote "burn baby burn" and he was a heck of a lot more effective by being non-violent.

We certainly don't want to let the nazis and white supremacists play victim card.