Many are clambering for the Federal government to declare the Antifa a terrorist organization.
Those on the left are resisting any damnation of the group instead painting them as warriors against fascism – code word for Trump.
Change by intimidation, violence and shutting down any opposing viewpoints is the modus operandi of the Antifa movement. The list of confrontations, conflicts, attacks and downright ugliness is growing.
One of the latest took place at Berkeley where the thugs showed up to attack a peaceful group protesting the cancelling of the “Say No to Marxism” rally. Not the first time Berkeley was the focus in the Antifa spotlight. Several months ago they perpetrated massive property damage with rocks, fire and implements to force the ultra conservative Milo Yiannopoulos from a planned speech on campus.
The salient feature of the self-described Antifa groups is to oppose fascism by direct actions, including violence, if need be. Antifa groups tend to be anti-government and anti-capitalist. Its adherents are mostly socialist, anarchists and communists. They are left of the left wing.
Antifa, according to Mark Bray, a Dartmouth College historian, its member “reject turning to the police or the state to halt the advance of white supremacy.” Instead they advocate popular opposition to fascism as witnessed in Charlottesville. Assisting their agenda was the poor police work that allowed the mayhem to be quite horrendous as the opposing groups merged and clashed. Death, injury and conflict were avoidable.
Things as American as a Rose Parade in Portland, Oregon are no longer safe from interference. The 82nd Avenue of Roses Annual Festival was canceled by the organizer for fear of an Antifa assault. Apparently an anonymous email was received saying that because the county Republican Party was going to participate “You have seen how much power we have…. and that the police cannot stop us from shutting down roads….consider your decision wisely…” It was further inferred that 200 people would rush the parade , in particular the Republican delegation and “drag and push” them. Of course there was a denial about sending such an email but the result was the same. An otherwise enjoyable community event was ruined and canceled out of fear of Antifa.
“People who speak for the Antifa movement acknowledge they sometimes carry clubs and sticks” and their “approach is confrontational”, according to National Public Radio. CNN only goes so far by saying that Antifa is “known for causing damage to property during protests.” Antifa organizers argue that destroying property in not a form of violence. Does anyone remember FALN or the bombing of 1960s or 1970s .
An unnamed source put the phenomena this way, “the idea in Antifa is that we go where they (right wingers and conservatives) go. That hate speech is not free speech. That if you are endangering people with what you say and actions that are behind them, then you do not have the right to do that. And so we go to conflict, to shut them where they are, because we don’t believe that Nazis or fascists of any stripe should have a mouthpiece.” Once again it is the attack of opposing viewpoints no matter how thought out, civil or proper context, opposing views are anathema and therefore evil that must be obliterated.
The outcry for Antifa to be named a terrorist organization is getting louder. In August 2017 the White House petitioning system “We the People” gathered more than 100,000 signatures for such a declaration. According to the website terrorism is defined as “the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims.” The definition is the same used to declare ISIS and other groups as terrorist organizations. Antifa has earned this title due to its violent actions in multiple cities and their influence in the killings of multiple police officers throughout the United States. It is time for the pentagon to be consistent in its actions – and just as they rightfully declared ISIS a terror group, they must declare Antifa the same.- on the grounds of principle, integrity, morality and safety.
The petition was allegedly initiated as a call for more legitimate voices to discuss the issue and was not a serious call for government actions. Nevertheless, that will transform as Antifa activity increases.
A recent quote from the Washington Post…”their faces hidden behind black bandannas and hoodies. About 100 anarchists and Antifa – “anti-fascist” – members barreled into a protest Sunday afternoon in Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. Jumping over plastic and concrete barriers, the group melted into a larger crowd of around 2,000 that had marched peacefully throughout the sunny afternoon for a “Rally Against Hate” gathering. Shorty afterwards, violence began to flare. A pepper-spray wielding Trump supporter was smacked to the ground with homemade shields. Another was attacked by five black-clad Antifa members, each wind milling kicks and punches into a man desperately trying to protect himself. A conservative group leader retreated for safety behind a line of riot police as marchers chucked water bottles, shot off pepper spray and screamed, “Fascist go home!”
From an article “the roots of Antifa” on Jacobinmag.com “The origins of the word “Antifa” – shorthand for decentralized, militant street activism associated with it own aesthetic and subculture – might be murky to most readers. Even in post World War II Germany, few know much about the popular forms of antifascist resistance that coined the term. The movement’s short but inspiring political legacy proved too uncomfortable for Cold War – era German states, and was ignored in schools and mainstream history. Today its legacy is almost entirely lost to the left.” However, the movement is experiencing a resurgence in 2017.
From the New York Times piece by Todd Gitlin…..`During his speech in Phoenix on Tuesday night, Donald 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., was evidence that the far left is just as violent as the far right. “You know, they show up in the helmets and black masks, and they’ve got clubs and they’ve got everything.”
Although roundly criticized for his attributing a certain amount of blame for the violence to both sides and not exclusively singling out the nationalist, white supremacists, KKK and ultra right, the President was not off the mark. As noted earlier, the conflict and mayhem was avoidable by good police work. Clearly Charlottesville PD dropped the ball by not keeping the factions apart. Had they done their job they could have prevented the escalation, injuries, death and political aftermath.
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 or different stripes; others don’t care what you call them. Yet others just want to commit violence for violence sake.
Berkeley California Mayor Jesse Arreguin has requested that campus conservatives cancel Free Speech Week next month because of Antifa. “Don’t provoke” the hundreds of goons with opinions they oppose, for fear they’ll again turn out and smash things. I don’t want Berkeley being used as a punching bag,” said Arreguin. “I am concerned about these groups using large protests to create mayhem.” Such wishy-washy leadership is turning over the car keys to a driver who is unstable, reckless and ruthless. Only tragedy can follow. Man up Mr. Mayor.
The same Democrats who criticized President Trump for his response to the Charlottesville violence and warned for days of potential chaos at a right- wing rally ….have been virtually silent on the attacks committed the very next weekend by apparent Antifa members at Berkeley. Thirteen people were arrested, five were injured after more than 100 black-clad, hooded protesters with masks and weapons attacked conservative demonstrators. They allegedly were associated with Antifa. Not to let some on the GOP side of the aisle off the hook….. they are ignorant to the looming epidemic and even themselves are avoiding a full throated opposition to anitfa activity.
“Antifa came with black masks, they carried weapons, they were pounding people down with their fists and feet” will be epitaph for this chapter of our history?