There are some here who do make the claim that “antifa” is some sort of organization that is dangerous and needs to be identified and controlled.
If that is your premise, then it really is up to you to offer proof. Where is the proof that “antifa” is an organization? Who are it’s leaders? How is it organized? What is it’s structure? How are things communicated - are there “cells” or some other method of controlling the members?
Without any evidence of any of this, declaring anything about “antifa” is just so much hot air. It’s like declaring a war on calories.
So here’s your chance - provide evidence. ACTUAL evidence. Note that doctored photos from Fox News will not be accepted. Nor will opinions from right wing blogs. Nor will “I saw looters on the TV and they are all antifa”. Nor will “evidence” that you heard from your cousin whose friend’s barber knows the leaders of antifa. (seriously read this from a facebook source this week)
In the absence of evidence, we shall simply assume that when you use the term “antifa” what you mean is “People I don’t like who I think should be locked up”
This “prove Antifa exists” argument is absolutely asinine. A simple Google image search of the word “antifa” turns up many pictures of them on the first page, from credible sources such as the New York Times. Youtube has many videos of their activities. When a group of people show up at a political protest all standing together wearing the same clothes and carrying the same signs, they are a group regardless of the details of how they organize themselves to get there. They’re every bit as real as the Proud Boys or any other political group that doesn’t have an official legal charter.
It’s a decentralized movement that has local chapters. Some have websites and such, some don’t. It doesn’t really matter. The most well-known modern Antifa group is probably the Rose City Antifa from Portland. They have a website, Facebook group, Twitter account, and there’s a Wikipedia article about them:
Rose City Antifa and others carry basically the same flag as the original Antifa, Antifaschistische Aktion which was started by the Communist Party of Germany. They were hardcore Stalinists who considered everyone else “fascists”, including social democrats who they called “social fascists”. This is very similar to today’s Antifa who call everyone they oppose “Nazis”, including conservatives, libertarians and any moderate liberals who support free speech and such, in order to justify harassing or physically attacking them. Carrying the Antifaschistische Aktion flag is just as crazy as carrying a Nazi swastika flag, which even most “white nationalists” don’t do.
I see this pattern of Antifa supporters arguing that Antifa doesn’t exist or asking for proof that it does. It just mystifies me as to what they think they’re accomplishing. You’re not fooling anybody, except fooling yourselves into thinking that you are fooling people.
The latest absurdity I see is that they claim “everyone who opposes Nazis is Antifa” and that the D-Day landings in WWII were an Antifa operation. (A post claiming this recently made the front page of Reddit. Link for anyone who wants to behold the ignorance. and it was also posted by Bernie Sanders’ advisor Matt Duss on Twitter, not sure which was first. Ironic since the original Antifa considered social-democrats like Sanders their main enemy.) This is an Orwellian rewriting of history and especially bizarre considering most WWII soldiers would be considered Nazis by today’s Antifa because they supported segregation, opposed gay marriage and were generally to the right of today’s “far right” on social issues. Not to mention, that the Soviet battles against the Nazis were far biggest than the Normandy invasion, so it’s also historically false that it was the “largest”. It’s unsettling that the young Reddit userbase is apparently so historically ignorant that so many of them will buy such nonsense.
Since you and thirdname “accidentally” forgot to address that part…
Your fire ant analogy is a fantastic reach. Totally in character for the guy who says he’s against violence but constantly seems to defend the [del]white[/del] right-wing groups that actively preach hate and kill people.
Lots of goal post moving. If you read the link you’d see the acceptance of violence as a legitimate means of political change. In my world, mob violence is dangerous as are the folks who advocate for mob violence.
Does Antifa have the right to their point of view? I believe they do. I don’t believe they have the right to smash property or heads though.
You are still going on about this? I’m sure since the last time you couldn’t provide any “antifa” evidence, you must have gathered some that shows that “antifa” is smashing property and heads, right?
Antifa isn’t an organization, does not have members and does not have leaders. It means Anti Facist. Are you against Nazis - congrats, you are antifa if you choose to accept the label. Do you like to play games - congrats - you are a gamer, if you choose to accept the label.
There are anarchist organizations who have a lot of members who are antifa. There are some rabble rousing organizations that have a lot of antifa in it. I know a lot of people who identify as antifa - none of them belong to those organizations. Since my predominate political philosophy is antidisestablishmentarianism, I tend not to have a lot of patience for people who are on the anarchist end of the antifa spectrum - but I’ve met them.
The person who said “its a lot like the label Christians” is pretty much right on. Including in that there are Christians giving other Christians such a bad name that there are those that follow Christ that don’t really accept the label so they won’t get lumped in with the racist, misogynist assholes who have claimed the label - and that in its pretty easy to paint all of either group by the actions of the members at the extremes.
On of the men plays football at Colorado State. Somehow, the white guy with a gun pointing at civilians was taken into custody without incident.
There are more cases of people being threatened for being Antifa than there are criminal cases against Antifa. Shockingly, there’s almost always a racial component, too.
I’m not the one who said pictures were available. YOU did. In your previous links, I can find no pictures of people holding signs that say “I am Antifa”
so, once again, you actually have anything besides captions on pictures that can be anybody? Or you can continue to join those who are scared of made-up boogeymen.
Not really. Do you think antifa exists? why or why not?
I count something on the order of 16 posts from you, just in this thread alone, that consists of nothing but a one or two line aggressive and pointless questions. what is you point?
Not only have i shared such pictures here, it was in response to one of your questions. So, why are you asking for the third time something that has already been provided?
Debate honestly, or i see no need to debate with you at all.
