The group ‘ANTIFA’ has been getting a lot of attention recently so I felt the need to look into them and understand exactly who they are, what they stand for, and ultimately, why The Identity-Lens Project can not support or condone their actions.
Who is ‘ANTIFA’?
The term ‘Antifa’ these days typically refers to self-styled “Anti-Fascists” groups in the United States.
According to reporting done by Politico, the US Department of Homeland Security internally classifies actions of Antifa as “domestic terrorist violence,” and for some seriously legitimate reasons.
What Do They Stand For?
As the name would imply, they see themselves as “Anti-Fascist” and seem to have been specifically energized, and emboldened by the rise of the Alt-Right movement in the wake of the 2016 Trump Campaign, and subsequent Presidency. They have been described as being left wing to far-left, but they focus more on fighting far-right ideology directly (often with acts of physical violence) than on encouraging a pro-left policy. Antifa groups tend to be pro-violence, anti-government and anti-capitalist. Antifa’s anti-free speech stance is also of serious concern.
Why Do I NOT Support Them?
I firmly believe that Antifa is not only dangerous but their violence and anarchistic behavior is directly counter-productive to what is needed. I would welcome open dialogue with Antifa, but that is not possible due to there being no centralized leadership, message or agenda.
The Alt Right claim to be the victims in the Civil Rights movement – Antifa is giving the Alt Right (their apparent enemies) exactly what they need to further their own discriminatory Alt-Right agenda.
In fact, if the Alt-Right was to invent their own perfect enemy (and I in no way suggest they did) it would be Antifa. They even go so far as to hide their faces – really guys? Hiding your face implies you are doing something wrong – and they are – which is why they hide. For some young, (let’s be honest) mostly white, affluent youth, Antifa is nothing more than a fun way for them to act out violently in public with little to no repercussions. To them it’s Cosplay, an online role-playing game come to life. They appear to have no real concern for civil rights.
Anarchy is not a solution, and Antifa is not a solution – it is itself, a serious problem.
To call Antifa a Social Movement is an insult to real social movements like Gay Pride, and Black Lives Matter – who may too have their own controversies, but so do all legitimate organizations.
What does the future hold for Antifa?
Of course I don’t know this, but honestly it does not look good.
By behaving the way they do, they give their opponents (Alt Right / White Supremacists / White Nationalists / Neo-Nazis) all the fuel they need to systematically discredit all legitimate left-leaning social movements. Whether these left-leaning social movements choose to associate themselves with Antifa or not, will be totally irrelevant.
Frankly, this is setting up to be a disaster for the people and the political system in the USA – and these Antifa kids need to go home.
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