AntiFa

Some Arrested As Right-Wing Rally Clashes With Counter-Protesters

August 5, 2018 Andrew Selsky, Associated Press Resist! AntiFa, Fascism, Racism

Small scuffles broke out Saturday as police in Portland, Oregon, deployed “flash bang” devices and other means to disperse hundreds of right-wing and self-described anti-fascist protesters. There were arrests and some injuries, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many. A reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive was bloodied when he was struck by a projectile. Eder Campuzano said later on Twitter he was “okay.” Demonstrators aligned with Patriot Prayer and an affiliated group, the Proud Boys, gathered around mid-day in a riverfront park. Hundreds of demonstrators faced them from across the street, holding banners and signs with opposition messages such as “Alt right scum not welcome in Portland.” Some chanted “Nazis go home.”

White Nationalists Plan Event Across From The White House

July 15, 2018 Richard Ochs, Popular Resistance Strategize! AntiFa, Donald Trump, Racism

The racist Nazis are looking for a fight. Shall we give them what they want? I propose no. Let’s not stoop to their level. Instead let’s organize a “Celebration of Diversity” in another location, which will be a hundred times larger than their sorry rally. That will show how puny they are and how massive we are. Our “Love Fest” will be a stark contrast to their “Hate Fest.” If we confront them with counter-hatred, it will just let Trump again claim, “There was violence on both sides.” If we plan to get in their face, it will keep our numbers a lot lower, removing the advantage of showing the world a gigantic rally for peace and love. If we confront them with counter-hatred, it will just let Trump again claim, “There was violence on both sides.” If we plan to get in their face, it will keep our numbers a lot lower, removing the advantage of showing the world a gigantic rally for peace and love.

Can Antifa Build an Effective Broad-Based Anti-Fascist Movement?

April 29, 2018 By Sue Curry Jansen and Brian Martin, Waging Nonviolence Strategize! AntiFa, Facism, Nonviolence

The book is an informed and revealing, yet one-sided, account of efforts against fascism. What it omits is a sustained discussion of strategy to counter fascism by any means except using force to deter or fight the presence of the far right in public spaces. This one-dimensional approach limits the potential for participation of many sympathetic people. Furthermore, it can even alienate potential supporters who might be won over and involved using less confrontational tactics. Using violence sends a message that the way to oppose those with whom you disagree is to silence their speech. This can legitimate use of the same methods by opponents. Ultimately, suppressing free speech and using violence are not good ways to build the sort of free society Bray desires, because they fail to foster the attitudes and skills necessary for such a society to develop and flourish.

The Importance Of Antifa In Confronting Fascism

February 13, 2018 By Mark Bray, Truth-out.org Resist! AntiFa, Fascism

Before analyzing anti-fascism, we must first briefly examine fascism. More than perhaps any other mode of politics, fascism is notoriously difficult to pin down. The challenge of defining fascism stems from the fact that it "began as a charismatic movement" united by an "experience of faith" in direct opposition to rationality and the standard constraints of ideological precision. Mussolini explained that his movement did "not feel tied to any particular doctrinal form." "Our myth is the nation," he asserted, "and to this myth, to this grandeur we subordinate all the rest." As historian Robert Paxton argued, fascists "reject any universal value other than the success of chosen peoples in a Darwinian struggle for primacy."

The Front Lines Of Antifascism In Eastern Germany

October 14, 2017 Morgan Meaker, www.psmag.com Resist! AntiFa, Fascism, Germany

By Morgan Meaker for Pacific Standard - A shy grin spreads across Maximillian's face as he stretches out his arm to show where he was bitten by a Nazi. A faint, teeth-shaped scar marks where the attacker's jaw clamped down on the 17-year-old. Wearing suspenders and a flat cap studded with anti-fascist badges, Maximillian says his assailant was probably on drugs but that he knew he was a neo-Nazi because the guy called Maximillian "a fucking anti-fascist." Maximillian shrugs as if to say it happens all the time. In the same month, December of 2016, he was ambushed by another gang of neo-Nazis in the town center. That time, they broke his jaw. The teenager's hometown of Bautzen in eastern Germany has earned a reputation for right-wing extremists since Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders to almost 900,000 refugees in 2015. Over the past two years, Bautzen has seen anti-migrant demonstrations, a mass brawl between the town's residents and its asylum-seekers, and an attack on the information desk of a pro-diversity non-profit. But the town's rising tensions reflect a nationwide surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AFD). In the recent national election, the AFD became the first far-right party to sit in the Bundestag since World War II, with 12.6 percent of the vote (according to provisional results).

The Anti-Capitalist Politics Of Antifa

September 7, 2017 Stephanie Basile, www.counterpunch.org Create! AntiCapitalist, AntiFa, Left Politics, New Economy

By Stephanie Basile for Counter Punch - As antifa has burst into the mainstream in recent weeks, suddenly the efficacy of confronting Nazis in the streets is being debated on the national stage. Antifa is not one particular group, but a term used to describe anti-fascists committed to stamping out fascism before it can rise to power. The debate around antifa tends to stay narrowly focused on the use of physical self-defense in public spaces. What’s received less attention is the anti-capitalist politics of antifa, and how some anti-fascists and are putting these politics into practice through workplace organizing. When workers at the New York City feminist sex toy shop Babeland participated in a workplace action this past spring, it was the first time that every single NYC Babeland worker unanimously agreed on something: the company needed more diversity in its hiring practices. The Babeland workers, who in 2016 unionized with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), had negotiated language into their contract requiring their employer to seek diverse candidates when filling positions. When it became clear the company was violating this, the workers at Babeland all signed onto a letter called on the company to hire more workers of color and more trans workers.

Is Violence The Way To Fight Racism?

August 27, 2017 Peter Singer, www.projectsyndicate.org Strategize! AntiFa, Nonviolence, Racism, Violence

By Peter Singer for Project Syndicate. PRINCETON, NJ – Should rallies by neo-Nazis and white supremacists be met with violence? That question was raised by the tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12. White supremacists held a rally to protest the planned removal from a public park of a statue of Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederate army during the Civil War. A counter-protest was organized, and street fighting broke out. A woman, Heather Heyer, was killed and 19 people injured when James Fields, a white nationalist, drove his car at high speed into a crowd of counter-protesters.

How Low Will Fracking Go & If You Don’t Like Antifa, Watch This

August 26, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, www.occupy.com Educate! AntiFa, Fracking

By Eleanor Goldfield for Occupy - This week on Act Out! we head to Camp White Pine to get you an update on the latest in the fight against the Mariner East 2 Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners. Elise Gerhart breaks down the recent hold on construction as we show you the criss-cross of pipelines already surrounding the Gerhart property – not to mention the entire state of Pennsylvania. With the help of FracTracker, we outline the dangers of existing and proposed pipelines due to the highly combustible nature of the gases carried in liquid form by these toxic pipelines. The real lowdown comes from an unbelievable ploy by ETP to smear and spread lies about pipeline resisters. In the case of fighting pipelines, truth really is stranger than fiction. Next up, we don't have to see eye-to-eye, but in the wake of fascism's rise, we DO need to agree on one basic thing. Hold your comments till the end and let’s just see if we can find some common ground in the midst of this divide and conquer storm. As long as we’re mutually against fascism and the rise of horrendous racism, bigotry and white supremacy in this country, we CAN work together – indeed, we must.

Noam Chomsky: AntiFa Is ‘A Major Gift To The Right’

August 24, 2017 Maya Oppenheim, www.independent.co.uk Educate! AntiFa, Fascism, Nonviolence, White Supremacy

By Maya Oppenheim for The Independent. Noam Chomsky has criticised the anti-fascist movement and argued its actions are wrong in principle and it is a “major gift to the right”. The eminent intellectual, who is described as the father of modern linguistics, argued the movement was self-destructive and constituted a tiny faction on the periphery of the left. Antifa, shorthand for anti-fascist organisations, refers to a loose coalition of militant, decentralised, grassroots groups which are opposed to the far-right. The movement, which was founded in Europe in the 1920s, has dominated headlines in the wake of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville earlier this month. Neo-Nazis, KKK members and “alt-right” supporters clashed with anti-fascists and a woman was left dead after a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters.

Nazis, IS, Antifa, The YPG, Democratic Landlords, & The Spanish Civil War

August 24, 2017 David Rovics, www.songwritersnotebook.blogspot.com Educate! AntiFa, Confederate memorial, Nazis, Rojava

By David Rovics in Songwriter's Notebook. The Spanish Civil War has been discussed in the media more in the past few weeks than I can remember in my lifetime. The media has said more nice things about anarchists in the past few weeks than ever in my lifetime as well, and I'm pretty sure they have covered protests more lately than at any time since 1970 or so. At the beginning of the month I wrote a song, "Rojava," after getting encrypted messages from the front lines of the war against Islamic State in Syria, sent by an anarchist from the US who is there fighting with the YPG. Which is the male version of the YPJ, which together makes up the biggest chunk of the military wing of the struggle for the freedom of the people of the region known as Rojava.

Rumors Of KKK March Lead To Rapid Mobilization In Durham

August 19, 2017 Staff, www.wral.com Resist! AntiFa, KKK, Racism

By WRAL. Durham, NC - 11:25 a.m.: In a recorded message to employees, Durham County closed office buildings and sent workers home early on Friday. All employees were instructed to leave for the day, take their belongings and avoid downtown. 11:35 a.m.: Several downtown Durham businesses, including Scratch Bakery and SunTrust bank, have closed early or not opened as rumors swirl of a planned white supremacist rally. 11:40 a.m.: Police have blocked the road in front of the old Durham County Courthouse at 201 E. Main St. ahead of a rumored white supremacist protest. 12:07 p.m.: Crowds of people could be seen holding signs on Main Street in downtown Durham. A banner read "We will no longer be intimidated," and people were seen holding "Black Lives Matter" signs.

For Media, Driving Into A Crowd Of Protesters Is A ‘Clash’

August 13, 2017 Adam Johnson, fair.org/home Educate! AltRight, AntiFa, Racism

By Adam Johnson for FAIR. The Washington Post, Boston Globe, AOL News, The Hill, BBCand Sky News UK all chose to frame the ramming of a car into anti-fascist protesters as “clashes.” The BBC’s breaking news tweet, “One dead amid clashes between US white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville,” is an extremely odd way to describe a person driving a car into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters—as was AOL’s “1 Dead, 34 Injured in Clashes at Virginia Rally.” The term “clashes”—as FAIR (10/14/15) has noted before—is a term designed to obscure blame, presenting a picture of two equal sides engaging in violent activities. Reading “one dead” after “clashes” at a white nationalist rally gives us no idea who died, or who did the killing. (Alternatively, one can veil responsibility by attributing agency to an inanimate object and disembodied emotions, as with the New York Times‘ headline, “Car Plows Into Crowd as Racial Tensions Boil Over in Virginia.”) There are times when things can be ambiguous, but after a person the police say “premeditatedly” rammed into a crowd of anti-racist protesters with a car, it’s fairly clear the anti-racist protesters aren’t to blame for the death. But one would hardly know this, reading these “clashes” framings.

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