But in present conditions, using violence to express resistance just feeds the ramping up of restrictions on civil liberties "in extremis" and growing the police/surveillance state. It's a strategic blunder unless one thinks that further imposition of a policy state will result in the public rising up to resist. That is most likely wishful thinking based on history. There is not much evidence to suggest it.
The media consensus, echoing the alt-right media, is already anti-antifa, and extremism on the left is being portrayed as at least equal to extremism on the right if not worse and a greater threat to America.
But, as Krueger points out, saying this will probably not change many people's minds.
So get used to "domestic terror" as a justification for further state control in the name of "security."
Liberty Blitzkrieg
Antifa is Playing Right Into the Hands of a Burgeoning Police State
Michael Krieger
UPDATE
Maxspeak
Liberty Blitzkrieg
Antifa is Playing Right Into the Hands of a Burgeoning Police State
Michael Krieger
UPDATE
Maxspeak
Max Sawicky
The Hill — Opinion
The Hypocrisy of Antifa
Jonathan Turley | Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University
The Hill — Opinion
The Hypocrisy of Antifa
Jonathan Turley | Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University
14 comments:
Governments suppress *any* demonstration they don't like, and infiltrate / undermine create false flag actions / etc. to "legitimize" crackdowns.
@ OCCUPY: mental patients dumped, infiltrated by every branch of police and intelligence, mass arrests, masks outlawed, public parks cleared, corporate security provided by public police, etc., etc., etc.
That may be true, but int the past, very few people were charged with felonies and many of the charges didn't stick.
Labeling violent dissent domestic terrorism is a different matter. That would really cast a pall on demonstrating at all.
The antifas and antifa-sympathizers that I have chatted with just get emotional when I ask them to explain their strategy.
"We must stop the fascists/nazis!"
"They deserve to get punched!"
"Antifa is protecting us!"
"You are either with us or against us!"
The antifas do not seem to understand the root causes of racism or fascism. They have no strategy to explain how getting in a street brawl is going to change anything. They offer no explanation as to where all these disgruntled white Americans are going to go -- will they disappear into thin air? The antifas don't seem concerned about public opinion. In general, they are reacting emotionally rather than using their brain.
Chris Hedges pointed all that out and more, and he has taken a lot of heat for it.
If we're going start punching any group of people associated with genocide, then we should start punching ourselves. Our country murders innocent foreigners nearly every day, yet antifa didn't seem concerned about genocide when Obama and Hillary did it. One is left with the impression that antifa is really about people being upset because their side lost the election. Maybe they should run a better candidate next time?
"Burgeoning Police State"
If we had a burgeoning police state we would be seeing skulls getting cracked wide open...
Fear of X and X itself are two different things...
If we had a burgeoning police state we would be seeing skulls getting cracked wide open...
That's not generally the way a modern police state works. It's more subtle than that other than with certain groups that have been marginalized. Non-white skulls have been getting cracked for a long time, and well as other measures of control by force and intimidation going back to slavery, the Indian wars, and immigration of "undesirable" types.
The m.o. for white people has been different, mostly intimidation and occasional prosecution to instill fear in others. At low level this involves the reputational risk of a police record, which doesn't look so good on a resume other than at anarchist-run firms.
This is why instituting "domestic terrorism" is a step up in intimidation. Terrorism is a very serious charge on one hand, and it also allows for being disappeared or assassinated. Who wants that?
Ivory Tower types like Matt are immunized from the police state. My wife gets pulled over routinely because she drives an old Toyota and is profiled as an illegal. I got pulled over in front of my house for expired inspection and a second cop (backup) came to the passenger window with his hand on his gun. I'm a middle-aged working-class white guy living in a resort community. Not driving Range Rovers makes us stick out.
The entire police system is designed for enforcement, not protection. Just like the entire corrections system is designed for punishment, not rehabilitation.
I just got pulled over this past week my license plate is like 17 years old and has little contrast left on my car that has now 258k miles and the county cop rolled up behind me and they now have scanners that automatically run the plate on the car in front of them ... his ocr mistook my M for an N and the plates came back expired... so hit lit me up and asked for my license and registration ... all was in order he tild me his software was off by one letter have a nice day....
I ordered replacement plates the next day ;)
Noah they pull the working man over all the time becaus that is who has the munnie...
They are probably on commission if you could look into it...
Meanwhile antifa can spit right into their faces and burn things and break windows, prevent free speech with impunity when they should be having their skulls cracked wide open with clubs by any reasonable analysis of the situation...
Fine observation of what has happened since 1990: "The entire police system is designed for enforcement, not protection."
UPDATE
Maxspeak
Nazi-punching for beginners
Max Sawicky
UPDATE
The Hill — Opinion
The Hypocrisy of Antifa
Jonathan Turley | Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University
Tom they are very lucky they have not had all their asses kicked royally and thrown in jail for a very long time... and this puts the lie to the whole "police state!" meme... we have the exact opposite ..
Matt, there is no evidence there are more than a few thousand violent Antifa members in the US.
This is a lot of hype fueled by the Alt Right to designate the left as domestic terrorists and to take the pressure of far right extremists, who are far more numerous.
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