Friday, August 18, 2017

On Antifa...


There's just so much happening, I didn't want to miss the chance to post this so I'm doing it now while I'm thinking about it.

Anyone who knows me, knows I find Trump and his ardent supporters (in contrast, at least a little, to those who reluctantly tolerate him) to be morally and rationally and societally repulsive. I vomit a bit in my mouth anytime I think about him.

And his defense of "some" nazis and racists ("some were nice guys," or whatever) is atrocious, as is his false moral equivalency of Nazis and racists to the counter protestors. The man is a pig.
That being said, I have problems with the antifa movement. And I'm not the only one (amongst progressive and rational types). I'll post an article that goes into it some more, but in brief, here is my problem:

* They are anarchists, not liberals.

* They place themselves above the law, appointing themselves judge, jury and judgment against those THEY think deserve it. If they THINK you are a Nazi or sympathize too much with Nazis (again, in their head, not necessarily in reality), then they have been known to act against you.

* I hear that they even attacked some in the press this last weekend in their anarchic and self-appointed vigilantism against "the enemy."

I certainly sympathize with the notion of being against fascists and racists, but we do that within some boundaries. It's not every man (and mostly, I believe we are talking about men) for himself, everyone deciding who needs to be punched and who doesn't.

For one thing, it is counterproductive. It gives the idiots and racists like Trump some room for doing just what he has done. It undermines our efforts to stop fascism and racism, rather than supporting it.
But also, it is illiberal. It is not progressive to live outside the laws and make yourself the One True Decider for everyone else.

This is not to say that they are in anyway comparable to the actual fascists, but just to note that they are troubling and need to rein themselves in (and we need to help them rein in).

Read the article. Important stuff...

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/what-trump-gets-wrong-about-antifa/537048/

One excerpt:

"for all of antifa’s supposed anti-authoritarianism, there’s something fundamentally authoritarian about its claim that its activists—who no one elected—can decide whose views are too odious to be publicly expressed. That kind of undemocratic, illegitimate power corrupts. "

7 comments:

Craig said...

Wow, that's as unambiguous as I've ever heard you. It's also the most forthright statement against a group aligned with your side you've ever written.

Anonymous said...

Well, when you're dealing with fucking nazis and racists on the other side, a president who is courting them and assaulting women, a president who is clearly unfit for the job and routinely lies and attacks the media with a silly sort of abandon which would be funny if it weren't so pathetic and dangerous, it becomes difficult to deal with the smaller problems of people who are anti-fascist who take it too far sometimes.

But okay, I've been clear now.

Where are your clear denunciations of Trump and his racist, nazi supporters? Of his ridiculous lies and misogyny? Of his assault on the media and truth?

First, someone once said, remove the log from your own eye before you worry about the mote in another's.

Seriously, do you understand how weird this whole Trump phenomena is? How much energy we're having to devote to trying to keep him from destroying this country (actually doing serious damage to the basis of our great country, not merely make a few bad policies like that Kenyan Obama did or even the Reagans and Bushes of the Right!)?

We don't have time to keep up with half of the awful Trump scandals and atrocities which come daily, so dealing with these smaller - yes, serious, but still not comparable in scale - problems on our side. Oh no, Clinton mishandled her email! The horror! Oh no, Bill Clinton got a blow job and lied about it!

Do you understand how bad things are with this administration? Because it doesn't seem like you do. Yes, yes, I get that you didn't vote for him and you don't agree with him on at least some points, but you don't seem to get the scale or degree to how bad he is. Do you?

Also, of COURSE, progressives are opposed to actions like some things the antifa have done. Punching reporters?! WTF?! That HAS to stop. That can NOT be associated with our side!

If we had more help from the Righteous Right in confronting and stopping the atrocities of Trump, we'd have more time to deal with our motes. How about stepping it up some?

~Dan

Craig said...

You do realize that I wrote the post about why I don't support Trump months ago, do you also not see where I've denounced these people multiple times right here on your blog?

So what's your solution, going with your party mate and calling for assisination? Maybe you should just get "fucking" "pissed as hell" and go after him with a home made flame thrower.

Like it on not ANTIFA has attached themselves to your side and agenda.

I'm certainly glad I decided to compliment you.

Anonymous said...

Unclear on the concept of back-handed compliments?

Glad to hear that you one time wrote that you don't like Trump and won't support him.

Please.

~Dan

Marshal Art said...

So Dan doubles down on his lying ways. Not surprised he is unable to keep up the facade of "Christian". It couldn't last forever. Just the hatred alone...

Marshal Art said...

I've found a few sites that define Antifa punks as members of the left, which liberals are as well, but I like this one the best:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=antifa

Dan would suggest that neo-nazis and Klansmen are "right-wing", but that is abject nonsense given what they believe and want. It's all leftist trouble brought about by leftist politicians and ideologues that Dan supports.

Craig said...

Yes, Dan I've only written about my lack of support for Trump once. I guess that whole honesty facade was just too much to maintain.

Yes I know what a back handed compliment is, that wasn't one.

But I do love it when you excuse all sorts of unsavory behavior by those on your side. Please don't forget the Clintons being mentored by racists, Hillary's own history of racist and anti Semitic comments and Bill's multiple rape accusations. If you're going to give them.a pass, make sure it's a total pass.