User:JHelzer/Articles/Antifa research

- The Antifa movement, The movement
- Perceptions of Antifa
- Controversies
- Symbols

New York Times - What is Antifa ^[1]

Deseret News - What is Antifa ^[2]

AlJazeera - What is Antifa? ^[3]

ABC News - Trump Says Antifa ^[4]

The WRAL - Trump deems Antifa ^[5]

BBC - Antifa: Left-wing militants ^[6]

The Atlantic - What Trump Gets Wrong ^[7]

FAS - Are Antifa Members Domestic Terrorists ^[8]

Guardian - Anti-fascists linked to zero murders ^[9]

The Antifa movement is...

• a loosely affiliated group of far-left anti-fascism activists, known as “antifa,” ^[1]
• a loose movement of activists whose followers share some philosophies and tactics ^[1]
• the movement is secretive, has no official leaders and is organized into autonomous local cells. Antifa members campaign against actions they view as authoritarian, homophobic, racist or xenophobic. Supporters generally seek to stop what they see as fascist, racist and far-right groups from having a platform to promote their views, arguing that public demonstration of those ideas leads to the targeting of marginalized people, including racial minorities, women and members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Many antifa organizers also participate in more peaceful forms of community organizing, but they believe that using violence is justified because of their views that if racist or fascist groups are allowed to organize freely, “it will inevitably result in violence against marginalized communities,” ^[1]
• antifa, which is short for anti-fascists, is known as a very loose collection of individuals and groups who aggressively oppose far-right movements, mainly focusing on white supremacists, neo-Nazis or other organizations with violent agendas ^[2]
• protesters who are willing to resort to property destruction and violence ... much of antifa sees nonviolence as an ineffective tactic against fascists ^[2]
• The movement is not organized. Rather, it is comprised of small squads of people in different cities, with no national leaders or unifying structure ^[2]
• Antifa groups resist far-right movements such as neo-Nazis and white supremacists. ^[4]
• Antifa, short for anti-fascists, is not a concrete group, rather an amorphous movement. Anti-fascists of the movement tend to be grouped on the leftward fringes of the US political spectrum, many describing themselves as socialists, anarchists, communists or anti-capitalists. Other than their opposition to right-wing ideologies, there is little binding the Antifa movement’s adherents together. Some focus on environmental causes or the rights of Indigenous groups, others for the rights of LGBT activists.^[3]
• RCA and other groups like it made it their goal to disrupt – violently if necessary – meetings and organisational efforts of white supremacists and their ilk. ^[3]
• Antifa is short for anti-fascists. The term is used to define a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left -- often the far left -- but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform. The group doesn't have an official leader or headquarters, although groups in certain states hold regular meetings. ^[5]
• members use violence as a means of self-defense ^[5]
• The social causes of Antifa (short for anti-fascist or Anti-Fascist action) are easily identifiable as left-leaning. Most members oppose all forms of racism and sexism, and strongly oppose what they see as the nationalist, anti-immigration and anti-Muslim policies that Mr Trump has enacted. Antifa focuses more on fighting far-right ideology than encouraging pro-left policy. Unlike the mainstream left, they do not seek to gain power through traditional channels - winning elections and passing bills into law. Antifa is anti-government and anti-capitalist, and their methodologies are often perceived as more closely aligned with anarchists than the mainstream left. Antifa does not shy away from militant protest methods, including the destruction of property and sometimes physical violence. ^[6]
• antifa, which is short for anti-fascist. As members of a largely anarchist movement, antifa activists generally combat white supremacism not by trying to change government policy but through direct action. ^[7]
• an organization of loosely affilitated individuals who describe themselves and their ideological outlooks as “antifa” (shorthand for “antifascist”) ... movement appears to be decentralized, consisting of independent, radical, like-minded groups and individuals ... the movement lacks a unifying organizational structure or detailed ideology ^[8]
• Antifa members view themselves as part of a protest tradition that arcs back to opposition groups in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prior to World War II ... opposing the activities of racist skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and neoNazis ... As a core purpose, antifa groups track and react to the activities of individuals or groups they see as advocating fascist views, such as neoNazis, racist skinheads, white supremacists, and white nationalists ^[8]
• “fascism” is notoriously difficult to define. Thus, particular antifa groups may oppose different things based on how they identify who or what is fascist. ^[8]
• Some members are willing to commit crimes, some violent, to promote their beliefs, although much antifa activity involves nonviolent protest such as hanging posters, delivering speeches, and marching ... They lack faith in the ability of law enforcement to investigate or prosecute fascists who break the law, especially during shows of force at public marches, and some are willing to engage in criminal acts—taking the law into their own hands—when confronting their foes or expressing their own ideas. ^[8]
• antifa’s methods could feed into what she said were false equivalencies that seek to lump violence on the left with attacks by the right^[1]
• while antifa perpetrates violence, it doesn’t perpetrate it on anything like the scale that white nationalists do ^[7]

1. Antifa is not an officially organized group

   Antifa is a loosely affiliated group of far-left anti-fascism activists ^[1]

   Antifa is a loose movement of activists whose followers share the same philosophies and tactics ^[1]

   the movement is secretive, has no official leaders and is organized into autonomous local cells ^[1]

   Antifa is a very loose collection of individuals and groups ^[2]

   The movement is not organized. Rather, it is comprised of small squads of people in different cities, with no national leaders or unifying structure ^[2]

   The group doesn't have an official leader or headquarters, although groups in certain states hold regular meetings ^[5]

   an organization of loosely affiliated individuals ^[8]

   the movement lacks a unifying organizational structure or detailed ideology ^[8]

2. Antifa is a response to fascist violence

   seek to stop what they see as fascist, racist and far-right groups from having a platform ^[1]

   who aggressively oppose far-right movements, mainly focusing on white supremacists, neo-Nazis or other organizations with violent agendas ^[2]

   Antifa groups resist far-right movements such as neo-Nazis and white supremacists ^[4]

   Antifa focuses more on fighting far-right ideology than encouraging pro-left policy ^[6]

   antifa activists generally combat white supremacism ^[7]

   opposing the activities of racist skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and neoNazis ^[8]

   track and react to the activities of individuals or groups they see as advocating fascist views, such as neoNazis, racist skinheads, white supremacists, and white nationalists ^[8]

3. Antifa uses direct action to enact change

   they do not seek to gain power through traditional channels - winning elections and passing bills into law ^[6]

   not by trying to change government policy but through direct action ^[7]

   but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform ^[5]

   They lack faith in the ability of law enforcement ... taking the law into their own hands ^[8]

4. Antifa is willing to commit crime, some violent

   they believe that using violence is justified because of their views that if racist or fascist groups are allowed to organize freely, “it will inevitably result in violence against marginalized communities,” ^[1]

   does not shy away from militant protest methods, including the destruction of property and sometimes physical violence ^[6]

   members use violence as a means of self-defense ^[5]

   Some members are willing to commit crimes, some violent, to promote their beliefs ^[8]

   They lack faith in the ability of law enforcement to investigate or prosecute fascists who break the law, and some are willing to engage in criminal acts—taking the law into their own hands ^[8]

5. It is a fallacy to compare Antifa violence to white extremist violence.

   antifa’s methods could feed into what she said were false equivalencies that seek to lump violence on the left with attacks by the right ^[1]

   while antifa perpetrates violence, it doesn’t perpetrate it on anything like the scale that white nationalists do ^[7]

   But in reality leftwing attacks have left far fewer people dead than violence by rightwing extremists ^[9]