Antifa- Guardians of Democracy, or Anarchist thugs?
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Antifa, standing for ‘Anti-Fascists’, sprung to the international spotlight two years ago, at Berkley University in 2017. Hundreds of rioters, dressed in black hoodies and carrying various makeshift weapons descended on the campus, beating up bystanders, smashing windows and throwing Molotov cocktails, causing over $100,000 in damage. All to combat right-wing online pundit, Milo Yianoppoulus.
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Their goal, as highlighted in online transmissions from the loosely organised group, is to combat fascism and ‘fascist’ speakers by ‘Any means necessary’ including violence against those they deem said fascist supporters. The group themselves also hold extreme ideology, making no secret of their Marxist and Anarchist affiliations by carrying flags adorning the hammer and sickle to their marches. They are made up of small cells in most major cities across the United States, as well as having similar groups in the UK and Europe.
Why allow fringe-ideologies to define who the true fascists are? Their targets range from neo-Nazi, white ethno-state supporters such as Richard Spencer, to the Orthodox Jewish, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. The irony of accusing a mainstream republican, a devout Jew, nonetheless, of supporting Neo-Nazi ideology seems to be completely lost on them. This is not an act of societal altruism; this is a clear attempt to crush political opposition and cause terror in the ranks of political enemies. Ben Shapiro, the Jewish Conservative speaker, needs to spend over $50,000 to ensure his safety when speaking at events, due to the threats of violence and death from Far-right and anarchist thugs.
They use such flimsy examples such as Shapiro as excuses to push their own ideology, gain the spotlight, and cause anarchy and havoc in the streets while doing so. Yet the mainstream media refuses to even acknowledge the lax morality of their actions. Continually, even mainstream liberal commentators on major news networks like CNN act as apologists for such vile acts of political violence, without understanding that their ideology exists in conflict with the basic, intrinsic values of free speech and political freedom on which democracy is built.
It should be clear that I am not opposed to using violence to suppress and crush hateful ideologies, and stop Nazism from taking a hold in our society. If more people had resisted in the 1930s, then millions of lives could have been saved. Yet Antifa does not target fascists. They use this excuse as guardians of society to crush anyone right of centre, whether it be libertarians, conservatives or Neo-Nazis. To them, they all come under the same banner. The end result of these violence, thuggish actions is stifling political debate, increased polarisation, and pushing those who had previously been centrist or conservative further to the right; purely through frustration and anger.
Antifa, and similar militant groups are not progressive heroes, they are regressive, anti-free speech, anarchist thugs who’s only purpose in the political sphere is to stifle conversation, free speech, and push their own, far-left agenda.
By Joshua Franklin
Why allow fringe-ideologies to define who the true fascists are? Their targets range from neo-Nazi, white ethno-state supporters such as Richard Spencer, to the Orthodox Jewish, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. The irony of accusing a mainstream republican, a devout Jew, nonetheless, of supporting Neo-Nazi ideology seems to be completely lost on them. This is not an act of societal altruism; this is a clear attempt to crush political opposition and cause terror in the ranks of political enemies. Ben Shapiro, the Jewish Conservative speaker, needs to spend over $50,000 to ensure his safety when speaking at events, due to the threats of violence and death from Far-right and anarchist thugs.
They use such flimsy examples such as Shapiro as excuses to push their own ideology, gain the spotlight, and cause anarchy and havoc in the streets while doing so. Yet the mainstream media refuses to even acknowledge the lax morality of their actions. Continually, even mainstream liberal commentators on major news networks like CNN act as apologists for such vile acts of political violence, without understanding that their ideology exists in conflict with the basic, intrinsic values of free speech and political freedom on which democracy is built.
It should be clear that I am not opposed to using violence to suppress and crush hateful ideologies, and stop Nazism from taking a hold in our society. If more people had resisted in the 1930s, then millions of lives could have been saved. Yet Antifa does not target fascists. They use this excuse as guardians of society to crush anyone right of centre, whether it be libertarians, conservatives or Neo-Nazis. To them, they all come under the same banner. The end result of these violence, thuggish actions is stifling political debate, increased polarisation, and pushing those who had previously been centrist or conservative further to the right; purely through frustration and anger.
Antifa, and similar militant groups are not progressive heroes, they are regressive, anti-free speech, anarchist thugs who’s only purpose in the political sphere is to stifle conversation, free speech, and push their own, far-left agenda.
By Joshua Franklin