- Moderator
- #161
Do you not know what the name "antifa" means?
I bet if we could poll the antifa folks, we would learn that they share many of the same views as Hitler and Mussolini with regard to being anti-capitalistic and in favor of socialism and government control of the economy, healthcare, education and every other facet of society. I suspect we would also learn that many of them despise Israel.
Hitler and Mussolini are on the extreme right, not left, despite desperate attempts at partisan revisionism. Comparing Antifa to them is ridiculous. I think the right has blown what is essentially a group of thugs into some kind of huge evil bogeyman organization. That is convenient for rallying the troops but is it accurate?
What is antifa and what does the movement want?
Antifa — short for "anti-fascist" — is the name for loosely affiliated, left-leaning anti-racist groups that monitor and track the activities of local neo-Nazis. The movement has no unified structure or national leadership but has emerged in the form of local bodies nationwide, particularly on the West Coast.
When did it start?
Anti-fascist groups, particularly in Europe, have been around for many decades, notably in Italy, against Mussolini, and in Germany, against Hitler. In the postwar period, antifa groups resurged to fight neo-Nazi groups, particularly in Germany. In the U.S., the anti-fascist movements grew out of leftist politics of the late '80s, primarily under the umbrella of Anti-Racist Action.
What does the movement want?
The primary goal is to stop neo-Nazis and white supremacists from gaining a platform rather than to promote a specific antifa agenda. The antifa groups are decidedly anti-racist, anti-sexist and anti-homophobia, but also by and large socially leftist and anti-capitalist.