Last night I was browsing twitter, trying to bore myself to sleep, and instead I ran into articles about people being grabbed off the street in Portland, Oregon. The first articles I thought someone was trolling me. Then I looked. And it really was going on! So I tweeted about it last night, and thought I'd write about it today, so I don't forget and because this is more serious than a lot of the other awful things going on right now. It is right up there with COVID-19. Indeed, since Portland is experiencing a COVID-19 upsurge, the fact that Homeland Security is sending in troops, not invited by Mayor or Governor, and with no rank, insignia or respect for rule of law, is very serious indeed. Instead of Trump sending in doctors and medical supplies, he is sending in troops to invade the city.
Officers with no badge or insignia are grabbing people in the dead of the night, throwing them into patrol cars, and their excuse is “antifa”.
Misinformation and Disinformation
When I did a search for information. Instead of getting facts. Good Ole Google points me to a propaganda page by Joe Carter titled "Five (alternative) Facts (lies) about Antifa", which is actually a list of lies and astroturf, designed to misdirect people about what is going on and paint folks (a majority really) as "antifa" who in fact are anti-fascist, pro-democracy and pro black lives matter. Before I go on, and since there is no comment page on his website let me give a 5 point refutation:
- No real “antifa” movement.
- “Antifa” Is a RW Mcguffian or stalking horse (fake news);
- Antifascists do wish violent right wing movements would be shut down.
- “Antifa” is a fantasy
- Black block groups are real, mostly run by RW
Using “Antifa” as a Stalking Horse
The article I found that mentioned Portland dated to 2017. I had never heard of Antifa until I saw articles about "Proud Boykins" like Andy Ngo and the like disrupting democratic groups, and brawling with people. They invented antifa around the same time. They needed someone to fight. So they ran ads in the media inviting people to fight with them. There are always people who like to fight for no good reason. But folks who hate fascism, have a good reason. Most have the sense to know that fascism depends on hate and fear, so won't give them the pleasure. But the “antifa” narrative has been applied to all the disconnected anarchists, opportunists and trouble makers around the country: Proud Boys, Booboo boys (or is it "Boogaloo" or is it "Bougie", no first hand knowledge, to me they seem to be KKK members with different dress. When white folks are arrested around protests, Barr was preaching that they were “antifa terrorists”, never mind actual facts. The goal is to demonize anti-fascists, BLM and pro democracy demonstrators. You do that by giving people someone to fear.
You see "Stalking horse" is the right metaphor because “antifa” is a “screen hiding ones real intentions” (def 1). It is like the horses hunters would use to get into herds, or the “screens shaped like a horse” that hunters hid in (def 2). The Authorities are stalking “anti-fascists” so they pretend to be seeking to find terrorists, vandals, arsonists, but don't stop there. By labeling the rest of us as “antifa” they can criminalize peaceful protest.
The Trouble with Federal Intervention
Instead of sending in troops with field hospitals and medical equipment to help with increases in the COVID 19 sick, the Federal Government sent in police to Portland, against the orders of both the Mayor of Portland and the Governor. These “pretend police” with no insignia, identification or respect for the law, sent in forces from Homeland Security.
Oregon live Reported on Thursday that that:
“Portland demonstrators reacted Thursday to a wave of national attention from President Donald Trump and his administration by once again amassing throughout the city to decry police violence against Black Americans.”
Trump had lumped in peaceful protesters with “antifa” and he sent Chad Wolf, with unmarked, unidentified, militarized forces. Oregon Live reports:
“Federal officers responded to one late-night demonstrations downtown by using gas, smoke and impact munitions to press protesters away from two federal buildings. The confrontation between federal officers and protesters came hours after interim Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf arrived in Portland to meet with federal law enforcement officials.”
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/07/protests-mark-day-50-in-portland-thursday
He also brought Federal Troops. Neither the Mayor nor the Governor had invited them. The “less than lethal” injured demonstrators, one seriously. The Governor and the Mayor asked the Feds to leave. Oregon Live reported:
“Thursday’s demonstrations came as elected leaders, including Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called on federal officers to leave Portland.”
It was obvious that Trump was ignoring local authorities. Both Brown and Wheeler said:
“they had no plans to meet with Wolf while he was in the city, and Wheeler said he would decline if asked.”
Brown called this a:
“blatant abuse of power by the federal government.”
And noted:
“This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety,” she said. “The President is failing to lead this nation.”
Meanwhile, last night the Federal forces drove around pulling people into unmarked cars. This is the kind of thing my wife used to tell me about from when Argentina had a right wing Military Dictatorship. The vehicles are bigger. The Argentines used Ford Falcons. The vehicles are bigger, a gray minivan. The tactics the same. Soldiers with no insignia aside from a generic "POLICE" grabbing people with no miranda rights in the middle of the night. Trump wants his police state.
The Long Hot Summer is in mid swing.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/17/nation/federal-officers-use-gas-clear-protesters-portland/
Details about “Antifa”
- “Antifa” is an astroturfed movement created by groups like the proud boys to distract from their own violent and racist movement. There really is fascism at work, and people out to defend the country from it, should not directly engage with them, because that only emboldens them. Over time anyone outraged at extra judicial murders, brutality and attacks on minorities, is going to call themselves "anti-fascist." The Right would love nothing more than to create "antifa" so they have an excuse to start disappearing the rest of us. It is part of organized fear mongering.
- As usual the author, knowing the story of communist and fascist brawlers in Hitler's Germany (which led to the communist brawlers being shot or gassed and World War II),
- Antifa groups are out to shut down far right groups. That is where they attract young, idealistic and radical people from the same pool the fascists recruit from. The rest of us, anti-fascists are out to stop them from taking over our country and to stop the violence. By creating the 'antifa' mythology, authorities in the hands of fascists permit themselves to shut down dissent against fascism. The term is a "stalking horse" behind which they can start disappearing dissent. I haven't met any antifa except a few trolls, who usually turn out to be far right folks masquerading as the left, or burn it down burners. Most of the later don't actually do anything except yell a lot.
- Point 4 is correct, because there is mostly no such thing as "antifa" except as astroturfed by the rw. It is their McGuffian around which they can scare people into ending democracy.
- Black block groups usually turn out to have nothing to do with democratic, Black Lives Matter, or any legitimate movement. They usually just want to create chaos and there are more who are right wing and authoritarian as "antifa." Indeed, groups like veritas are infamous for posing as one kind of black block group in order to discredit legitimate protests or movements.
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