A recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document titled “Domestic Terrorism Symbols Guide”* links common protest symbols to “terrorism” — another marker in a common theme of conflating militant protest for social justice with deadly terrorist violence within the United States. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Brennan Center have raised warnings about such documents, citing inadequate protections for people’s constitutional rights.
As someone who’s been in several combat zones with the US military (honorably discharged 10 years ago), I can safely say I do not want my backyard turning into one. So pardon me while I wait for all peaceful options to be utterly exhausted before getting gun-happy and LARPing with others in fatigues while shouting for armed resistance.
If MAGAs or any other “militia” begins marching down my street, I’ll sure as shit meet it with force. But until then or an outright coup, I’ll continue advocating for peace
Nobody’s asking you to break out the claymore mines just yet… it’s the fascists that are escalating the lethality, not the “scary radical left” opposing them.
It’s usually a good idea to try and stop the fash before they march down your street… by the time they do, the politicians might just have decided to hand them the keys to the tanks - which they will, eventually.
But confronting fascists is good optics for them. They want to be able to point to shit like that to show how oPpReSsEd they are for their oPiNIoNs. It’s fuel. Ignore the marches. A news article covering a bunny of dudes waving nazi flags and nobody giving a shit is infinitely optically better than a brawl between nazis and antifa.
Absolutely not.
Anyone who believes that understands nothing about fascism at all. The pretense of “unopposable strength” is literally the only reason they will show themselves in public - if you don’t oppose it forcefully they win by default.
The media will happily ignore fascism. After all, the rich media bosses know who it is that will protect their precious private property for them, just like all the rich people do… that is why they fund fascists - there is no such thing as “grassroots fascism”. The fact that antifa’s resistance meant they couldn’t is literally one of the reasons the US’s secret police is now seeing antifa as a threat to the status quo.
Ignoring fascism is no different than ignoring climate change - doing so doesn’t make it go away.
What do you think was more optically advantageous for the left, a bunch of patriot front idiots getting arrested just for marching, or antifa and the proud boys brawling?
We’re not at the point of civil war. Optics are still more important than punching them.
Actually, portraying your enemy as both strong and weak is crucial to fascism. To nazis, the jews were simultaneously subhuman and also in control of the world. To the alt right, the left is simultaneously soy boy beta cucks and nazi punching radicals. If you remove yourself from their narrative, it fails apart. And instead of brave defenders of western culture under attack from crazy leftist extremists, they simply become weird motherfuckers waving nazi flags in (current year).
I’m not gonna say don’t punch nazis, but don’t do it in an organized fashion at a rally where they hope to provoke a reaction.
Showing the fascists - and their spineless “centrist” allies - that they will face real opposition in the streets. When the fash start marching, that is the only optics that matter.
Arrested by whom? Their KKK and neo-nazi allies you optimistically call “police”?
You don’t have to believe me, Clyde… you can hear it straight from a neo-nazi, too.
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/11/1104405804/patriot-front-white-supremacist-arrested-near-idaho-pride
Yes.
Sooo… you’re just going to conveniently ignore this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And, surprise, surprise, this.
At this point I have to ask… are you sure you’re not a bit sympathetic to fascism yourself?
Yes, I know, that’s my point. In a clash between fash and antifa, we know what police are going to do. If nobody engages with them and their behavior becomes such that the police themselves actually have to arrest them, that’s amazing.
Sure, just “ignore” it, conveniently forgetting they’re very much embedded in mainstream politics now and starting culture war campaigns, banning books, and actively attempting to dismantle democracy.
Fascism in the US is already here.
it seems the less energic options are already exhausted.
i dont want to be on the receiving end of state violence either but i dont think things can change by simply voting or protesting anymore.
this doesnt necessarily mean violence but we must change our strategy.
My stance on Jan 6 was had it been successful and Trump was installed as president, it would have been up to people like you to actually resist the new tyrannical government.
Because at that point, democracy was usurped and the necessary peace transfer of power was ignored for a violent insurrection.
The problem is that J6 was a test run. It was not successful because people with morals, many of whom were registered Republicans, stood firm and said this isn’t right. Many of these people have been replaced over the last three years to make stealing an election easier at a state level so that they won’t need to steal it at the federal level.
I’m not saying there aren’t peaceful options. But one side has already decided that peace is not an option. They showed that they will have their form of government, by force if necessary.
Downvoted because veteran
Oh give it a break.
Please shut up.
Downvoted because poor