For those eager to undermine Antifa, remember… in America, MLK would have gotten nowhere with LBJ or white Americans if they weren’t afraid of the alternative.
Non-violent protest simply won’t be taken seriously in a country as broken and desensitized as ours unless there is a very clear violent alternative if the silent majority don’t make concessions to non-violent protesters.
It wasn’t taken seriously in the past, it isn’t now, and it won’t be in the future.
There are some historians who argue that non-violent protest against Naziism is by definition something that doesn’t work (i.e. WWII took violence to stop them). I disagree with that. I think we can cripple America’s Nazi groups with non-violent protest and government action resulting from non-violent protest and the threat of its alternative... but not if we don’t have the compliment of Antifa (and similar more militant groups) to show America what it’s in for if they don’t take the non-violent groups more seriously.
MLK without Malcolm X or the Black Panthers wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near as far as he did.
Non-violent protesters and protesters who frighten white Americans are a symbiotic part of what it takes to beat back America’s version of Naziism. They always have been.
And let’s remember, Antifa hasn’t killed anyone or bombed anything. There have been very few examples of Antifa members attacking anyone where it wasn’t in self defense. Heck… I see more unprovoked violence at your average frat party than by Antifa members.
If liberals find it politically useful to crap on Antifa for reasons of symbiotic effectiveness… OK. But never forget how much we owe to the people who have the guts to take a more militant approach to fight Nazis.
We need them. We don’t like to admit that, but we do. Without them, us non-violent protesters would really be almost nothing in this country. We didn’t affect the Iraq War with our non-violent protests.
If we want to actually change things the way the Civil Rights movement changed things and not just protest to make ourselves feel better, we need the other side of the coin that is Antifa.
That’s just the way our country works, the way it’s always worked. Ignoring that is Pollyanna and irresponsible.
It’s a sign of naivety, and we can’t afford it.