what is antifa?
2019-Aug-05, Monday 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerAnti-fascism is easily defined as the opposition to fascism. It's trite, but at least it's straightforward. My definition makes it obvious (I hope) why fascism is bad, something that should be opposed. It describes how someone can act without merit against the less powerful. "A bully with an army", as Madeleine Albright once phrased it. Given that World War II was fought against fascists, the early anti-fascists were those soldiers in the Allied forces.
Indeed, back in the day of those troops fighting against fascists, when comic books simultaneously were creating superheroes, those superheroes explicitly sided with the anti-fascists. The whole "punch a nazi" meme today is a result of the very first issue of Captain America comics. Right there on the cover, Captain America punched a Nazi (Hitler) in the face. That's what good guys do. That's what Americans should aspire to do, or so the stories would have us think. It wasn't without controversy in 1941, nearly a year before the USA joined the war.
It wasn't just Captain America, though. There is a long list of superheroes (and a longer list) fighting the good fight against fascists. The list of these antifa characters include:
That article notes the curious nature of fascism as a phenomenon that is neither exclusively liberal nor conservative. Superheroes could equally be seen as fascist because of their use of vastly superior force against their chosen targets. They could be the bully as a self-contained, one-person army. This problem is why my definition of fascism requires a lack of objective threat measure. It's not fascism if targets represent actual calculable danger. They cannot merely be "the other" side of some conflict. The article happily notes that with the creation of Spiderman, finally, "with great power comes great responsibility."
But what is that responsibility? Can antifa be a bad thing? Examined from a purely functional perspective, antifa is explicitly a good thing. But supposing that a person or group wants to be identified as antifa, then how are we to judge the veracity of their claim to the title? Do we condone any action done in the name of anti-fascism? "What are the ethics of punching Nazis?"
Populist media has adamantly accepted the need for violence directed at individual actors to oppose the larger violence against other groups. There was even recently a Kickstarter comic book on this exact topic: "Cool kids punch Nazis again." One website named CanIPunchNazis.com, asks the question "Is it always OK to punch a Nazi? Yes. Need more detail? Read this from Talking Points Memo." It pictures antifa punching Richard Spencer in the face.
Please note that this linked example is against a specific individual who is targeted for their personal actions and command. It is not (at this point) generic violence. It is opposition, it is even violent; like the superhero ethic, however, it is not deadly. There is a very fine line here. Both the target and the action against them must always be very clearly measured and justified. It must be a thoughtful action, not an emotional one.
I recently subscribed to DC Universe Online for my paid entertainment. Season 3 of "Young Justice: Outsiders" ( #WeAreAllOutsiders ) seems to be tackling this topic too. What is the proper response when the usual solutions have been co-opted by "the bad guys"? Wonder Woman actively warns what remains of the Justice League that these superheroes are treading into dangerously unaccountable territory. It's a subject on everyone's mind. I wonder why?
Oh, yeah. That's why.
Be like Superman. That early Superman, be like him. Don't be like the people he opposes. Be like Wonder Woman. One of her powers (thanks to her lasso) is to compel someone to speak the truth. That's a superpower tailored exactly to counter the lies of fascist authority. Antifa in this case is a good thing. Be anti-fascist.
"Replying to SenTedCruz and senjudiciary
Will you be starting with the original American Antifa? They kicked some serious Fascist a$$ back in the day."
— BeaglesResist, July 23, 2019, https://twitter.com/BeaglesResist/status/1153760701279821828
Will you be starting with the original American Antifa? They kicked some serious Fascist a$$ back in the day."
— BeaglesResist, July 23, 2019, https://twitter.com/BeaglesResist/status/1153760701279821828
Indeed, back in the day of those troops fighting against fascists, when comic books simultaneously were creating superheroes, those superheroes explicitly sided with the anti-fascists. The whole "punch a nazi" meme today is a result of the very first issue of Captain America comics. Right there on the cover, Captain America punched a Nazi (Hitler) in the face. That's what good guys do. That's what Americans should aspire to do, or so the stories would have us think. It wasn't without controversy in 1941, nearly a year before the USA joined the war.It wasn't just Captain America, though. There is a long list of superheroes (and a longer list) fighting the good fight against fascists. The list of these antifa characters include:
- Superman
- Wonder Woman
- Batman
- Black Panther
- Blue Beetle
- Raphael (teenage mutant ninja turtle)
- Green Hornet
- The Atom
- Captain Marvel (the DC Universe one)
- Miss Victory
- Joker (yes, even the Batman villain fights against fascists)
"When he debuted in 1938, Superman was, briefly, a progressive icon. He sprang, after all, from the minds of two Jewish kids in Cleveland warily watching the rise of Hitler in Europe. In his first year of life, they sent their "Champion of the Oppressed" (his very first nickname, years before "Man of Steel") after corrupt Senators, war-mongering foreign leaders, weapons merchants, and crooked stockbrokers. He purposefully razed a slum to force the city government to provide better low-income housing. ... Both Captain America and Wonder Woman were created expressly to fight the Nazi threat. Literally, to fight it — to punch it right in its dumb Ratzi face."
- https://www.npr.org/2016/11/16/502161587/superheroes-and-the-f-word-grappling-with-the-ugly-truth-under-the-capes
That article notes the curious nature of fascism as a phenomenon that is neither exclusively liberal nor conservative. Superheroes could equally be seen as fascist because of their use of vastly superior force against their chosen targets. They could be the bully as a self-contained, one-person army. This problem is why my definition of fascism requires a lack of objective threat measure. It's not fascism if targets represent actual calculable danger. They cannot merely be "the other" side of some conflict. The article happily notes that with the creation of Spiderman, finally, "with great power comes great responsibility."But what is that responsibility? Can antifa be a bad thing? Examined from a purely functional perspective, antifa is explicitly a good thing. But supposing that a person or group wants to be identified as antifa, then how are we to judge the veracity of their claim to the title? Do we condone any action done in the name of anti-fascism? "What are the ethics of punching Nazis?"
Populist media has adamantly accepted the need for violence directed at individual actors to oppose the larger violence against other groups. There was even recently a Kickstarter comic book on this exact topic: "Cool kids punch Nazis again." One website named CanIPunchNazis.com, asks the question "Is it always OK to punch a Nazi? Yes. Need more detail? Read this from Talking Points Memo." It pictures antifa punching Richard Spencer in the face.
Please note that this linked example is against a specific individual who is targeted for their personal actions and command. It is not (at this point) generic violence. It is opposition, it is even violent; like the superhero ethic, however, it is not deadly. There is a very fine line here. Both the target and the action against them must always be very clearly measured and justified. It must be a thoughtful action, not an emotional one.
"And if Antifa members still want to punch so-called Nazis, they should pay attention to the work of historian Laurie Marhoefer, who studies real Nazis and says the party often rallied close to its adversaries in order to provoke them, drawing a violent reaction that swayed public opinion in its favor."
- https://reason.com/video/ok-punch-nazi-berkeley-students-campus/
- https://reason.com/video/ok-punch-nazi-berkeley-students-campus/
I recently subscribed to DC Universe Online for my paid entertainment. Season 3 of "Young Justice: Outsiders" ( #WeAreAllOutsiders ) seems to be tackling this topic too. What is the proper response when the usual solutions have been co-opted by "the bad guys"? Wonder Woman actively warns what remains of the Justice League that these superheroes are treading into dangerously unaccountable territory. It's a subject on everyone's mind. I wonder why?
Hate crimes increased 226% in places Trump held a campaign rally in 2016, study claims - https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-rally-hate-crimes-study-maga-2019-3 | German Magazine Cover Depicting Trump A Nazi Goes Viral - https://life.shared.com/german-magazine-cover-depicting-donald-trump-as-nazi-goes-viral |
Bitcoin donations to neo-Nazis are climbing ahead of this weekend's Unite The Right rally - https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2018/08/06/bitcoin-donations-to-neo-nazis-are-climbing-ahead-of-this-weekends-unite-the-right-rally/#41f0707369ac | It's hard to tell what someone in the crowd yells at Trump, but immediately after talking about not using violence/weapons on immigrants, Trump laughs and says "only in the panhandle can you get away with that statement." The crowd erupts. - https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1126293504949407744, 2019 May 8 This has always been the endpoint of the process of dehumanizing immigrants: making their extermination not just feasible, but normal. - https://twitter.com/gaywonk/status/1126301267918241793, 2019 May 8 |
Oh, yeah. That's why.
Be like Superman. That early Superman, be like him. Don't be like the people he opposes. Be like Wonder Woman. One of her powers (thanks to her lasso) is to compel someone to speak the truth. That's a superpower tailored exactly to counter the lies of fascist authority. Antifa in this case is a good thing. Be anti-fascist.
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