HLSS523 American Public University Antifa and The Anti Fascist Movement HW

Fully utilize the materials that have been provided to you in order to support your response. Responses should be a minimum of 250 words and include direct questions. You may challenge, support or supplement another student’s answer using the terms, concepts and theories from the required readings. Also, do not be afraid to respectfully disagree where you feel appropriate; as this should be part of your analysis process at this academic level.

Forum posts are graded on timeliness, relevance, knowledge of the weekly readings, and the quality of original ideas. Sources utilized to support answers are to be cited in accordance with the APA writing style by providing a general parenthetical citation (reference the author, year and page number) within your post, as well as an adjoining reference list. Refer to grading rubric for additional details concerning grading criteria.

Respond to: Troy

For the final forum topic for this class I chose to talk about Antifa or the Anti- Fascist movement here in the United States. This groups are interesting to me because at their core from my understanding they are attempting to stand up for minorities and other who are targets for hate groups and the federal government. Antifa traces its roots to the 1920s and ’30s, when militant leftists battled fascists in the streets of Germany, Italy, and Spain. When fascism withered after World War II, antifa did too. But in the ’70s and ’80s, neo-Nazi skinheads began to infiltrate Britain’s punk scene. After the Berlin Wall fell, neo-Nazism also gained prominence in Germany. In response, a cadre of young leftists, including many anarchists and punk fans, revived the tradition of street-level antifascism (Beinart, 2019). During the 1980’s left-wing punk fans in the United States began following suit, though they initially called their groups Anti-Racist Action, on the theory that Americans would be more familiar with fighting racism than fascism (Beinart, 2019), which makes this group different because it is not unique to America it has been scene all over the world fighting hate and strong governments to empower the powerless in their view. Their position is that they are attempting to eliminate hatred from the right-wing racial extremist groups.

Antifa sometimes uses a logo with a double flag, usually in black and red. The antifa movement that we recognize today began in the 1960s in Europe, and had reached the US by the end of the 1970s and early 1980’s. Most people who show up to counter or oppose white supremacist public events are peaceful demonstrators, but when antifa shows up, as they frequently do, they can increase the chances that an event may turn violent (“Who are Antifa?”, 2019). Today, antifa activists focus on harassing right wing extremists both online and in real life. Antifa is not a unified group; it is loose collection of local regional groups and individuals. Their presence at a protest is intended to intimidate and dissuade racists, but the use of violent measures by some antifa against their adversaries can create a vicious, self-defeating cycle of attacks, counter-attacks and blame. This is why most established civil rights organizations criticize antifa tactics as dangerous and counterproductive violent (“Who are Antifa?”, 2019).

The current political climate increases the chances of violent confrontations at protests and rallies. Antifa have expanded their definition of fascist or fascism to include not just white supremacists and other extremists, but also many conservatives and supporters of President Trump. In Berkeley, for example, some antifa were captured on video harassing Trump supporters with no known extremist connections violent (“Who are Antifa?”, 2019). In our current climate here in the United States Antifa has a lot of fire power and persevered injustices they feel are being committed. With our country virtually being split down the middle it seems that there is no end to antifa showing up and causing harm and violence where ever they can in order to get their point across.

References:

Beinart, P. (2019). The Rise of the Violent Left. Retrieved 26 November 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/…

Who are Antifa?. (2019). Retrieved 26 November 2019, from https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/who-ar…