Antifascist Action

Antifaschistische Aktion memorial in Adelsdorf, Germany

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“”I'm gonna tell you fascists You may be surprised The people in this world Are getting organized You're bound to lose You fascists bound to lose

—Woody Guthrie song, All You Fascists Bound to Lose[1]

Antifascist Action (Antifa,^{[note 1]} AFA, or simply Anti-Fascism) is a global movement of left-wing activist groups that has the primary aim of "smashing fascism"^[3] in all its forms. The claimed "fascism" the collective primarily opposes includes various forms of oppression (especially racism, but also sexism, homophobia, and in recent times, Islamophobia), along with government corruption, global capitalism, and war.

The contemporary American movement grew out of Anti-Racist Action, which began in the 1980s and confronted the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi skinhead groups. In Europe, it grew out of opposition to the original fascists in the 1920s and 1930s.^[4][5] While the contemporary, organized (or not-so-organized) movement tends to be dominated by leftist elements like communists, anarchists, socialists, and some social democrats, throughout history anti-fascist fronts have included liberals, small-R republicans, and even some conservative or nationalist elements who were simply opposed to fascism. This was especially the case in situations where fascists held state power, which to put it politely, pissed some more people off than just commies.

The movement and its local cells (real or imagined) within it have been the subject of many hoaxes,^[6][7] often originating from about who you might expect,^{[8][9][10][11]} then gaining currency through social media or even outlets like Fox News.^[8] Although anti-fascist groups are rarely violent overall, often focusing on arts or fostering inclusive spaces instead of violent confrontations with fascists, some are more militant and violent.^{[5][note 2]} Militant groups are part of the black-clothed antifa known as "black bloc",^[4] the typical subject of hoaxes and general media attention, made easier by their willingness to engage in extreme tactics, and by their decentralized nature (a lesson also faced by Anonymous).

History[edit]

Anti-fascist coalitions have generally existed wherever they had reason to. In the 1920s–1930s, broad anti-fascist fronts existed among Italians, for instance the Arditi del Popolo (1921-1924) and the Concentrazione d'Azione Antifascista (Anti-Fascist Action Concentration, 1927-1934).

The name 'Antifascist Action' (Antifaschistische Aktion in German) appeared in Germany in 1932, and was a moniker used by the German Communist Party (KPD) of the German Weimar Republic. The purpose of AFA was to present a militant alternative to the brutality of the Nazi Party SA goon-squads against communists and leftists. The German AFA was short-lived, being shut down by the Nazis in 1933. There was also the Iron Front which opposed both the Nazis and communists.

During World War II and the run-up to it, a number of groups labeled "anti-fascist" appeared all over the world to oppose fascist governments, for instance the Anti-Fascist Organisation that resisted the Japanese Empire, the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee in the Soviet Union, or the Anti-Fascist Committee for a Free Germany (a group of former Wehrmacht members).

In the United States, there have been several precedents to AFA, going back to the Americans in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who fought Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Mother Jones has a rather incomplete chronology of "Nazi Punching in America".^[12] The roots of modern antifa probably started in Britain in the mid-1970s with Rock Against Racism and the Socialist Workers Party's Anti-Nazi League (later known as Unite Against Fascism).

In 1985, an AFA collective began in Britain which comprised numerous anarchist, Trotskyist, and other left-wing groups. AFA was active in brawls with Neo-Nazi organisations such as the National Front and had numerous violent confrontations, such as an attack on a Neo-Nazi in 1990 which resulted in lengthy prison sentences for several anti-fascist activists.^[13]

Present day[edit]

Antifa in Köln, Germany (2008)

AFA has continued to maintain a presence in Germany, and since the 1990s, collectives have developed in other countries, including Sweden,^[14][15] Denmark,^[16] and Australia.^[17] The Antifa movement also exists in Greece, where its supporters sometimes clash with police and with nationalists.^[18][19][20]

Australia's AFA collectives gained strong media exposure in 2015-16 following several rallies conducted in cities across the country by AFA activists, in response to the growth of the far-right white-nationalist Reclaim Australia and United Patriots Front movements. During some far-right rallies, as in Bendigo, Antifa activists arrived to confront nationalists, causing violent confrontations and numerous arrests. Antifa or Antifa supporters celebrated their confrontations with nationalists, posting some online.^[21] Antifa's Sydney collective, Anti Fascist Action Sydney, got into additional violent clashes with nationalists at the now defunct far-right Party For Freedom's 10th anniversary commemorations of the 2005 Cronulla race-riots.^[22] In 2018 Antifa activists in Sydney established a community action group in response to the newly-established white-nationalist "Lads Society", the successor-organisation of the United Patriots Front.

Even ISIS terrorists are afraid of these guys^[23]

AFA protesters have a tendency to form a "black bloc", a tactic which involves masked participants dressing in black, largely for protection of identity.^{[24][note 3]} Protesters usually chant and carry banners advocating for the overcoming of the racist far-right.

Despite not being an organisation and having no official leadership or hierarchical structure in place, Antifa gained the distinction of U.S. President Donald "Some Neo-Nazis Are Very Fine People" Trump singling it out as a "domestic terrorist" movement. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness,^[25] as well as the DHS and the FBI, associate Antifa with "domestic terrorist violence".^[26] In May 2020, during the U.S.-wide protests that took place after the extrajudicial killing in police custody of George Floyd, an African American man, Trump stated in a tweet that the US Government would be "designating Antifa as a terrorist organisation".^[27]

Criticism[edit]

Criticism of the AFA movement has come mainly from the right wing.^{[28][29][30][31]} Although criticism of modern European Antifascist movements is often based on the violent action they take to advance their position, including carrying illegal weapons to combat opponents and breaking into houses of suspected Neo-Nazis,^[32] shootings of Golden Dawn members,^[33] as well as chasing protestors,^[34][35] violent disturbances with nationalists and police,^{[36][37][38][39][40][41]} plus "patrols" against,^[42] causing serious injury to,^[43][44] and generally aggressively opposing nationalists.^[45][46]

However, there are legitimate criticisms from other leftists who are somewhat sympathetic to the fight against fascism but are not in the group nor see violence as an acceptable solution to the mission. The main criticism and claim is that when Antifa initiates violence, it is counter-productive because it makes the fascists and racists look like victims — which is what such people are actually counting on. Some Antifa Facebook pages advocate and depict violence, destruction, and theft of property against fascists,^[47][48][49] while others publicly identify fascists from demonstrations, many of whom attempt to conceal their identity.^[50] The Swedish Antifascist organization Revolutionary Front accepts violence in its declaration of principles, stating it recognizes all struggle methods and sees peaceful resistance and revolutionary violence as equal.^[51]

Elements of Antifa have at times initiated violence, known as squadism in the UK,^[52] and the decentralized nature of Antifa means that it's difficult to interpret who is Antifa and who has just showed up to start fighting. The groups that Antifa has protested against, however, have a long and brutal history (e.g., Nazi Germany and the KKK) associated with their ideologies that continues to this day (e.g., Aryan Circle, Operation Red Dog, Anders Behring Breivik, and Varg Vikernes). Consequently, it is unsurprising that most Antifa-aligned groups argue that violence is necessary to combat the influence of fascism and believe that purely peaceful methods simply do not work against fascist groups.

However, antifascist activism has also been linked to a reduction of open fascist activity. One notable case is Richard Spencer canceling university trips because of antifascist opposition.^[53] Antifascist activism has been linked to a reduction of open Neo-Nazism in the punk scene during the 1980s,^[54] and militant Jewish antifascist activism led to decreasing support for Oswald Mosley's fascist movement during the 1940s.^[55]

Internal divisions[edit]

The anti-Deutsch, pro-Israel wing of Antifa co-opting a slogan by the German anti-nuclear wing in protest of Iran's program to develop nuclear capabilities

Antifascist groups usually agree on very few things and there is no such thing as "national headquarters", and even local groups are often best understood as a coalition of disparate groups allied for a common goal or even a single demonstration that don't see eye to eye on other issues. Groups that are subsumed under the "Antifa" label can be as diverse as unreformed Stalinist tankies, green-leftist ecological activists in the vein of Greenpeace, or hedonistic leftists who consider the former two buzzkills. While conflicts are usually ignored during common demonstrations against fascism or "fascism", they sometimes break out into the open even then. Some specific Antifa groups may only be anarchist or communist, or can include a mixture of individuals with different persuasions across the left. Problems include tactical considerations such as which form(s) of violence — if any — should be considered, as well as ideological differences and the uneasiness of some libertarian leftists to march next to someone holding a hammer and sickle banner. As per the usual, the stance on Israel is also a hot button issue, especially if someone brings an Israeli flag or wears a keffiyeh. The oddity comes from a left-wing German anti-nationalist group, the Antideutsch (Anti-Germans), which argues that modern leftism is too critical of Israel and thus too antisemitic, and that Germans did not do enough to renounce their Nazi pasts. This led to some unorthodox and seemingly contradictory positions, such as opposing Pan-Arabism and Iran due to their hostility towards Israel, but supporting Slobodan Milošević and Serbia during the Yugoslav Wars, which they view as victims of Nazism.

Conspiracy theories[edit]

A common conspiracy theory in parts of the right is that "the" Antifa is financed or works in the employ of "them": the government, globalists, elites, George Soros, or — even more tellingly — "teh Jooz". The idea that Antifa is supported by any of these entities is preposterous because receiving financial support from these particular entities would be anathema to Antifa's anti-capitalist politics.^[56] Despite the patent ridiculousness of those claims, various non-right wing people frequently allude to this and "leak" ridiculously fake "evidence" for the government financing "the" Antifa and "ordering" violence or property damage.

Liberal commentator Robert Reich — normally a strident critic of conspiracy theories — has promoted the claim that Antifa are financed by the far right. Urging readers to "Connect these dots," he laid out alleged parallel goals of Antifa at UC Berkeley and Breitbart news.^[57] Some on the left, particularly in Berkeley, have criticized him for this.^[58][59]

Most interestingly, when people started to realize there was no way to back their ridiculous conspiracy theories, the far right started making their own "Antifas" on the internet^[60] and raiding antifascist rallies. The most notable example is a group of right wingers who showed up to a protest and unfurled a banner that promoted pedophilia (they must have an interesting relationship with the Pizzagate pushers) right in front of a cameraman, who immediately forwarded the picture to Mike Cernovich, who they were protesting against. Today, that image is a gospel truth of the right.^[61][62][63]

See also[edit]

• Andy Ngo, one of antifa's biggest haters
• Black Lives Matter, a (usually) nonviolent alternative (but sometimes supportive of the Antifa movement)
• Direct action
• No platform
• November 4th Antifa Civil War

External links[edit]

• The Philosophy of Antifa, Philosophy Tube
• Antifa O P T I C S, Thought Slime
• "The Long History of Antifa", interview with a historian who studied the movement

Notes[edit]

References[edit]