Wednesday, August 16, 2017

What is ANTIFA?

We hear a lot in the news lately about a group called Antifa, or anti-fascist. But who are they? The assumption is that they are some new group of people who oppose the Trump presidency and support the new wave of feminism, homosexuality and left-wing ideology. That is true, but doesn't tell the whole story. I was interested in knowing more about this group. One thing I learned is that it is not new at all.

I'm posting some snippets from Wikipedia. Yes I know, statists and supporters of the old media hate Wikipedia because "anyone can edit it." Instead they espouse blind trust in authoritative sources such as the government, establishment media and large publishing houses. New media (such as yours truly) provide the information along with any available sources and ask you to follow through with your own research and thought.
We've learned a lot in recent years from people who are in the know about current events, but are not officially allowed to tell us. Wikipedia is one outlet for such information. With that in mind, I decided to capture a snapshot of the current information about Antifa before it changes or disappears.
Again, check the references and do your own research.

 "Antifaschistische Aktion, Antifascistische Aktie, Antifascist Action or Antifascistisk Aktion — abbreviated as Antifa (German/Dutch/English) or AFA (Scandinavian) — is a far-left, extra-parliamentary, anti-fascist network in Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Canada, the UK and the United States of America whose stated goal is to "smash fascism in all its forms".[1] Some of its members are influenced by the theory of triple oppression, and all of its members claim to oppose sexism, racism, and classism. The point of the organization is to exchange information and to coordinate activities between local groups.

The group's activities have included handing out flyers, organizing demonstrations, direct action, and property destruction. They believe that physical aggression and violence are necessary to achieve their goals, due to the violence and aggression minority groups face at the hands of fascists and the far-right[citation needed]. In line with their ideology, and as a consequence of being constantly monitored by the police, the group has no central authority. This means it has a flat organization consisting of many independent groupings, without a board or leader. AFA works with other anti-racist groups all over Europe.[2][3] It is also described as a heterogeneous group which in the late 1930s and early 1940s was mostly made up of social democrats, communists, and progressive Christians following the collapse of Nazi government and civil society after World War Two.

The first German movement to call itself Antifaschistische Aktion was proclaimed by the German Communist Party (KPD) in their newspaper Rote Fahne in 1932 and held its first rally in Berlin on 10 July 1932, then capital of the Weimar Republic. During the early 1930s amidst rising tensions between Nazis and the communists, Berlin in particular has been the site of regular and often very violent clashes between the two groups. In May 1932, the communist paramilitary organisation Rotfrontkämpferbund had been banned and, following a skirmish between Nazi and communist members in the parliament, the Antifaschistische Aktion was founded to ensure that the communists had still a militant wing to rival the paramilitary organisations of the Nazis. After the forced dissolution in the wake of the Machtergreifung in 1933, the movement was revived during the 1980s.[citation needed]

One of the biggest antifascist campaigns in Germany in recent years was the, ultimately successful, effort to block the annual Nazi-rallies in the east German city of Dresden in Saxony, which had grown into "Europe's biggest gathering of Nazis".[5]

In October 2016, the Antifa in Dresden campaigned on the occasion of the anniversary of the reunification of Germany on 3 October for "turning Unity celebrations into a disaster" („Einheitsfeierlichkeiten zum Desaster machen“), to protest this display of new German nationalism, whilst explicitly not ruling out the use of violence.

On day of the President Donald Trump's inauguration, protesters used black bloc tactics. Protesters deliberately causing damage were described as members of Antifa, however were generally lone individuals grouped together by loose radical left-wing ideology.[23] In April 2017, local members of Antifa protested against multiple Republican and alt-right speakers in Berkeley, California. Some protesters were also members of the militant left-wing group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)."

So there you have it. In its essence, Antifa is a violent, militant wing of Communism.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifaschistische_Aktion

And here are the references included in the Wiki, in case the page changes or disappears:
  1. References


  2. "antifa.se - Antifascistisk Aktion Sverige".

  3. (in Swedish) AFA Lokalgrupper

  4. (in Swedish) AFA Presentation, Plattform

  5. Pritchard, Gareth (2012). Niemandsland: A History of Unoccupied Germany, 1944-1945. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 110701350X.

  6. Focus-Online. "Demo-Samstag in Dresden: Nazi-Aufmärsche und Linke treffen aufeinander". Focus-Online.

  7. DNN-Online. "Protest gegen Einheitsfeier – Initiativen wollen Dresdner „Einheitsfeierlichkeiten zum Desaster machen“ – DNN - Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten".

  8. (in Swedish) AFA - Aktivitetsguide för antifascister Archived 11 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine., Antifa.se, 2004, pp. 9-11

  9. "Afa riktar ilska mot Migrationsverket" (in Swedish). 1 January 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.

  10. "Afa tar på sig mordbrand på nazistgård" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 2005-12-28. Retrieved 26 November 2015.

  11. (in Swedish) Afa riktar ilska mot Migrationsverket Archived 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. SVT 10 januari 2006.

  12. (in Swedish) Slåss med knogjärn Aftonbladet 13.9.2009.

  13. (in Swedish) Aktivister försökte stoppa möte med Sverigedemokrat Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. DN 2 november 2006.

  14. http://samtalskompassen.samordnarenmotextremism.se/valdsbejakande-extremism/valdsbejakande-vansterextremism/ideologi/

  15. (in Swedish) Migration judge threatened by extremists

  16. (in Swedish) Domare som utvisat irakier attackerades Dagens Nyheter 31 juli 2007.

  17. (in Swedish) Hot mot förtroendevalda ny rapport[permanent dead link] Säpo 7 November 2008.

  18. (in Swedish) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-17. Ruotsin TV

  19. (in Swedish) Expressen: Afa tar på sig våld mot ND-politiker

  20. (in Swedish) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-07.

  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2014-04-07.

  22. (in Swedish) Aftonbladet: Såss med knogjärn

  23. (in Swedish) Expressen:090215: Stoppa AFA

  24. Strickland, Patrick (21 February 2017). "US anti-fascists: 'We can make racists afraid again'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

  25. Wang, Frances (27 Jun 2016). "A protest leader talks about "militant tactics" & "self-defense" to shut down "Nazi recruitment rally"". Twitter. Retrieved 1 May 2017.