Antifa and the Tea Party: Compare and Contrast

 

I have a number of friends and acquaintances that believe in the Antifa movement.  They strongly believe that it is peaceful, not Marxist or Communist or anarchist, and that it is simply a matter of keeping Neo-Nazis out of the US.

As a kindness, let’s grant that point. Antifa is a loose term defining these people who have no central tenet other than prevent fascism in the world. There are democrats, there are socialists, there are anarchists. There are the Black Bloc and others than prepare for violence and instigate it. Okay.

This sounds oddly familiar to what the political right was saying with the Tea Party.  It was a loose term defining people who felt they were Taxed Enough Already and wanted less government interference. There were people of all colors and stripes, only gathered under the one point. They went out to demonstrate (mostly peacefully). If that is the case, then the Antifa folks should be completely okay with the Tea Party. When they argue the violence is not a tenet of the movement, they should also be willing to accept similar on the Tea Party side.

Let’s see how many do.

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  1. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    TheRightNurse: This sounds oddly familiar to what the political right was saying with the TEA Party.

    Not just the TEA Party. People claim it about the Alt-Right, too. But no one really cares. If we, who I would consider far more superior intellectuals and far more individualistic, can’t figure out the fallacy, then why would I expect the lefties in left field to?

    • #1
  2. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Prevent Fascism?  I don’t think so.  More like Fight Fascism.  So they just fight.  They are the ones who come to demonstrations armed, and masked.

    • #2
  3. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    The first question here is whether there is violence in the Antifa movement.  Is that disputable?  If not, how do its “fans” rationalize it?  Then let’s compare with known activities of the Tea Party.

    • #3
  4. Gary McVey Contributor
    Gary McVey
    @GaryMcVey

    When The Right Nurse is on the case, there’s no one better! A fine post.

    • #4
  5. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Gary McVey (View Comment):
    When The Right Nurse is on the case, there’s no one better! A fine post.

    Thanks, Gary.  I was just thinking about this.

    • #5
  6. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Hoyacon (View Comment):
    The first question here is whether there is violence in the Antifa movement. Is that disputable? If not, how do its “fans” rationalize it? Then let’s compare with known activities of the Tea Party.

    They rationalize it just fine.  It’s the comparison to the Tea Party that is interesting.  One Nazi or crazy Birther in a group makes the group racist whereas one violent person (or 30 or 2,000) makes it a non-partisan/apolitical group preventing NeoFascism.

    • #6
  7. Gary McVey Contributor
    Gary McVey
    @GaryMcVey

    She’s right: The Tea Party was no more violent than the Bernie Sanders movement. I know some fellow Ricochettis will gripe that I’m saying even that much nice about Sanders, but facts are facts.

    Plus the Tea Party cleaned up after itself. Also: the Tea Party had no monolithic party line. FiCons, NeoCons and SoCons felt no great compulsion to mutually approve each other’s program for national improvement.

    • #7
  8. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Am I wrong in thinking that the Black Block is the face of Antifa?

    • #8
  9. Matt Balzer Member
    Matt Balzer
    @MattBalzer

    Gary McVey (View Comment):
    She’s right: The Tea Party was no more violent than the Bernie Sanders movement. I know some fellow Ricochettis will gripe that I’m saying even that much nice about Sanders, but facts are facts.

    Well, except for the guy who shot up the Republicans at the baseball field.

    I’d be willing to accept “lone nut” as the designator for that guy, but if I gotta answer for wannabe Nazi punks, they gotta answer for him.

    • #9
  10. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    Am I wrong in thinking that the Black Block is the face of Antifa?

    According to my liberal friends, yes.  But given that they follow that with, “But it’s okay to punch Nazis and anyone who says that socialism is evil is really just a dogwhistle for neo-bolshevism which really makes them fascists…”

    Which is basically the Black Bloc opinion.

    • #10
  11. Clavius Thatcher
    Clavius
    @Clavius

    If only, and it may be starting (cf Nancy Pelosi denounced Antifa), all are treated equally in the MSM.

    • #11
  12. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    I saw their Facebook comments. You can’t reason with these people. They show up with their faces masked, destroy property, set things on fire, beat people who have a different point of view, and call them fascists? And some of them said that it’s the Right who tries to shut down free speech?!? Hello? The lack of self-awareness is head-spinning. Also I don’t think they understand what real fascism is. Because they are it. And it comes from the Left, not the Right. Stalin once said that the Nazi movement was the twin of Communism. We’re seeing the sad result of 40 years of government schools. Generations of Americans with such a flawed view of history that they shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

    • #12
  13. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    The lack of self-awareness is head-spinning. Also I don’t think they understand what real fascism is.

    They are interested in pure socialism, which they think is “fair”.  What is difficult is when they post memes about the rise of fascism that not only do not apply to current events (religious entertwining with the state, total state control of the media), but fail to see how it actually does apply to AntiFa (using threats or violence to suppress thought, anti-religion, casting all dissent as treason, subverting the rule of law, disarming other citizens).

    The lack of self-awareness is amazing to me.  The Tea Party people were never that way.  But then, they weren’t terribly well-organized, either.

    Antifa is starting to act more like terrorists: they have certain goals, use violence or threat of violence to enforce behavior, undertake systemic persecution of outsiders, ensure a diffuse leadership, they cover their faces to avoid legal ramifications.  If they are so proud of what they are doing, why be masked?

    • #13
  14. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    TheRightNurse (View Comment):
    “But it’s okay to punch Nazis and anyone who says that socialism is evil is really just a dogwhistle for neo-bolshevism which really makes them fascists…”

    I tried to count the stupid points on this, but I lost count.

     

    • #14
  15. Pony Convertible Inactive
    Pony Convertible
    @PonyConvertible

    Fight fascism?  They are fascists. According to dictionary.com fascism is “a governmental system led by dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, …”  They are the ones in favor or government having complete control and forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism.

    • #15
  16. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Pony Convertible (View Comment):
    They are the ones in favor or government having complete control and forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism.

    They get out of this by being anarchists.  They do not believe in government, most of them.  Except the government that they create and enforce.  The only problem with that is that we’ve seen what happens; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    • #16
  17. Addiction Is A Choice Member
    Addiction Is A Choice
    @AddictionIsAChoice

    Gary McVey (View Comment):
    …Also: the Tea Party had no monolithic party line…

    And no leader! No one the Left could target, freeze, polarize, etc.

    • #17
  18. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Addiction Is A Choice (View Comment):

    Gary McVey (View Comment):
    …Also: the Tea Party had no monolithic party line…

    And no leader! No one the Left could target, freeze, polarize, etc.

    I did say compare and contrast… the Tea Party and Antifa are quite similar in that.  Until certain groups start trying to lay claim to the name.

    • #18
  19. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    TheRightNurse (View Comment):

    Pony Convertible (View Comment):
    They are the ones in favor or government having complete control and forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism.

    They get out of this by being anarchists. They do not believe in government, most of them. Except the government that they create and enforce. The only problem with that is that we’ve seen what happens; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    They expect to jump directly to the withering away of the state portion of communism, with no government, no private property, and communal ownership of everything.  In other words, Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises, with them as the biggest gang.

    • #19
  20. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    Am I wrong in thinking that the Black Block is the face of Antifa?

    I think you are spot on.    I think there is a need for additional terminology defining the concentric rings of Lefties.     To me… Antifa is the Black Bloc, Battle of Seattle, Revolutionary Communist Party mayhem-ist.    Then there are the active supporters of that cadre.    Not themselves violent, but cheering and videotaping and in general aiding and abetting the mayhem-ists.     Then the larger group of Lefties who don’t support Antifa per se, but are happy that they are at least fighting the (from their point of view) the ‘right’ people and as such won’t criticize Antifa.   All of these people are on the “we are the actual Brownshirts” side of the line.

    • #20
  21. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    TRN,

    This shows the end results of a news media incapable of objective reporting. The Tea Party held huge completely peaceful rallies. They were totally responsible in terms of the permitting and cleanup of the property the rallies were held on. Antifa is a group who is completely dedicated to counter-protesting through violence and the destruction of property. Every time they appear they are in masks and have weapons. The intent is so clear only someone who is willfully blind could possibly miss it. They intend to use violence to stop anyone who’s opinion they don’t approve from expressing themselves. This is a vigilante action.

    The Tea Party and Antifa have nothing in common. One is a group who expresses a clear and rational political point of view and holds peaceful rallies, the other is an armed paid gang of thugs who intend to take over the streets and punish those who they don’t agree with. If the news media had an ounce of integrity they would be reporting just this.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #21
  22. Dorrk Inactive
    Dorrk
    @Dorrk

    Maybe a lot of the differences between the styles of the Tea Party and Antifa boil down to the average age of the members:

    Tea Party: Middle-aged and retired tax-paying citizens with families who are too tired to do anything crazy, and see their rallies as being akin to going to a Jimmy Buffet concert.

    Antifa: Young people with few responsibilities, who are full of reckless energy and see their appearances as being akin to slamming in a mosh pit.

    • #22
  23. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    The Tea Party cannot be compared to Antifa. Antifa and the rest of the extremists on the Left talk about socialism, fascism etc. like they know what is means. This is not a socialist country and never has been. They are welcome to go to Venezuela for observation. When I see people screaming down, hitting or threatening people in a free society, I want the cops to intervene. We are a civil society based on the law. The large rally in Boston should be the standard – keep the groups apart, tell those applying for the right to protest that violence or property destruction will not be tolerated – did you see the cops there? They meant business, and those that got pushy got their ass hauled off to the paddy wagon. Berkeley is pathetic – they and other towns where law and order is not enforced is not America.

    When I see kids with Hugo Chavez t-shirts on or other similar crap, you know you are dealing with ignorance – it’s not 100% their fault – it is also the fault of the professors and poor parenting.

    • #23
  24. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Front Seat Cat (View Comment):
    When I see kids with Hugo Chavez t-shirts on or other similar crap, you know you are dealing with ignorance – it’s not 100% their fault – it is also the fault of the professors and poor parenting.

    It isn’t just ignorance, it is enforced ignorance.

    • #24
  25. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    James Gawron (View Comment):
    The Tea Party and Antifa have nothing in common. One is a group who expresses a clear and rational political point of view and holds peaceful rallies, the other is an armed paid gang of thugs who intend to take over the streets and punish those who they don’t agree with.

    Hold up.

    As much as I dislike AntiFa, I can tell you that they do have something in common and one of my favorite cousins (a very upstanding, do what you preach type) has even gone to rallies in order to witness the violence and try to protect other protesters.  Why?  I don’t know.  I can’t really get into it with her because I know it will end badly.

    I think the idea of protesting fascism has a solid, rational point of view.  If you look at the pictures, not all are Black Bloc.  Some are Communists (you’ll see them in red) and some are some version of revolutionaries in their own minds.  It isn’t irrational at all.  By minimizing it, you’re dismissing it as something stupid crazy people do.

    It isn’t.  It is far more frightening than that.  There are people who go to be peaceful and meet others and become radicalized.  They actually walk away from these riots feeling that they should have “punched more Nazis”.  They walk away having been jumped into their gang and they walk away feeling that this is a life or death war.  They genuinely have rationalized that violence in the face of useless laws is the only way forward.  They have rationalized that since the law does not protect the least, that it is their moral duty to confront what they feel (note, the word) is something that might lead to future fascism.

    I think calling them paid thugs minimizes their impact.  They are converts and true believers.  That is part of why they are frightening.

    • #25
  26. Addiction Is A Choice Member
    Addiction Is A Choice
    @AddictionIsAChoice

    Tea Party-Envy; Selma-Envy; Vietnam-Envy. Jealousy and hatred are hallmarks of the modern Left.

    • #26
  27. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    Perhaps more vexing: if Antifa showed a little more organizational effort, could they qualify as…

    a “well-regulated militia”?

    • #27
  28. MJBubba Member
    MJBubba
    @

    Here is something really interesting about recent AntiFa activities in Berkeley and around San Francisco.  This was linked to by Jonah Goldberg.  It is a profile of a free-speech provocateur.

    The Weekly Standard column is dated Sept 11 but became available on-line on Sept 1.  The initial part is about non-white-supremacists getting labeled as that by Leftists.  It is long and detailed.

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-beating-in-berkeley/article/2009498

    alternate link:

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-beating-in-berkeley/article/2009498?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=G-File%20test&utm_term=GFile

     

    • #28
  29. TheRightNurse Member
    TheRightNurse
    @TheRightNurse

    MJBubba (View Comment):
    Here is something really interesting about recent AntiFa activities in Berkeley and around San Francisco.

    Thank you.  Very helpful if I do say so myself!

    • #29
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