No, let’s not forget. Antifa has been around for a while, especially in Portland, where it’s basically taken over the city from the police department, but when Antifa really started acting up to take on free-speech rallies after conservatives like Ben Shapiro were being allowed to speak freely on college campuses, people like CNN’s Chris Cuomo compared the group to the soldiers landing at Normandy on D-Day:
Let's not forget pic.twitter.com/q5wjVmZylR
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) August 16, 2017
Attorney General Bill Barr is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, and MSNBC host Joy Reid is anxious for Barr to spell out what Antifa stands for: anti-fascist. And there’s nothing more anti-fascist than showing up at a peaceful assembly you disagree with dressed in black “armor” with your faces covered and carrying homemade weapons and shields to silence those “Nazis.”
Say the whole word, Barr. What does "ANTIFA" stand for? Spell it out? Ok I'll do it for you: Anti-Fascist. Now. Do go on… #BarrHearing
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 28, 2020
Do you think that North Korea is a “democratic people’s republic” because that’s in the name too?
— Bongino Report (@BonginoReport) July 28, 2020
Yes, of course. God, why would they lie about that?
— Dan Perrucci (@DanPerrucci) July 28, 2020
Say the whole word, Reid. What does “DPRK” stand for? Spell it out? Ok I’ll do it for you: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Now. Do go on… https://t.co/aVDEHeeQLA
— Siddak Ahuja (@SiddakAhuja) July 28, 2020
Joy probably thinks that the People's Republic of China is an actual republic, too. https://t.co/3EAnRkPPcr
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) July 28, 2020
East Germany was the German Democratic Republic.
— Lex Watterson (@LexWatterson2) July 28, 2020
They use fascist tactics. They can call themselves whatever they want.
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) July 28, 2020
People will be shocked that acronyms don't mean shit when they see what Nazi stood for….
— Harry Davies (@hdavies73) July 28, 2020
Ooh ooh I got one Joy: Affordable Care Act! Ooh ooh also The Patriot Act!
— Dent In The World ?? (@dentintheworld) July 28, 2020
— Constitutional Truth (@Truth_CharSines) July 28, 2020
REALITY CHECK: Just because some group calls themselves ‘Anti-Fascist’ doesn’t really mean they’re really ‘Anti-Fascist’.
The organization that calls itself Antifa is a violent, anti-1st Amendment Marxist organization causing destruction across our nation.
— John Betts (@JohnFromCranber) July 28, 2020
Ironic that Antifa uses Brownshirt tactics and is astonishingly pro-fascist…
— Ricardo Turtleneck (@PintSizePolemic) July 28, 2020
Their name isn’t the problem. Their actions are.
— Lisa P (@SmyrnaPeach) July 28, 2020
This is not a particularly cogent point.
Groups are not always what their names suggest.
— Bob Mann (@BobMann2001) July 28, 2020
Remind me to name my next group of bank robbers ANTITHEFT… and I’ll pray you’re on my jury. ?♂️
— TheRealBenOrr™️ (@theREALbenORR) July 28, 2020
I can sit in my garage and call myself Toyota, but that doesn't make me a car.
— Warlord of Quilting (@SavannahDoc412) July 28, 2020
Right. It's a terrible point, but it's the only point they have.
— Danger Onion ? (@captainmctweety) July 28, 2020
It’s an oxymoron, kinda like saying, MSNBC “news”.
— Tim Andrews (@TimAndrewsHere) July 28, 2020
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) July 28, 2020
Joy Reid embracing Antifa is actually the perfect example of how Antifa and how it currently functions isn't the least bit radical at all. It's perfectly acceptable within neoliberalism.
— Marxist Soccer (@MarxistSoccer) July 28, 2020
Great point, although even Cuomo, who compared Antifa to World War II soldiers, backtracked and said he never endorsed Antifa. And after the political violence became too great to ignore, Cuomo’s CNN colleague Don Lemon admitted that “no organization is perfect.”
My criticism of antifa is that they’re neolibs and there’s no real political fascism to be against. They’re LARPers fighting LARPers. The opposite of what “organization” looks like.
— Siddak Ahuja (@SiddakAhuja) July 28, 2020
As long as we’re asking Barr questions:
I want Barr to answer if he found the people who hacked your twitter years ago
— MacExotic (@ScrutonsHair) July 28, 2020
Related:
Rep. Jerry Nadler calls Antifa an ‘imaginary thing’ on the House floor, even though Don Lemon and the UN have given shout-outs https://t.co/goxzdTG5tw
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 25, 2020