My thoughts on ANTIFA

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with a group of Left Wing activists in Portland. I come from a predominantly white suburban community with no significant level of political activism. A place where elections come and go like sport events. People cheer on their favorite team (mostly Republicans), and maybe put up a lawn sign and a bumper sticker. Election day comes, some people vote, and it all passes with little to no consequence for the community. Life moves on as if it hardly happened at all. 

For these Portlanders, their political activism is a part of their identity. They are energetic, and very politically aware. They know their local politics, and are aware of the actions of political groups in the region. They balance their personal lives with their activism in a manner that puts us suburbanites to shame. "I just don't have the time" is simply not an excuse here. 

I was in town at the same time as a Patriot Prayer event (a white supremacist hate group). They were in town to harass the family of Patrick Kimmons. Kimmons was a black resident of Portland who was recently murdered by the Portland police, and the family had set up a vigil to bring about awareness of the murder. Patriot Prayer and their allies, the Proud Boys, commonly corroborate with police, and naturally were infuriated by another public, anti-police demonstration.

The Kimmons family and their friends were concerned that Patriot Prayer aimed to, in an extreme act of racism and disrespect, desecrate the vigil. Black bloc Antifascists (commonly called ANTIFA), SHARP (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice), and other allies set out to disrupt Patriot Prayer, and protect the vigil. This event solidified my opinion towards ANTIFA in a big way. 

Anyone who aligns themselves with Left Wing politics, and/or considers themselves allies of minority groups, and is opposed to ANTIFA and their allies, is doing a major disservice to said minorities. You simply don't understand their purpose. As was stated previously, these far Right hate groups like Patriot Prayer corroborate with the police, and never face criminal charges for their violence. ANTIFA on the other hand are arrested regularly, often while being the victims of violence. ANTIFA exists as a means of protection against power. If the police aren't your ally, who do you turn to? For these assaulted minorities, people like Antifascists are all they feel they have. 

ANTIFA isn't a political action group. It doesn't have any central organization. It is a means of opposition for those who are threatened by institutions of power, and shows of force. They have no agenda aside protecting their communities from these hate groups. Keep in mind, groups like Patriot Prayer travel into cities where the participants do not live, in order to claim they are "taking back their homeland" or attempting to "liberate" cities like Portland by applying political pressure through intimidation. This is an identical tactic to Fascist paramilitaries in the past. There is simply no appeal to reason to be made here, hence the response ANTIFA creates. 

You cannot judge ANTIFA as if it were an institution of power, because it isn't even an institution, it is an action. Justifying violence is a burden which institutions of power must satisfy. if you are ignoring the violence of power and those aligned with it, and instead finger wave at those fighting back in opposition, than shame on you. You are part of the problem. Remember, these are people who live in these communities which these hate groups are harassing. They are protecting their homes from an apparent threat. It isn't some gang fighting a rival for their turf.  

It is a common white Liberal talking point that nonviolence is the only means by which abused minorities should seek emancipation. I counter with Malcolm X, who stated that calls for nonviolence are calls for being defenseless. Well these people don't want to be defenseless anymore. They feel threatened, and attacked. It is those in power who must justify their violence, or seek reconciliation with these people now. Until that point comes, let people like Antifascists do their work, and hesitate before you criticize violence during these sorts of events, especially when the framing of these events is done by institutions of power.