Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
^Why are you waiting for that, though? You're looking for someone to offer a counterpoint to your argument that Nazis are worse than Antifa protesters in that particular regard? If so, I don't understand; no one is arguing that Nazis aren't worse than Antifa in that way, and in other ways too.
As to why people are, in general, more likely to act like animals when in a large group of like-minded people, there's lots of research on that point.
I was sort of joking, but it was a reference to the statement, "they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive" - if you've ever had a conversation with someone devoted to postmodernism, it can be a surreal experience, where the very concept of objective reality that can be verified is in question. There's a pervasive reading of Foucault's Truth and Power that is highly suspicious of logic and rationality, viewing them as tools of the oppressor class. As a result, argument based on reason is rejected at the outset, because to engage in it would be playing the game on the terms of the oppressors. Engaging with someone who holds those views like suddenly finding yourself in a Beckett play.
In seriousness again though, if violence can be justified on the basis that your opponents won't listen to reason, well, it's pretty easy for people to convince themselves of that. That seems to me to be far too low a bar to place in front of vigilantism. It's not until you get to the "fists and pistols" part that you're in the realm of sound policy.
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i think my point in bringing up the question is based primarily on intent.
The anfita movement isn't something that has been growing in isolation. Rather its strength is wholly dependent on the the Far Right and white supremacists. It is a response to that growth and throughout history, one could chart the growth of Antifa with the growth of the Far Right...
the violence shown by antifa, as far is I can see happen in these large scale protests and counter protests, where there is an ideological enemy: those espousing extreme right ideologies. Rightly or wrongly, they see themselves as a counter balance to that and organize accordingly.
Do people believe that Antifa would exist without the rise of the Far Right?
The point of raising the question with respect to violent acts is one of intent and context. Within a mob, I think we can agree, it can bring out the worst in people from all sides, and often violence ensues because people are on edge...
However, if i were an individual walking past a group of antifa vs a group of white supremacists in the middle of the night, i'd definitely take my chances with antifa.
With all due respect to those putting out the notion that the antifa and the far right violence is the same, you might be right when it comes to clashes when those two groups come together to protest the removal of a statue... however, with respect to incidents that are actually labelled domestic terrorism, the far right has a much bigger threat than antifa is.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...hos-behind-it/