LogFAQs > #885000222

I'll preface by saying that the "both sides" shit from this week should have never happened. The nazis should have been swiftly exclusively condemned and held solely accountable as not to undercut the condemnation of them. The nazis didn't "only" kill 1 person, 1 person just happened to die. Had he been in anything larger than the car he was in, it is very likely there would have been a significantly higher death toll. This neo-nazi, white supremacist bullshit needs to be condemned, snuffed out, and isolated from any political significance.

The problem, however, is that THIS time, antifa were fighting literal nazis in the streets. That may not be the best way to combat them (it isn't), but in this situation, they were punching actual neo-nazis. The issue is that often their definition of who is and who isn't a neonazi can vary from day to day, from protest to protest, which leads to innocent people being assaulted and victimized by their violence, as we have seen over the past year. They are not infallible and are not always right in who they direct their violence toward. One dude was doxxed who had nothing at all to do with the rally and wasn't even there.

Not only that, but as is the left's constant (and mostly accurate argument) against aggression against Islamic countries, the violence only further entrances neo-nazis in their victimization complex and radicalizes those on the fence. This is NOT how to defeat them, by giving them ammunition to add to their ranks. It furthers the divide.

White supremacists absolutely took the cake last weekend and Antifa should not be lowered to their moral plane. But they are now seen in a heroic light, when there have been many instances lately of them using violence to further their cause whether or not it was warranted. The nazis being pieces of shit who deserved a fight does not erase any of that.

This week wasn't the time for Trump to lash out at them, not by a long fucking shot, and he fucked up an opportunity to be a good leader, but let's not pretend that Antifa is some heroic, noble organization. There are plenty who are peacefully trying to get things done and plenty going through political channels to stop the spread of the despicable alt-right, but there is also a large group of them who loosely define their enemies to justify attacking innocent people. That shouldn't be accepted or redefined simply because the neo-nazis are worse.

Hate from all sides and violence from all sides should absolutely be condemned. Nazis and that piece of shit in the car should be exclusively condemned and considered at fault for this weekend, but that does not change that hate and violence from all corners needs to give way to more peaceful, alternative means of resolution.

Nazi violence toward antifa last weekend didn't result in any fewer antifa (from an ideology standpoint). Antifa violence didn't result in any fewer neo-nazis. In fact, both groups probably added to their numbers in the aftermath, and that is NOT the way it should be.