Radicals Claim That American Liberals Cling to the Past, and to Privilege, to Avoid Facing Reality

[workinclasszero]

Radicals Claim That American Liberals Cling to the Past, and to Privilege, to Avoid Facing the Reality of Creeping Fascism
To the "antifa" movement, cowardly liberals are a big problem in fighting Donald Trump and the white nationalist right.
By Matthew Sheffield / Salon March 10, 2017

Since the election of Donald Trump, liberals and leftists have been discussing how to best respond to American conservatism’s transformation from a shopworn, Cold War, anti-government philosophy into something else.

To the anarchists and socialists who consider themselves part of the global “antifa” movement (an abbreviation for “anti-fascist”), the transition currently taking place on the right is all too familiar. The rise of the alt-right and white nationalism within the U.S. is something the mainstream left doesn’t take seriously enough, they say, even as many Democrats compare Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.

If it is actually true that the civic nationalism of Trump and his top strategist Steve Bannon are helping to lay the groundwork for a more radical right — intentionally or otherwise — then their self-described opponents on the left need to do more than wear safety pins and post Facebook denunciations of the president they didn’t vote for.

For the antifas, understanding that white nationalists are deadly serious about instigating a “racial holy war” is the key to countering them.

“During the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, while anarchists and communists were literally fighting the fascists in the streets, the liberals and social democrats attempted to debate the Nazis point for point in the halls of power,” the anonymous activist continued. “This did nothing, and also normalized the positions of the Nazis and also made them into legitimate positions.”

“Liberalism [has] proven itself unable to prevent the rise of fascism over and over again,” the activists said. “By the time liberals are comfortable with cracking down on fascism, it’s almost always too late. Antifa wants to make sure that no roots can take hold; that every attempt to organize and recruit for the fascist agenda is physically confronted and shut down.”

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/radicals-claim-american-liberals-cling-past-and-privilege-avoid-facing-reality

[Warpy]

1. Oh, I'm far left, myself, but I'd like to point out one thing to them:

those stodgy, old fashioned liberals in power before 1969 managed to craft an economy that worked for most people who were willing to work, even at the most menial jobs, to build a better life than their parents had and to provide for their children, even educating them beyond high school. They created the longest sustained boom in the history of this country and in so doing, created a large and very stable middle class.

I am a far leftist, but I give them their due in this.

[Jake Stern]

2. Torn

On one hand I like to see more action than convincing one's self that this or that scandal is going to be the one that will bring down Trump a la Tricky Dick.

On the other hand Antifa's tactics like wearing masks and wrecking shit quickly make them the media face of Anti-Trump marches and rallies. This helps convince Joe and Jane Sixpack of Ottumwa, Iowa that Anti-Trump protesters are nothing more than black clad young punks hell bent on burning cars and smashing shop windows which pushes them further into the arms of the GOP.