🤓 Let’s learn together

I know I mostly promise to hit on topics that are very local to Chadds Ford. As we witness democracy in our country eroding every day, let’s ground ourselves in facts.

The more we know, the more we can have informed, curious, compassionate conversations with our neighbors. Coming together with real people is essential to bringing us back from the brink. I’m incredibly concerned we’re damn close to falling over the edge, and it’s up to us to change course. 💛

Do you know what antifa is?

Until recently, I did not, so don’t feel bad if you’ve heard the term but don’t really know what it means. The term has been tossed around quite liberally lately by some of our “leaders.” Let’s clear up some misconceptions.

Antifa is not an organization or a group; it’s an ideology. It’s short for anti-fascist, or the opposition to fascism.

According to PBS, “their belief system has a fairly wide range of encompassing ideologies, mostly on the political left. And they encompass anarchists, socialists, communists, and a lot of people in between there.”

There is no antifa organization, hierarchy, leader, or budget. Sometimes people with anti-fascist views coalesce organically, but there’s no formal membership or structure. A very tiny number of people (relative to our population) have used violence and unethical practices in the name of the antifa ideology, not unlike people doing horrific things in the name of Christian Nationalism and other far-right ideologies.

Sidenote: There are also anti-fascist activists doing important, non-violent work to counter real fascism in our country.

This 2020 memo from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides more information on antifa, which traces its US roots back to opposition against racist skinheads, the KKK, and neo-Nazis. It’s pretty informative if you’re curious to dig deeper.

What about domestic terrorist organizations?

When the White House administration issues an executive order “designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization,” understand this is wildly misinformed, gross propaganda, or intentionally meant to be weaponized (maybe all of the above). Antifa is not a group, and a domestic terrorist organization is not a defined “thing” under our laws and regulations.

Noted in the aforementioned CRS memo, the FBI “declines to designate any organization as a ‘domestic terrorist organization,’ because doing so may infringe on First Amendment-protected free speech; belonging to an ideological group in and of itself is not a crime in the United States.” (emphasis mine)

The memo continues that while holding an ideology is not a crime, that does not preclude one from being held accountable for any crimes committed in the service of that ideology.

Take responsibility for being informed.

Our current administration has really been stepping up their anti-immigration propoganda lately and pretending this nebulous antifa group is some well-organized, violent entity (maybe they’re confusing it with groups like the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers, who I think they know pretty well). 🤨

Before they bamboozle you into believing their bullsh*t, know the truth. I know it’s not a popular opinion, but it’s your duty as a citizen of the United States to be engaged enough to participate in our democracy in an informed way.

Know the facts; then make your own decisions.

The more you know. 🕊️