Bill Lee
June, 8, 2020
The president of the USA, D.J. Trump, has
been twittering (some would say blithering) on about members of Antifa and the "Radical
Left" instigating the recent riots that have emerged out of the well
organized and quite orderly demonstrations against Police violence against racialized
people. He has even suggested he will label Antifa as a "terrorist
organization[1]".
As usual with the twaddle that the man brays forth it is a completely
unsubstantiated charge. Indeed, Trump is, as usual, misinformed, or lying (it
may be that he is no longer, or maybe never was, able to discern the difference
between the two). As for the “Radical Left”, Trump's words amount to the usual vague,
unsubstantiated diversionary codswallop that he has been spewing, and so the
same arguments apply. Antifa is intent
on confronting the Fascist Right and did not organize any protests on, or
infiltrations of, this issue that I’ve heard of. I’m not a fan of all their
tactics, but it is quite unlikely its members are going to insert themselves
into protests about the epidemic of police violence against racialized
communities.
But I do believe that the “outside agitator" claim may make
some sense. But it is right wing outsiders that concern me. Some of my friends
on the left seem to feel obliged to reject almost any notion[2]
that would seem to displace all the agency for the destruction away from the Black
participants. I do not feel that need. It is not that I cannot understand the justifiable
built up rage in racialized and oppressed groups that could be a part of the
action. It is unfortunately very valid. Nor am I suggesting that Black or
Indigenous, or other racialized or colonialized groups, should not be cheered
on and supported when they take to the streets in public protest against
injustice. Neither am I against disruption when the situation warrants[3].
I am among those, like columnist Rosie DiManno (2020) who, saw the burning of
the Minneapolis
police station as a blow for justice. "I say the fires that engulfed the
Third Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department were a furnace of sanity
amidst the derangement of a nation." A clear statement, that suggests a
legitimate target for action, though I understand that it is very troubling for
some. But it increasingly seems likely, given various reports (Bloom, 2020Parton (2020), Zadrozni & Saliba, 2020; Parton (2020), that some of the "outsiders"
who are involved in the riots that have been erupting are members of the Trump supported alt-right neo-Nazi and
White Supremest groups, or both.[4]
It is logical to posit the idea that there could be an intent to try to
distract from, and/or discredit, the real issues of inequality and racism that
have brought on the protests in the first place.
Unfortunately, the media often falls into
the trap set by far right infiltrators. Whoever is responsible for the rioting
and destruction they seem to find it very difficult not to focus on the excitement
of a building on fire, smoke clouds of tear gas that sometimes are floating
around, the images of people running to and fro or the sound of flash bombs
going off. The same applies to the showing of looting when they can video it.
Up to a point it is understandable, even reasonable, to report on carnage, if
it exists, or how the people there are acting and reacting.[5]
However, if that is the major focus, and there is not much digging into things
such as who is participating in the event, why
are they there, to what groups, if any, they
belong to it is not thorough journalism, it is
simply description without context.
Admittedly having the most prolific and
venial liar in the world pumping out totally unsubstantiated charges at all
hours of the day, or night, can make it challenging to maintain a critical and
analytical stance. But, it is precisely because Trump is such a malign
mendacity machine that requires the media to keep digging and presenting facts.
We, particularly whitestream citizens, must demand that the news media does a lot
more digging and analysis as to who is throwing the first brick and setting the
first fire and why. And finally, that they focus on the issue of White
Supremest racist violence in society at large, and by police in particular; and
the fact that D.J. Trump is 'gaslighting' the population of the USA,
and the world, again.
Resources
Adams, B (2020) "Masked white man smashing Minneapolis AutoZone windows in viral video
raises suspicion". The Giro. May 29.
https://thegrio.com/2020/05/29/masked-white-man-smashes-minneapolis-autozone-windows/
Bloom, M. (2020)
"Far-Right Infiltrators and
Agitators in George Floyd Protests: Indicators of White Supremacists". Just Security .May 30.
https://www.justsecurity.org/70497/far-right-infiltrators-and-agitators-in-george-floyd-protests-indicators-of-white-supremacists/?fbclid=IwAR2u-82Av25unpgw0dAsbs9QLIfPdOCCJ82iohBNvlm528lmJ5sVhoi1pg0
Bogel-Burroughs, N. and , SE (2020). "What Is Antifa, the Movement Trump Wants to
Declare a Terror Group?" in The New
York Times. May 31 Updated June 6.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/us/what-antifa-trump.html
Collins, Zadrozni,
B., Saliba, E. (2020). " White nationalist group posing as antifa called
for violence on Twitter". NDCNews. June. 1.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/twitter-takes-down-washington-protest-disinformation-bot-behavior-n1221456?fbclid=IwAR1YS_7Tz2in6vcZ_xuyg5pj3LR1wVcV8PnVKt1Gar5q8hVEX3hfQnjeW-w
DiManno, R,
(2020). "Racism killed George
Floyd". The Star. May 29.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2020/05/29/racism-killed-george-floyd-in-an-america-where-one-in-1000-black-men-can-expect-to-die-at-the-hands-of-police.html.
Gowan P. (2020). "No, We Should Not Condemn Uprisings Against Police
Murders Like George Floyd’s". Jacobin. May 28.
Parton (2020).
"Minnesota Officials Link Arrested Looters to ‘White Supremacist’ Groups".
Courthouse News Service. May 31.
https://www.courthousenews.com/minnesota-officials-link-arrested-looters-to-white-supremacist-groups/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3LQ3QfqSIfURU4N5LwRsS_1qJIEllKNyb1fnLaHIxEtnnpSarTA120yW0.
[1] Antifa which stands for "Anti Fascist", is a loosely knit group of left wing individuals
in the USA and Canada. As far as I or anyone else knows it is not and
organization. Thus Antifa is more of a movement of activists whose followers share
a philosophy and approach to tactics. They have made their presence known at
protests around the country in recent years, including the “Unite
the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
[2] I've heard a few people and have seen some posts that reject any
notion that "outsiders" could be involved in engendering any
destructive behaviour. Some, among them Black activists, are not unreasonably
concerned that admitting such a possibility will somehow detract from
understanding the legitimacy of the
anger and protests themselves. Others (who seem to be a relatively small
group) hope that they see in the riots a harbinger of a revolutionary rising of
the racialized and proletarian oppressed. An interesting article from the very
thoughtful journal, Jacobin, opined at one point: "In the Red Summer of 1919, racist violence hit America as a pandemic
ravaged the country. With mass protests against police murders sweeping the
pandemic-plagued United States, it appears we might be now living in a Red Spring."
(Gowan, 2020) Personally, and sadly, I have seen too many "crisis
moments" not to have serious reservations that they often lead to serious
long term ferment. We need to make ourselves aware what the cries are about and
support the people in the streets.
[3] See my blog post of March 16, 2020, INDIGENOUS BLOCKADE TACTICS AND THE FICTION OF RECONCILIATION.
[4] There was a story that there could have been agent provocateur
police involvement in the Minneapolis protest (Adams, 2020) but that has yet to
be clearly verified and was flatly denied by the St. Paul Police Department.
[5] The danger from the extreme right has been relatively ignored for
too long. There have been, as my citations suggest, some recent media reporting
specifically in respect to the recent demonstrations, but these reports are not
widespread and some seem to only appear in social media like FB. On the other
hand, they do seem to be growing and
perhaps the danger of the extremist Right will gain more traction.
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