When most Americans had their introduction to antifa, or anti-fascist, groups, it was an overwhelmingly peaceful collection of disparate peoples who opposed the white supremacists rallying in Charlottesville. In that setting, they appeared docile.
This past weekend, though, groups waving the same banners in Berkeley wreaked havoc on the streets. Their violence was unwarranted and largely against peaceful protesters, or in some cases, random people in their path. In many ways, these are people who simply crave violence, and inject it into the ideology du jour.
All political violence is dangerous and unnecessary. Sure, certain antifa groups have been romanticized as opponents of the so-called fascists of the far right. This certainly does not legitimize militias from the left appearing on the streets to meet them. Our taxes already fund those who should protect us: the police.
Another troubling aspect of antifa is their politics — or lack thereof.
Just as plenty of upstanding conservatives loathe any association with the alt-right, so should liberals shed affiliations with the militancy on the left. Antifa is not a collection of moderate Democrats in costumes; they are cabals of anarchists and communists.
Moderates should seek to remove themselves from any association with these groups and their ilk. Violence begets violence, and to support antifa is to endorse their radical worldview. The answer to radicals is to elect officials who are responsible and call out violence regardless of its origin. That is what democracy looks like; not propping up leftists that would make Bernie Sanders blush.
The chaos in Charlottesvile resulted in a death. Violence and murder are separate, but the former can forewarn the latter. We should seek to distance ourselves from radical and potentially dangerous groups on either side of the spectrum.
Unfortunately, the perpetuation of these fringe groups gaining credence in our national politics will have the opposite effect. Too often our politics devolve into tribalism, and the last few years have only compounded the issue.
As a nation, we lack the desire for complexity in our disagreements. Instead of honest debate, we erect straw men and attack the worst parts of our opposition. The motives for this are obvious — to score cheap political points.
