Natalie is excellent, she has the rare ability to make academic points entertaining.

I only discovered this channel the other day, it's wonderful.

4.9 stars is the new 5

check you out fuckin pussy bitch.

Antifa is trash. Either way, the analysis of symbolism was pretty spot on. She also didn't advocate violence or overt censorship, unless I missed it.

Be honest, did you actually hear of "Antifa" before 2015?

Maybe? What's the difference? Why the quotes?

Because I'm referring to its sudden adoption into the public lexicon in the last couple of years and its general use as a snarl word.

"Antifa is trash" casts a pretty wide net and describes a lot of groups that were formed for defense from creeps like Crew 38, who are really the last people you want trickling into your local bar/venue.

Sorry for the double post. Shitty comment nesting.

>>casts a pretty wide net and describes a lot of groups that were formed for defense...

Fair enough. I've never heard of Crew 38, but I just watched some Oregon Nazi documentary last night. It made me realize I've been somewhat desensitized to the word.

Antifa have been fighting neo-nazis for decades. You're just a mark buying into right wing media hype. They demonized antifa so they could act like the left contributed to the mayhem of Charlottesville, but it was all on the Nazis looking for trouble. Fuck you for taking their side.

"Fuck you for taking their side." Baby-brain logic. Being skeptical of authortian commie larpers doesn't mean I'm taking a right wing stance. Maybe that's too wide of a net, but I'm just judging based on behavior I've seen (although, I'm sure the worst of which is publicized the most).

Thinking Antifa are "authoritarian commie larpers" isn't doing you much good here, 15th.

For starters, there is no organization called "antifa" to begin with.

The stance you're taking is like making comments about "wrestlers" without even differentiating between sport wrestling and pro wrestling, much less specifying a promotion or league.

Or saying "I hate country music" without any further specification.

Or saying that your favorite sport is "ball."

Know what I mean?

15th -- I guess what I'm getting at here is that I'm making a distinction (whether they themselves do is another matter) between the Black Bloc kids who smash up drug store windows every May Day and the SHARPs and similar groups I knew back in the day who showed up in the face of a tangible and verifiably violent threat, one that the local police often did very little about.

In the same way, I probably making a distinction here between some toolbag who lives entirely online and spams Pepe memes and an actual in-person white nationalist who wishes for an ethnically (and politically) homogenous society and are willing to work towards those ends. While I loathe both, one are a more immediate threat.

I don't know that various antifa groups are necessarily making all these problems better, but I can't imagine a world where they're the *cause* of them.

I hear what you guys are saying. I don't have personal experience with Antifa or otherwise, probably an age/geographical thing. Like I said, what gets the most coverage is, of course, the worst scenarios. I'd debate Antifa is certainly a thing though. So to differentiate: far right political opposition is good. Violence and intimidation is bad. Censorship is bad, unless the speech is illegal (existential, concrete threats of violence). Willie Nelson is good, Adam Lavene is bad. I like hockey.

I don't know much about historical antifascist movements. The worst of it now seems to be an ideological battle between "tool bag" alt-righters and "authoritarian larpers." I take major issue with the side supposedly representing the left turning to political violence. Partly, because I'm not convinced many Nazis are actually involved. Racists dim bulbs, sure. But, you can't beat that out of them.

Back in my day, "centrist" was a slur to describe stupid people not paying attention. Recently centrists have reclaimed it to act like they're some civil center between crazy extremes.

but remember 2000;

Left; Bush is a failure, an idiot with no experience. he would make a terrible president.

Right; Bush is a republican. That's all that matters.

Center; Gore is boring and smart. I'd rather drink a beer with Bush.

I think your comment speaks to my point, in a way, that centrists are whomever the one ideological side is scowling at in a particular way.

Quite often, say, a moderate will get called a centrist for not being aggressive or extreme enough in one's views whereby extremism is a function of highly amplified emotional expression about rightness and wrongness. It's not enough that one agree with a particular end. One must also get to that end by following a particular belief pattern. And that I think is silly.

It's silly because it's unreasonable to think that one line of beliefs is necessary for reaching a particular end or that that particular line of beliefs is what makes the end moral.