Published in the Sunday Outlook op-ed section of the left-wing paper, Bray's "Five Myths" feature claims to debunk the narrative that Antifa is a violent domestic terrorist organization, which is how the group was classified by the Trump administration.
Bray, author of the book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, contends that Antifa is a "staple of radical politics" both here and abroad for decades. Describing the group's work as "militant antifascism," Bray sees nothing wrong with Antifa, noting its "long history under the banner of the Anti-Racist Action network."
According to Bray, Antifa is not a single organization, but rather a loosely affiliated network of activists whose politics center around "revolutionary opposition to the far right."
Bray also opposes the idea that Antifa are the "masterminds" behind all the violence taking place at Black Lives Matter (BLM) "protests."
"... neither the Justice Department, the FBI nor the press have found evidence to corroborate the grandiose allegation that the most widespread and significant political upheaval this country has seen in half a century was masterminded by one shadowy organization," he contends.
Even though independent journalists like Andy Ngô have proven, with actual evidence, that Antifa militants are responsible for much of the rioting, looting and violence taking place across America, Bray wants people to believe that Antifa is innocent of most charges.
As to the claim that Antifa are the "real fascists," a popular rebuttal to the violent movement, Bray claims that this, too, is a misnomer. In his view, the fact that Antifa is derived from the word antifascist somehow proves that its goals and agenda are to defeat fascism rather than promote it.
"Comparing antifascists to fascists only makes a bit of sense if one divorces the tactics from the underlying views that animate them," he insists. "Such comparisons stem from the misguided horseshoe theory: that ultimately political extremes meet."
Antifa relies on capitalism to raise money for its anti-capitalism activities
None of Bray's arguments hold any weight, to be frank. Their presuppositions are inherently flawed and stem from Bray's own misguided belief that Antifa truly is an antifascist movement rather than the fascist movement it has long proven itself to be.
We know from the testimony of Kyle Shideler, director of the Center for Security Policy, that Antifa is both well-organized and well-funded. Its basic structure is an affinity group that Shideler described as:
"A small cell of individuals, known to each other, who agree to come together to participate in 'direct actions' – including sabotage, vandalism, and premeditated assault."
"Affinity groups come together to form clusters, and larger clusters may organize actions using what are called 'spokescouncils,'" Shideler explained. "Antifa 'chapters' form at the city level and join regional networks such as Torch Antifa, the largest Antifa network in the U.S., as well as national and international networks."
Antifa also receives funding from wealthy, far-left groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, The International Workers of the World, Refuse Fascism, and the National Lawyers Guild, as well as from other well-coordinated protest organizations.
Antifa routinely requires these outside groups to sign so-called "memorandums of understanding," forcing allies to agree not to interfere with their criminal activity. This affords a level of "protection" for these outside groups.
Other ways Antifa rakes in funding is through crowdsourcing technology, event admission fees, cash donations and selling merchandise – the epitome of capitalism – at so-called "anarchist bookfairs."
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