A recent episode of an Alt-Left podcast (06 Oct, 41 mins) featured Mark Bray, the Dartmouth historian, political activist, unofficial Antifa spokesman, and author of the Antifa Handbook Bray talks about how poorly the Right understands Antifa, how Alex Jones is a conspiracy theorist, and other topics about how Antifa is covered by the media at large.
He makes a distinction between right wing media outlets and mainstream/sympathetic media outlets, saying that Antifa must do a better job of educating mainstream and sympathetic reporters and journalists about what Antifa is and is not. Another initiative is educating the populace so that average consumers of media can identify poor coverage or false reporting on Antifa.
Bray goes on to describe his book tour where he says supporters of Antifa are interested in how to counter the Alt-Right and every day bigotry of conservatives and the Trump administration.
"There is, I think, a real urgency in thinking through how to fight back... they are taking this seriously."
Bray also talks about the current dilemma among Leftists of determining how to resist in the Age of Trump, and understanding what kind of resistance is appropriate. He says the latter focuses on the "liberal understanding of rights and speech, and also a liberal understanding of nonviolence and violence, and how social change happens and what forms social resistance can take."
Bray best describes this approach by explaining that "free speech absolutism" is not a universal, timeless value, and he intimates that suppression of "free speech" is required, as he alludes to the rise of the Germany Nazi Party. (AC: This is common -- perhaps the sole unifying factor -- among Leftist counter-demonstrations. They point to the rise of fascism, which began as political discourse and free speech, which eventually created state violence. Therefore, any conservative, nationalist, or other right wing speech must be opposed to prevent the rise of fascism.)
When asked about strategy, Bray says: "I think that these examples that show how you can kind of blend or overlap militancy with popular participation in a way that has very clear objectives is something that I've seen resonating with people." Bray describes Antifa as a "pan-leftist" movement and calls for cooperation among Leftist radicals of all stripes, and "put aside our vision of the future, put aside differences around electoral politics and the state".
Marc Bray previously appeared on WNYC's On the Media radio show, which is syndicated on National Public Radio stations across the country. In this sympathetic interview, Bray says that Antifa's goal is to apply social and physical pressure so that in 20 years, Americans who voted for Trump in 2016 are afraid to share that in public. Bray says that raising the "social cost" of supporting President Trump and other conservative policies is the only way to cure bigotry in the US. Both the host and Bray defend the idea that maybe all speech shouldn't be free; an idea which has gained popularity among Leftists. We'll continue to see efforts by the Left to shut down what they consider "hate speech," which carries with it very broad interpretations.
@culper is a former intelligence analyst who now tracks the development of America's domestic conflict.
Cc: @stevescoins and @deanlogic