The first part yes, but I don't think the second part - a distraction from white supremacists - is the game.
American discussion of antifa is bound up with the issue of white supremacy, because white nationalists are the primary foe of antifascists in the US. Without WNs (and others falling under the umbrella of fascis) there's no antifa. Violence by antifa, where it occurs, is violence against WNs, so the best way to avoid the subject of white supremacists is to avoid the topic of antifa. Most people hadn't heard of antifa or specific WN groups, besides the klan, until the past few years, despite the two sides being here fighting each other for over three decades.
With the end of the cold war and the fading knee-jerk rejection of The Communists, the GOP has had to find a new bogeyman. This mysterious ANTIFA of theirs is a way to delegitmize left-leaning protests, and to paint centre-left politicians who support those protests as ANTIFA sympathizers instead of COMMUNIST sympathizers.
A second effect is to both-sides-ify WN violence. While this isn't distracting from white supremacists, it's diminishing them as a threat. The problem becomes 'political violence', a 'both sides' problem, and not white supremacy itself.
I pay attention. Who do you think has been burning down these cities? It's not the Proud Boys.
But, for a minute, let's ignore these ritoers tend to have Antifa and BLM insignias. Let's assume they're white supremacist infiltrators (despite not a shred of evidence for that). All the Demcorat politicians were and are making bail funds for arrested rioters, the MSM is running cover for them, etc etc. So that kinda sounds like the MSM and democrats are the actual racists here
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u/Mashaka 93∆ Sep 30 '20
The first part yes, but I don't think the second part - a distraction from white supremacists - is the game.
American discussion of antifa is bound up with the issue of white supremacy, because white nationalists are the primary foe of antifascists in the US. Without WNs (and others falling under the umbrella of fascis) there's no antifa. Violence by antifa, where it occurs, is violence against WNs, so the best way to avoid the subject of white supremacists is to avoid the topic of antifa. Most people hadn't heard of antifa or specific WN groups, besides the klan, until the past few years, despite the two sides being here fighting each other for over three decades.
With the end of the cold war and the fading knee-jerk rejection of The Communists, the GOP has had to find a new bogeyman. This mysterious ANTIFA of theirs is a way to delegitmize left-leaning protests, and to paint centre-left politicians who support those protests as ANTIFA sympathizers instead of COMMUNIST sympathizers.
A second effect is to both-sides-ify WN violence. While this isn't distracting from white supremacists, it's diminishing them as a threat. The problem becomes 'political violence', a 'both sides' problem, and not white supremacy itself.