Opinion

The Left’s “Antifa-Da” Against America

REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Joe Alton Contributor
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In years past, you have read stories of the Palestinian’s “Intifada” against Israelis. Intifada is an Arabic word whose meaning is “rebellion” or “resistance”. This resistance often takes the form of violent action, such as the “knife intifada” of 2015 that consisted of stabbing attacks on citizens in Israel.

In America today, we are in the midst of a “resistance” as well, and it’s also often violent. Instead of an intifada, it’s an “Antifa-da”. Far-Left fascists ironically style themselves as anti-fascists, or “Antifa”. I call them fascists because they use similar tactics to their 20th century predecessors. The Antifas are a minority, but they want the majority to bow to their will. They attempt to convince Americans that anyone that doesn’t adhere to their ideology is wrong-headed and dangerous. They are willing to use methods like false news and violence to silence certain groups (in this case, conservatives).

In the past, the goal was extermination of people. Today, it’s the extermination of non-progressive expression of thought. We’ve seen numerous actions by the Antifada against those that dare that go public with conservative opinions. Speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos, Charles Murray, and Ann Coulter are silenced by threats of violence or by the real thing, as seen at UC-Berkeley.

But you don’t have to be a conservative or libertarian celebrity to become a victim of the Antifada. It doesn’t take much to trigger a good verbal or physical pummeling by the Left. Just put on a “Make America Great Again” hat or a T-Shirt with the word “Trump” on it and walk through any large city or college campus; you’ll see what I mean.

I never thought that I would have to use the word “violence” so often in my writing; I’d much rather write about policy. Unfortunately, the Antifada has incorporated brutality as their main strategy to suppress conservatives in general and Republicans in particular. Recently, the Huffington Post published a manifesto of sorts by one of its columnists, Michelangelo Signorile, who encourages insidious forms of “non-violent” violence against those that disagree with him.

Mr. Signorile writes: “…no elected official – certainly those in the GOP defending and supporting Trump…should be able to sit down for a nice, quiet lunch or dinner in a Washington, DC eatery or even in their own homes. They should be hounded by protestors everywhere…”

He doesn’t stop there: “…officials and White House staffers must be challenged going to and from their cars…Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, should not be able to attend any function, eat in public, or enjoy dinner at home…”

The above Antifada tactics are not violent; that is, until you become a victim of them. It’s bad enough to have protestors scream at you and your family while you’re at dinner, or plant signs calling you a traitor on your front lawn. Imagine yourself being physically attacked at a North Dakota town hall, or being run off the road in Tennessee…because of your vote on healthcare. All of this by people whose philosophy is not in line with most of the people in their states.

Mr. Signorile offers a short disclaimer in his article abhorring violence, but he doesn’t refer to Berkeley or the many attacks on those trying to exercise their right to free speech. He specifically cites violence caused by…Trump thugs?!

If this writer was a lone voice in the wilderness, you might not take his manifesto seriously. Unfortunately, he is just one of many in the Antifada that believe incivility and violence are appropriate, even required, responses to losing an election. He encourages progressive activists to disrupt and attack Republicans, even in areas where the grand majority of people rejected liberal candidates and ideology.

Peter Hasson of The Daily Caller mentioned that Mr. Signorile’s column was shared more than 29,000 times. Shared for what purpose? To serve, as Signorile says, as a blueprint for the Antifada to “save America”, or to destroy it?

The Antifada doesn’t want to convince you, through the force of logic, that their line of thought is best for the country. They just want you to submit through the force of, well, force. No one, not even the Left, believes that their tactics will change hearts and minds. The Antifada, instead, wants you to be worn down, to be kept off-kilter, to be silent, and, finally, to give up. It’s working.

There are plenty of those on the Left who believe that even violent action is for the good of the country. You may have changed their world with your vote, but they know better than you; it’s time to put you back in the corral with the rest of the sheep. Will you go quietly?