Flag image touting American Antifascists with words saying antifascists are a natural reaction to fascism.

Where Are the Antifascists When You Really Need Them?

Trump and Harris are not antifascists. In fact, most of their behavior indicates they are ‘all in’ on fascism. There is nothing extreme in this observation. Whoever wins tomorrow’s election, they will leave the people with a pointed need to combat fascism. Trump is actively fascist and makes antifascists part of his gaslighting. Meanwhile, Harris turns a blind eye and says she will protect your right to disagree with her.

For these candidates, resistance to fascism is either a non-issue (that is, they want or need it, or just go with the flow), or the concern is above their pay grade (that is, the billionaires control). Fascism is the political product that bipartisanship is pushing on the American people. It is no fault of the people and fascism is not what most of us want. Neither candidate shows any intent to stop the slide away from democracy.

Saving Democracy Means Standing Up to Fascists

Antifascism – being against fascism or tyranny or whatever you want to call it – should not be another pointless, manipulated concept, but so far it is. Certainly, the politicians are not taking care of the issue, despite all the saving-democracy talk. But the concept is right-on, and America sorely needs it as part of a much-needed course correction. America needs bona fide, peaceful, strong antifascism. Are we not a democracy under dire threat?

The “kitchen table” issues are secondary to fascism. It is only stylistic differences between Trump and Harris that determines how fast and how strong the antifascists need to be. The prime example, today’s fascism lifeblood, is Israel’s terminator war in the Middle East, which either president will wage. You know, the dead end into which Israel is leading us. Hopefully, war only takes a few Americans before the people finally get the message and rise up. Sadly, war might again have to be the peoples’ great unifier. (By the way, who is minding the war store? It cannot possibly be Biden or Harris these days.)

Of course, the system has its ways of dealing with anything they do not control or respect, like antifascists, or resistors in general. Denial and suppression are looming large, so war-like violence has increased propensity to end up in the streets. Maybe the fascist-leaning elites are simply done worrying about democracy and people they do not really need.

What are antifascists, or what is antifa?

Antifa is short for antifascists. Over a short American history, it has shaped up as a vague and ill-defined movement, which is small (think hundreds rather than thousands). There are no clear rules or paths to involvement. So, they are dissimilar in operations and decentralized in general. They are more a movement than an organization.

If you google antifascists, antifa comes up, saying this: “a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement in the United States. It consists of a highly decentralized array of autonomous groups that use nonviolent direct action, incivility, or violence to achieve their aims.” This seems a workable definition, assuming you can get past the ambiguity of both “nonviolent actions” and “violence” as their tools. It is actually correct, considering the dissimilar tactics of their operating cells.

The error or weakness in the definition is calling antifascists “left wing”. Or, at least the qualifier needs to be in better context. This is because, in lieu of the needs of mass multitudes of Americans, there essentially is no left wing in America. Barely a handful of committed politicians represents the leftists. Republicans are right and extreme right, while Democrats are right with a smattering of centrists. You are a leftist to be squashed if you don’t support endless war, including the politicos. Admittedly, there is critical need for left-leaning progressives to regroup. There is no shortage of people ready to ridicule leftist efforts; it provides good food for thought.

In the absence of state resistance to fascism, antifascists have been alone in the fight

In 2017, historian Mark Bray wrote “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.” It traces the history of antifascism as ramped up on the heels of WWII in Europe (Spain, Italy, Germany), which has more recently come to the USA. The book takes debatable stances, and sometimes justifies violence. The premise: such resistance is necessary if democracy is not to be turned against itself. It can be (and has been) more than any Proud Boys lobby insults back-and-forth with the local antifa-types. Aram Roston of Reuters wrote a nice day-in-the-life of a couple antifascists; individual antifas all seem to be aberrations, there is no clear profile other than heart-felt willingness to thwart fascism. It is that whatever-it-takes mindset.

Success factors for antifascists

The antifascism cause is vital and needs to elevate, to improve on its previous efforts, to gain power and use it more productively to eradicate fascism. Two top-of-mind factors might seem simplistic at first blush, but they are not. (Click the arrows for more on each.)

Organize with the Government for Success
  • In order to advance and be more than a nebulous movement, antifascism must organize and define itself. This means overcoming the stigma that has been cultivated in opposition to the pure antifascist cause. Antifascists must recognize that taking this step is legitimizing, and that in doing so they exposed and verified not to be falsely accused as terrorists.
  • Antifascists must back off any tendency or claim to anarchy and any questionable justification of violence. Peaceful action for proper law and order must prevail and be the primary option.
  • Antifascists need to move from fighting with fascists to working with the government. They must petition, even shame, the government into taking up antifascism. As a functioning representative democracy, the government should welcome and channel the vital energy of appropriately defined antifascism; if not, be ready to move on to revolution. Antifascism represents a void in our government function that must be filled. Hate speech must be declared an illegitimate form of free speech.
Grow and Empower the Antifascist Team
  • The definition of antifascism, including its intent and measurable goals, must be consistent and clear for communication to the range of citizen stakeholders. A core group of antifascists must be aligned and in constant lockstep with the states and federal legislature, providing joint transparent reporting to the executive administration.
  • A community of antifascists must break through the successful old Roman barrier of fascist-type ‘divide and conquer’, under which all progressive efforts tend to suffer and usually don’t recognize. Said variously, antifascists must work to ‘get all the wood behind one arrow’. Centralization around solid definitions and rules is needed to help antifascism gain traction and grow.
  • Antifascists, working with the citizenry, must step up to being an important element of America’s overall restoration, working directly and collaboratively with the government on efforts such as recovery of the SCOTUS, establishing meaningful campaign finance controls, etcetera. This assumes willing capable government officials.

America needs antifascists in a healthy, save democracy sense.

Antifascists can establish a role and responsibility in a revamped modernized American Democracy, which might first require working through the next American Revolution. Antifascists (or whatever name the function holds) must be the catalyst to save democracy.

Meanwhile, vote for your favorite lesser of evils. And buckle up. And pray to the one true God of all.