Waiting For A Perfect Protest? Op-Ed Argues I Am The Problem, Not Antifa

Clergy facing white nationalists in Charlottesville.

Waiting for a Perfect Protest? New York Times

Anne's comment: "Your op-ed sanitizes the reality of the antifa protest in Berkeley, claiming that my white woman 'perfect march' moderation (I see myself as very progressive) is a greater problem for you than antifa's right to promote anarchy -- breaking windows, shutting down businesses, creating chaos and hurting people -- because a white nationalist wants to speak on campus.

Many antifa members are as committed to overturning our govt and creating anarchy to support their vision of justice as are the white nationalists, from all I've read. Your op-ed says clearly that I -- who sued the NYPD over events in Harlem and won -- am a greater problem for social justice -- than antifa.

Those claims are 1) absurd and 2) counter-productive to the cause of social justice. I am happy to stand (and have stood ALWAYS) for BLM, as an example.

But if you also demand that I agree to no free speech for the dreadful Ann Coulter, that Condoleezza Rice is not permitted to speak on any university campus, and that I speak proudly on behalf of black-shirt violence that breaks windows and clubs people for NO obvious reason but creating chaos and overturning our economic system, then you must explain to me 1) why this is necessary; 2) how it will succeed and 3) exactly what kind of America you imagine creating in your so-called just country. " {End comment}

On AOC yesterday, I did discuss this issue and also posted the polls referenced in this op-ed. I posted a link to the clergy group that organized the counter-protests in Charlottesville and have absolutely no issue with them. But if they are arguing -- as they seem to be -- that I must support a host of other actions, like antifa in Berkeley, I cannot support that violence. I do not support anarchy and the total overturning of capitalism in America, as antifa seeks (not that I think it's even possible). ~ Anne

 {Op-Ed}: "Our complaint here is not about the right-wing media outlets that we know will continue to delegitimize anti-racist protest in any form — whether it’s peacefully sitting during the national anthem, marching in the streets, staging boycotts or simply making the apparently radical claim that “black lives matter.” Rather, our concern at this moment is with our moderate brothers and sisters who voice support for the cause of racial justice but simultaneously cling to paralyzingly unrealistic standards when it comes to what protest should look like.

As Christian clergy members, we place a high value on nonviolence. We are part of a national campaign that promotes proven solutions to reducing gun violence in our cities, and each of us has worked to achieve peace in our neighborhoods. But we know there has never been a time in American history in which movements for justice have been devoid of violent outbreaks."

{. . . }

The civil rights movement was messy, disorderly, confrontational and yes, sometimes violent. Those standing on the sidelines of the current racial-justice movement, waiting for a pristine or flawless exercise of righteous protest, will have a long wait. They, we suspect, will be this generation’s version of the millions who claim that they were one of the thousands who marched with Dr. King. Each of us should realize that what we do now is most likely what we would have done during those celebrated protests 50 years ago. Rather than critique from afar, come out of your homes, follow those who are closest to the pain, and help us to redeem this country, and yourselves, in the process."

Michael McBride is a pastor and the director of PICO National Network’s “Live Free” campaign. Traci Blackmon is the United Church of Christ’s executive minister of justice and witness.
Frank Reid is the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s bishop of ecumenical affairs and social action. Barbara Williams Skinner is a co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network.

Antifa Joins White Nationalists In National Spotlight As Media Explores Domestic Terrorism

Protesters in black, associated with Antifa, shown at a "No-To-Marxism" rally Aug. 27 in Berkeley, California. The rally had been canceled, but still attracted attendees and demonstrators to Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Park along with score of police in riot gear. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

White nationalists are not the only domestic terrorists in America, although America's neo-Nazis aren't currently classified as such. In mid-August, after Charlottesville CNN explained: "While Congress chose to define "domestic terrorism," it did not actually create a crime of domestic terrorism. The punishment for committing an act of "terrorism" under federal law only covers crimes that either occur outside the United States or are initiated by people outside the United States. That means an act of pure terrorism that occurs right here at home, without foreign involvement, can't be prosecuted as terrorism under the law."

Politico writes Friday that Federal authorities have increasingly warned state and local officials since early 2016 about 'antifa', believing that the 'anarchist extremists' were the "primary instigators of violence at public rallies against a range of targets. They were blamed by authorities for attacks on the police, government and political institutions, along with symbols of “the capitalist system,” racism, social injustice and fascism, according to a confidential 2016 joint intelligence assessment by DHS and the FBI."

After Donald Trump's election in November 2016, antifa turned its focus to the president-elect's solid support from white supremacists and nationalist groups. The reports appear to support Trump's insistence that extremists exist on both side -- although the extent of their presence in Charlottesville is not totally clear. 

Counterprotesters linking arms in Charlottesville. CreditEdu Bayer for The New York Times

The New York Times asked 'Who Were the Counterprotesters in Charlottesville?'

In Charlottesville, about 20 members of a group called the Redneck Revolt, which describes itself as an anti-racist, anti-capitalist group dedicated to uniting working-class whites and oppressed minorities, carried rifles and formed a security perimeter around the counterprotesters in Justice Park, according to its website and social media.

The group, which admires John Brown, a white abolitionist who led an armed insurrection in 1859, issued a “call to arms” on its website: “To the fascists and all who stand with them, we’ll be seeing you in Virginia.”

Cornel West told the newscast “Democracy Now!” that anti-fascists saved his life and the lives of other nonviolent clergy members in Charlottesville. “We would have been crushed like cockroaches were it not for the anarchists and the anti-fascists,” he said on the show. “You had police holding back and just allowing fellow citizens to go at each other.”

The question of police disengagement in Charlottesville is also under investigation, given the large number of observations that the police seemed to stand down in Charlottesville.  The local umbrella group in Charlottesville responsible for the counter-protests is Solidaritycville. 

This graphic is from the organization's Twitter feed with the message: Your regularly-scheduled reminder to not let public opinion dictate how we fight for liberation.