MCViewPoint

Of all the cities in America that have suffered from constant rioting and violence, Portland might have it the worst. The city that was once lauded as being one of America’s best places to live has endured more than 100 consecutive nights of rioting involving vandalism, chaos, and death – including the slayingof a supporter of President Donald Trump – since the killing of George Floyd, with no end in sight. 

Disturbingly, there have been recent reports of the Antifa rioters there moving away from the city center and beginning to target residential areas and threaten people in their homes. According to the New York Times, activists have been demanding that people come out of their houses and pledge allegiance to their cause. They attacked one property that was flying the American flag, demanding that it be removed or they would come back and burn the house down.

The ‘direct action’ protest included the handing out of leaflets titled ‘Why Break Windows’, ‘I Want To Kill Cops Until I’m Dead’, ‘Piece Now, Peace Later: An Anarchist Introduction to Firearms’, ‘In Defense of Smashing Cameras’, and ‘Three-Way Fight: Revolutionary Anti-Fascism and Armed Self Defense’.

Conservative news platform Hot Air managed to find the sort of pamphlets on offer, one of which reads: “Police Officers must be killed, the families of Police Officers must be killed, the children of Police Officers must be killed, the friends and supporters of Police Officers must be killed.”

The atmosphere at this protest, however, was described by the New York Times, in its usual style, as being like a “carnival in the dark.” Sorry, what?

The tactics employed by these activists fall in line with their idea of preemptive self-defense. Before you ask, yes, it is an oxymoron, and, yes, it goes over their heads. It is also an excuse to hurt anyone that they decide is a fascist, which just happens to be everyone who disagrees with them. All of this reeks of the tactics of those who wish to subvert the current government and bring anyone they consider a dissenter under their heel.

What I find interesting and horrifying simultaneously is that these tactics are simply described as divisive. Isn’t it a little bit obvious, when someone walks up to you and says they want to kill a police officer, that you’re going to have a strong reaction? At that point, your opinion of that person is going to change radically, because there’s a good chance that they’re not just quoting an NWA record. Personally, I have much more colorful language for such actions, with the first word coming into my head being ‘psychopathic’.

One of my biggest issues since the death of George Floyd and the beginning of the riots has been the complete and total lack of honesty when it comes to Antifa. This is not just a group of people that dislikes far-right politics. Their name stands for anti-fascist action, but it is intellectually dishonest to look at what they are doing and think this has anything to do with fighting fascism. Their goal is revolution, and it’s likely that if you were to ask them if they think that Pol Pot did anything wrong, their answer would be no.