Are we letting Trump & Co. "brand" Antifa?

[thought crime]

I think there has been a gradual increase in defensiveness about the use of Antifa as a unifying term of resistance. Is the obvious effort to negatively brand the term succeeding? Would you feel okay about being a part of Antifa? Would you feel okay about seeing people show up to a protest with a flag showing the Antifa symbol?

Is anyone resisting this effort? Do we have any Democratic politicians willing to say "I am Antifa, we are all Antifa?"

Are we afraid to be called Antifa (Anti-Fascist)?

[Solly Mack]

1. A long time ago on DU a poster asked us what word best describes our (individual) politics.

My answer was anti-fascist. Still is the answer.

[sop]

2. Yes, Anti-fascist. It never should have been shortened to Antifa, a lot of people don't even know what it means.

I asked my dumbass MAGA neighbor why he hated "antifa" so much, and if he knew what it meant. He told me it was some Islamic terrorist group, like ISIS.

[Solly Mack]

4. Calling it Antifa doesn't bother me. Yes, there are a lot of idiots in the world.

[WarGamer]

3. the people who carry the banner...

Of a pre-WW2 Communist front group in Germany...

So it's easy to brand antifa as being communists...

It would have been smarter for these folks to come up with a new and unique branding for 21st Century antifa rather than the old branding.

[Klarkashton]

5. Just like Woke and Social Justice BLM it has been

Soiled by right wing assholes.

I'm thinking that right wing assholes have had their day and it's come around to the current state of things and it isn't good.

[Bluesaph]

6. George Lakoff!!!

In his book, “Don’t think of an Elephant” he explains to us how this branding works. The right has it built in. The left is always on their heels.

We need to do better with our branding.

Remember the branding “job creators” and then Obama fell into the trap with the out of context “you didn’t build that.”?

They’ve been doing it all along! We have to prepare for their attacks before they come in order to build a cohesive brand.

For now, call it Anti-Fascist. That will serve to educate and inoculate people when Faux News talks about antifa as a bad thing. Human nature will force the person into automatically think anti-fascist automatically.

[Redleg]

7. I am more concerned they are trying to brand the larger "no kings" movement

I think Antifa has already been branded, for good or ill (mostly for ill).