Antifascist is a better term than "antifa." Take back language.

[not_the_one]

32. Americans, on the whole, are easily confused, and easily misled

We are easy targets for sound bites and bumper sticker slogans.

Antifa fits well with Isis and Al-Qaeda. They all, due to our media exposure to them, sound ominous.

So when the average American hears Antifa, they probably tend to think more of the anarchy proponents, rather than anti-fascists.

And the right LOVES that.

Add to that the black hoods and covering of faces, the ominous overtones increase.

How it was used in the 1930s gets lost. We should just say anti-fascists.

edit to add (per my partner, who isn't yet a member of DU ):

If Antifa wanted to be taken seriously, they would lose the masks, which denotes cowardice (like the KKK of old), act like grownups and become a legitimate organization, like NAACP, and work to educate the public about what right wing fascists are really doing.