Opinions on "Antifa"?

[LisaM]

83. Yes, I agree with this. I remember the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle.

Prior to the event, a number of labor groups had applied for, and received, permits to stage a large, peaceful march. It was completely disrupted by a very small group of anarchists (who turn up at a lot of events in Washington and Oregon), and it led to police confrontation, teargas, kicked in storefronts, and a general violent atmosphere. No one remembers the labor unions who'd planned peaceful mass demonstrations against the IMF and WTO.

Same thing the night after the 2016 election. I heard there were protests in downtown Seattle, so when I left work I headed towards where they were. They weren't peaceful, and they really had nothing to do with the election. I felt if I mentioned my real pain about Hillary not being elected, I would have been beat up. It was tense and ugly and it pained me to think that I couldn't go and express my sadness in a peaceful way.

In contrast, the large, joyful women's march was an event I'll never forget. There were a couple of anarchists there, but the women just walked past them en masse and didn't give them the platform they crave. And the women in the pink hats made the news while the people with black ski masks did not.