An article by Farah Stockman in today’s NYTimes looks at the people behind the counter-protests in Charlottesville. Stockman says that the counter-protest was organized by “a Charlottesville-based network of activists and clergy.” One of the ministers involved, Brittany Caine-Conley, warned in advance of the rally that violence was highly likely and she asked for help:
There is an extremely high potential for physical violence and brutality directed at our community. We need your help — we don’t have the numbers to stand up to this on our own.
Ms. Caine-Conley’s words proved prophetic as the Virginia police stood by impassively as violence erupted around them. Matthew Owens of Showing Up for Racial Justice, a local group, said:
We cannot ignore them away as their numbers grow and their influence expands. We cannot let their worldview normalize.
Notice that these are local civic and spiritual groups asking for help against an onslaught of racist thugs.
Against this backdrop enter the Antifa, a diverse collection of individuals and groups broadly opposed to fascism and all manner of extreme right fanatics. Some carried automatic weapons and were outfitted for a violent confrontation. Most, however, showed up in jeans, a t-shirt and a bandana for some protection from tear gas.
Stockman describes how the 20 members of the Redneck Revolt, armed with rifles, “formed a security perimeter around the counter-protesters in Justice Park”:
The scholar and activist Cornell 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. You had police holding back and just allowing fellow citizens to go at each other.”
While I do not advocate violence and would never propose arming the Antifa, should we not be talking about providing basic levels of protection to these people, such as flack jackets, gas masks and helmets? Maybe not all groups would qualify. But maybe some should. If these guys get hurt protecting us, placing their body between us and the violent racist fascists, is it asking too much that we provide them with a basic level of protection from physical harm? Or is that simply getting too real for us?
Tuesday, Aug 15, 2017 · 6:14:16 PM +00:00
·
Paul C
The only credible retort I am seeing is the concern that the blowback by the media would be a threat to the institutional left. That does make it difficult. I am now wondering about training a group of counter-protest “police” who would be trained to follow well defined guidelines for the use of force.