uncle bernard

dup

Well, until they publish their findings, I have no reason to change my mind. That's on them, not me.

They are welcome to show us what they've learned! Looking forward to reading it.

So I was right! At least a couple.

Sources like the Trump administration apparently.

I'm open to new information! But I am accepting my own experience here. I was there. I stood under the gaze of police snipers and cops in riot gear. And yet, nobody told me or paid me to be there and I don't know anybody who was. I showed up because I believe genocide was wrong and we have a constitutional right to free speech. If it turns out that there is this organization you say, I'm owed compensation!

To my knowledge, you have never once offered a counter-argument to anything I've posted. I get why you find me frustrating. I say what I believe, and then I say why I believe it and cite the sources I use to come to that conclusion. You've yet to complete step 1, let alone step 2. Forget knowing. You haven't even started thinking.

Great, looking forward to him publishing the info! It would be super interesting if there really was a shadow organization of this type and that would change the way I see the world significantly. Until he shows it, I remain skeptical.

No idea. At least a couple probably. Do we have any terror attacks we can point to as an example?

How do you know I'm responding to you? It seems to me you're just reading my posts, but you don't think reading is knowing, so how do you know? I posted a link to and quotes directly from the Trump administration. Is that a cherrypicked source?

Please define what you think "knowing" means.

I copy and paste quotes from the sources I read, usually from experts in the subjects. Reading is how I come to "know" things. That's what all of history is, my man. Nobody alive was there for the Battle of Gettysburg. We know about it through the contemporaneous sources and documentation. I get that you don't like reading and learning because you're lazy, but that's not something to be proud of.

@Caveira If you want to learn about Antifa, here's what our government has told us about them. They've been under investigation for years: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10839. This document was published by the Trump administration in 2020. Some key quotes: "Contemporary U.S. antifa adherents likely do not share a list of enemies, as the movement lacks a unifying organizational structure or detailed ideology that might shape such a list. Local groups do not necessarily listen to each other's pronouncements and might aim their animus at enemies specific to their group. Further, "fascism" is notoriously difficult to define. Thus, particular antifa groups may oppose different things based on how they identify who or what is fascist." "Some members are willing to commit crimes, some violent, to promote their beliefs, although much antifa activity involves nonviolent protest such as hanging posters, delivering speeches, and marching. As a core purpose, antifa groups track and react to the activities of individuals or groups they see as advocating fascist views, such as neo-Nazis, racist skinheads, white supremacists, and white nationalists. While few concrete antifa principles exist across all groups, U.S. supporters have articulated four shared "obligations." According to some adherents, antifa groups must (1) track the activity of fascist groups, (2) oppose their public organizing, (3) support antifascist allies attacked by fascists or arrested by police, and (4) not cooperate with law enforcement." "While the FBI has confirmed that antifa and other extremists are subjects of ongoing domestic terrorism investigations, it declines to designate any organization a "domestic terrorist organization." Doing so may infringe on First Amendment-protected free speech—belonging to an ideological group in and of itself is not a crime in the United States. Further, as previously stated, antifa is a decentralized movement, and law enforcement designation of antifa as a singular group may prove to be difficult." (My apologies to @Interviewed_at_Weehawken for yet again knowing something about the world. I can't help that I have an inquisitive mind suited to learning and retaining information.)

Listen, the Trump Administration is welcome to prove me wrong. Maybe there is some shadowy, organized group called Antifa, with defined leaders and puppet masters. I'm sure if Trump can find them, he'll tell us. Surely, they're not just letting all these terrorists walk free among us, right?

very cool my man

All of this stuff is freely available for you to learn too. Ignorance isn't something to brag about. For example, the current leader of ISIS is Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. They refer their head leader as the Caliph. Below that, they have various levels of administration and advisors. They have local leaders, called Emirs, who govern specific regions under their control. It's as well-defined an organization as it gets. They even call themselves a state.

Thought this was a very interesting segment given some of the conversations we've had around here about which values are important to which political ideologies. Thinking specifically of @jross. Would love to hear your thoughts on this answer. ..."that assessment of merit...that's how I view the importance of government and who I will surround myself with when we lead City Hall." (ignore the editorializing of the tweet, just watch the video) https://x.com/KaoticLeftist/status/1970312156504826185

"to an extent" doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

ISIS has generals that command troops to do things. It is a top-down leadership structure. There is nothing comparable with Antifa there. There's a reason they've never named a leader(s) of Antifa. There isn't anybody giving orders.

Yes, absolutely. It has a hierarchical leadership structure that can be identified and defined. It matters because a terrorist designation strips you of certain rights in this country and has political consequences for people who are perceived to be a part of said group. The key word there is "perceive." That's why it matters. "Antifa" does not exist as an organization. There are hundreds of small groups - maybe even a singular person in some cases - who are labeled as Antifa because they proclaim an anti-fascist ideology. But they are not centrally organized - or really organized at all. These groups operate under their own autonomy, not according to a broader strategy. It's exactly this diffuseness or blurriness of what "Antifa" is that makes this decision so dangerous. If you can't clearly define what Antifa is or who is a "member," then you can label any group or individual who you believe shares their ideas as Antifa, and therefore a terrorist. That's why I compared it to designating "Conservatives" as terrorists. For example, say the Biden administration, using the actions of a group of Conservatives - who like Antifa were not part of larger, definable organization, declared that "Conservatives" were terrorists because they share the ideals of the Conservatives who stormed the capital. Now they have the justification to treat every Conservative in the country as a terrorist. As many on here know, I attended the Palestine protests. Donald Trump would probably call me "Antifa." I've never attended a meeting or met anybody who has claimed to be a part of Antifa (because that doesn't actually exist). Yet, if I were to go to such a protest now, I could be targeted as a terrorist because I'm - simply by virtue of sharing some of their political views and commitments - "Antifa." One last extreme example to show the point: being an Islamist does not make you a terrorist. You have to actually join a terror group or commit an act of terror to be a terrorist.

Antifa is an umbrella term people use for disparate left-wing groups. It is not an organization. It's an ideology. It's like making "Conservatives" or "Liberals" a terrorist group.

You've gotten everything you've wanted the past year. Trump is in office. The Right is in complete control of the country. And you're still on here every hour of the day getting mad about politics because you don't really care about that. You care about cultural respect, which you'll never get.

That's a civil suit, not a criminal suit. And even if it was, the "criminal" would be the people defaming him, not him. People called him an asshole, not a criminal. The problem is that conservatives routinely treat people not liking them as if that were a crime. That's why they're never happy. No matter how many elections you win, people are still going to not like you, and it drives you guys crazy lol.

On the same day Trump declares "Antifa" a terrorist organization, his Secretary of State is getting chummy with a former al-Qaeda commander responsible for the murder of thousands. We love terrorists and war criminals, as long as they pledge their allegiance to us. See Israel.

Yeah, when I think riot, I think "organized." It looks organized to you because you assume the only way so many people would show up to a protest, risking their health and freedom, is because they're being paid or organized. Because you can't imagine actually putting your money where your mouth is. Some people actually believe in the things they say. They don't just chirp on intermatwrestle.com.