I don’t know how to convey the essence of my frustration with you directly on these points, I will just share a story:
After Trump fired off the transgender military ban tweet, I was motivated to take to the streets and protest. My very first rally, a rally for trans veterans, we had a nazi from Virginia in our crowd taking notes on the speakers and Proud Boys watching from the bar across the street.
The next day there was to be a protest against the ACA repeal / for universal healthcare. I was shaken from the previous day and once we arrived at the park I was about to turn and leave because I felt very unsafe. I just thought about all the other people there and how I was on the more visible (tall, purple hair, trans) and less dexterous end of the spectrum and presumably everyone else there was just watching out for themselves. I kept having a vision of a “lone wolf” coming by and opening fire on us, everyone scattering and me tripping or being picked out first.
I turned to leave but then I saw the antifa arrive, clad in black and very much an intimidating sight, and they took up station around our perimeter. I felt a sudden wave of relief. I paradoxically stopped thinking about the possibility of violence and contributed my voice to a very energetic rally.
Nazis, by their very presence, cool free speech for everyone else. Antifa are the response. The media is going to start shit anyway about the left because that’s good business, but with the antifa I and presumably quite a few other people were able to engage in free speech.
ETA: My only prior exposure to antifa was via liberal media, and it painted a very different (very negative) picture from what I saw that day and have seen since.
