Vilifying Antifa is by Design
The national narrative involving antifa over the past few weeks beginning in Charlotte and most recently in Berkeley has essentially equated white nationalists and Trump supporters, who have demonstrated time an again that hate speech and violence are a part of their arsenal, to the predominately peaceful antifa protesters. What started as several newspapers denouncing “antifa” violence has now become an association equating the movement with neo-Nazis. On Sean Hannity’s radio show, guest host Johnathan Gilliam comments that Heather Heyer “gets killed by one of these neo-Nazi when she got hit by a car, but she was still marching with antifa.”
In other words, she got what she deserved.
Gilliam also associated Black Lives Matter with the Muslim Brotherhood, and the many other marches across America against fascism and this administration are populated with people who simply have no idea “who they’re identifying with.” Needless to say, online comment boards across the country by conservatives and Trump supporters echo these sentiments. Nationally, the media has continued to do a poor job of associating blame instead of offering clarity as was done during the previous Berkeley protest over the Milo Yiannopoulis appearance. There, media and reporters (with the exception of Fox News) correctly blamed the violence on long time antagonizers and anarchists, black bloc.
But that was then.
From the Washington Post to the Oregonian, media outlets are essentially saying “both sides do it” when it comes to violent protests despite the fact that many protesters are peaceful and have nothing to do with black bloc or anarchy. Most are actually from the surrounding neighborhoods, not bused in like the Patriot Prayer group which descended on San Francisco for no apparent reason than to get national headlines. And they did. Mission accomplished.
Americans must not fall for this — again. It is clear from the start that the “both sides” argument comes straight from the current administration and white nationalists and neo-Nazis couldn't be happier. Americans are starting to figure it out as a Fox News poll just released found that a majority of Americans (56%) feel that Trump is “tearing the country apart.” Unless the media does it’s job and returns to some semblance of journalistic standards and nuanced reporting, the “both sides” false narrative will continue to the point where every protest will be violent and “all sides” will be to blame.
