"The Trump administration declared war on the " terrorist organization " of "antifa" and the supposed "networks" associated with it last week. Antifa is not so much a vast national conspiracy as it is simply an abbreviation for anti-fascism - but don't point out that anti-anti-fascism looks a lot like fascism. That would make you antifa, too. The plain intent of the memo is to make Americans afraid to call fascism what it is - or worse, to say fascism is bad."
"This upside-down treatment of the English language is not novel. The George W. Bush administration coined such unforgettable phrases as "they hate our freedoms" and "enhanced interrogation techniques." Historical authoritarian regimes repurposed words as part of their assault on collective social reality, a theme that George Orwell returned to many times in his works. Trump's anti-anti-fascism orders work similarly. They distort not just words like terrorism, violence, and fascism,"
"The orders do not make sense logically, they do not match up with reality, and they are not designed to be enacted effectively. The Trump regime will watch the internet and punish wrongthink So antifa could be a kid in a black mask tossing a brick at a CCTV camera at an ICE facility. Antifa could be the grandma on the sidewalk holding a sign reading "DONALD TRUMP IS A FASCIST." Antifa is ACAB. Antifa is Fuck ICE. Antifa is No Kings."
The administration labeled antifa a terrorist organization and targeted supposed networks, conflating anti-fascism with organized violent extremism. Antifa functions as an abbreviation for opposition to fascism rather than a centralized conspiracy. No federal domestic terrorism designation or charge exists, rendering the memos legally incoherent and selectively applicable. Historical and recent politics have repurposed language to reshape social reality and legal norms. The orders enable broader internet surveillance and risk criminalizing dissent and protest. Vague definitions and rhetorical distortion undermine constitutional principles while producing measures that do not align with clear, enforceable law.
Read at The Verge
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