As President Donald Trump prepares to further unleash a rapidly expanding surveillance state against the administration's critics, recent legal struggles from activists who document and protest Trump's mass deportation campaign may be a preview of what's to come as part of a broader effort to silence dissent. Trump made headlines on September 22 with an executive order declaring "Antifa," short for anti-fascist, a domestic terrorist organization.
It wasn't penned as a romantic farewell, but "Bella Ciao" meaning "goodbye beautiful" in Italian is a song that has come to symbolize a parting with oppression. When the phrase was discovered etched on an unspent bullet casing linked to the man accused of killing conservative US activist Charlie Kirk, it wasn't just some cryptic clue. It was a refrain bearing history, drawn from a century-old Italian protest song, which has long been a global tune of resistance.
Theirs was a small-P political household. His dad was a social worker, his mum worked for various charities. She was from Mauritius, and now on the telly, the National Front were saying they were going to send people who weren't born in Britain home in six months. I was petrified that my mum was going to get sent home. The ambient racism of 70s and 80s Britain permeated everything. I just remember being scared, Lowles says.
Unfired cartridges found with the gun that officials say was used to kill Charlie Kirk were engraved with a variety of messages, authorities said Friday, including many that suggest a familiarity with anti-fascist symbolism and the insider slang of video games and online culture that pervade the lives of young Americans. Many of the messages, described by Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah at a news conference announcing the arrest of Tyler Robinson, 22, adopt the flippant, sarcastic, in-jokey chatter often found on online message boards and in-game chats.
This summer, ATA's Anti-Fascist Film Series emphasizes successful resistance against fascism, showcasing films that highlight the restoration of democracy through historic events.