Fact Check: ANTIFA has actually been around since the end of World War II [Updated 10/17/2023]

Editor’s note: I published this two years ago but decided to add a few additional details as well as clean up the glaring grammar errors I missed when I first published this. I did decide to preserve the fact I wrote this in November 2021 though.

~ L.S.D.

Trump blaming ANTIFA for the violent protests and looting that followed the death of George Floyd last year was music to the ears of the hate groups and Authoritorian governments that ANTIFA has been aggressively fighting against around the world for decades.

Since 2017, ANTIFA has been characterized as a Left-Wing Paramilitary group by the GOP who in turn were told so by QAnon Conspiracy Theorists who were in turn told by White Nationalist Militia and the very hate groups ANTIFA formed to fight after World War II that they are the enemy. It really is ironic and more so once you learn the historical context: Right after Benito Mussolini was overthrown and later executed in Italy, those who opposed Mussolini’s rise to power in Italy vowed to never again allow a Dictator to control the country ever again. Thus, ANTIFA was born.

ANTIFA is short for ANTI FASCIST meaning they oppose Fascist, Authoritorian and Totalitarian governments and ideologies wherever it is in the world. What drives them is making sure the world does not forget who Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were or what they stood for. They are much more known in Europe because of their longtime presence in Eastern Europe though they also have a presence in Central Africa and Southeast Asia.

 

While ANTIFA’s primary focus is actually educating people, they are obviously not afraid to do public demonstrations, protests and counterprotests. It’s their work in Russia that forced them to at least partially hide their faces publicly since Russia’s Vladomir Putin has a zero tolerence policy for protests of ANY kind that are critical of him or the Russian government.

 

Outside Russia, ANTIFA has actually been working with Germany, France, Italy and the UK to help them track down former Nazis in hiding as well as their “fans” over the years. They have a very long track record as a movement and their reputation of fearing no government is well known. They’ve earned a lot of respect and renown globally including commendations from governments around the world.

 

Trump becoming president in 2016 was what put the U.S. on their radar for the first time ever. Trump’s refusal to denounce Neo Nazi leader David Duke after the Charlottesville protests was what forced them to take action in the U.S. for the first time since the movement was created after World War II.

 

Most Americans have no idea what ANTIFA REALLY is or their history though it’s also true most Americans are ignorant of details like this. Trump, the GOP and Right-Wing media outlets knew that and immediately set to work turning the public against them. They accuse ANTIFA of wanting political power and that is not true. They accuse ANTIFA of being Communists or wanting to promote Communism. That is also not true.

 

ANTIFA’s only purpose is to oppose Fascism or government-endorsed Hate and their spread wherever it may be. This also why they’ve continued their activities in the U.S. even after Biden won the 2020 election. Trump’s influence has run deep and as some folks have correctly pointed out, it will take a generation or two to purge Trump’s poison from America. Meanwhile everyone alive right now is going to need to learn to live with it.

 

That brings me to this man. His name is Kris Goldsmith. He was a recent guest on Michael Cohen’s Mea Culpa Podcast and has previously appeared on CNN as well. I strongly urge everyone to go listen to his Mea Culpa podcast episode ASAP because Goldsmith breaks down why he recently became a self-described Nazi Hunter and why everyone needs to be on the alert.

In short, he infiltrates Hate Groups and White Nationalist Militia groups across the country. He is able to easily walk into the lions’ dens despite his face being known through media exposure for two reasons. One is he has the look of your rank and file White Supremacist. The other is more importantly, he is a military vet which automatically makes him a priority for recruitment.

Cohen and CNN both separately had him as guests to talk about the various Hate Groups, White Nationalist Groups and Anti-Government groups openly trying to recruit Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan in particular. As Goldsmith notes, Vets are being aggressively sought by those monsters not just for their obvious combat experience and combat training but because Vets know how to treat and triage someone who’s been shot or otherwise seriously injured and they have pretty intimate knowledge of how law enforcement will respond or react to an active shooter situation.

I did know these crazies were encouraging their people to enlist or work in law enforcement for that specialized training but if they are able to recruit large numbers of people who already have those skillsets to their side, even better for them and what they might want to do in the near future. These groups don’t even need to recruit a lot of Vets. Just enough who can train their people to do some serious damage.

Goldsmith also pointed out the obvious: In general, hate groups don’t like cops or the government. They are all anti-police but like it when cops abuse, arrest or kill minorities. The group Goldsmith is most concerned about is known as The Patriot Front. He has an eye on them because right now, they are the most organized and they have stockpiles of firearms across the country. They currently lack the money and manpower to do anything major as far as he knows but from what he’s been seeing, that could change at any time.

In the aftermath of the events of January 6, most Hate groups had their presence purged from Online platforms like Facebook, Google, Reddit and Twitter. They have moved to the Dark Web or other more secretive platforms like MeWe, Parler, Telegram and other platforms that use End-to-End Encryption (E2EE). In those places, its much harder for law enforcement to actively monitor their online chatter.

Goldsmith is hunting these White Nationalists and Anti-government militia groups because he knows that some Vets out there are ripe for indoctrination by these monsters. He is sounding the alarm now because he knows that just a dozen Vets or so who join one of these movements could quickly do a lot of damage anywhere. Goldsmith told Cohen he believes it would take a generation or two to completely purge the Hate groups from the U.S. Military.

Let that sink in.

If it makes you feel any better, it’s even worse purge Law Enforcement of the poison of White Supremacy. I eluded to this earlier but White Nationalist movements urge people to enlist in the military or Law Enforcement for the specialized training first and surveilance second.

Derek Chavin–that’s the now former cop who killed George Floyd and is in prison now–cryptically said he played his part at his sentencing and everyone will understand soon enough. That was clearly a coded message intended for a specific audience. I’ve talked to people who’ve analyzed it and the prevailing theory–emphasis on theory–is Chavin killing Floyd the way he did was intended to provoke African Americans into attacking cops across the country. This is also why they had people embedded with the nationwide protests specifically to cause trouble to “help move things along”.

Ultimately, their hope was to create a situation that would force Trump to enact martial law and stay in power indefinitely without directly or indirectly involving him despite the outcome of the 2020 presidental election. Cooler heads prevailed fortunately. There wasn’t a massive wave of Black Rage that the White Nationalists were counting on.

 

The message conveyed in the 1998 movie American History X has felt very relevant since its 20th Anniversary in 2018. I first saw the movie back in 2000 myself when I was 16 and it’s an absolute must-watch today. Without spoiling too much of the plot, the movie gives a deep dive into how someone learns and adopts Hate Ideologies. It’s typically gradual and over time.

 

The leader of the local KKK group in the movie is not shouting and ranting hateful rhetoric. He leaves that to his subordinates. His methods are much more subtle but direct. Most people who promote Hateful ideologies are actually very smart, articulate and calculating. They are also very effective because they adjust as needed while speaking.

 

The story focuses on two brothers, Derek (older) and Danny (younger). In the beginning, Derek is a hardcore Neo Nazi Skinhead. He learned Hate from his father from a young age. He revered Cameron, who took him in after his father died as a father figure. Derek is sent to prison after killing two black teens who tried to steal his truck–especially with how he killed the second one which is shown on screen.

 

While in prison, Derek reluctantly befriends a black prisoner while working in the prison laundry room. While he initially joined the prison’s Skinhead gang, that changed when he learned the gang was on friendly terms with a black gang. He was sodomized and raped for questioning that. This and later a visit from a former high school teacher are what make Derek realize he was on the wrong path.

After serving his sentence, Derek renounces his Neo Nazi views and is disturbed to learn Cameron has taken in his brother Danny. That aside, Derek is also irritated when he learns Cameron acted as an informant to get him a lighter prison sentance. Derek eventually manages to get his brother out but sadly, in the end Danny pays the price for one of Derek’s murder victims with his life. It turns out Danny was killed the younger brother of one of the black teens Derek murdered earlier in the movie. The silver lining is Derek was able to get his brother to renounce his Neo Nazi views like he did.

The movie sparked a lot of serious discussions and debates as intended. The biggest one Edward Norton, the actor who played Danny weighed in on 20 years later was if Danny’s death caused Derek to relapse. Norton settled the debate by say unequivocably it’s unlikely Derek would have relapsed because that would have continued a pointless cycle of violence between not just two races but two families who’ve lost a son to Hate.

 

I left out a lot of details but I spoiled a lot of key points from the movie here for context. Derek’s conversion story does provide some insight into how you can begin to reach people who have embraced White Surpremecist Ideologies. You don’t confront them with facts as that will just make them dig in even more aggressively. You simply ask them “How has these path been working out for you? How have you benefited from it up to now?” Keep asking questions along those lines and eventually, you will make a breakthrough.

 

This has been proven to be the most effective way to quickly convert an unapologetic racist though: Biracial Families. As a reminder, Biracial Marriage was actually a Federal crime in this country the generation before mine. It wasn’t that long ago you could go to prison for marrying someone outside of your race. Loving v. Virigina changed that. Today, America is more blended than it has been at any other point in its history and that scares the racists to death.

I heard rumors online a few years ago that some of these hate groups actually started doing some DNA Tests to trace their ancestry in an effort to prove to their peers that their lineage was “pure”. They stopped doing that before too long after many found out a great-great grandparent or further back was Black, Native American or something else.

 

Now adays, you no longer need to “be pure” be a White Supremicist. As a reminder, Hitler himself did not have blond hair and blue eyes yet he is God to those lunatics. On that note. When these Hate groups recruit people online, they give a list of books to read and movies to watch I will not name here because they don’t need free advertising.

 

Actually I will make one exception: Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

For those who might not know, the German government rounded up every copy they could find and burned them after World War II. It was never actually banned or blacklisted by the German government but they just never published any more copies for 70 years which they were allowed to. Mein Kampf became Public Domain On January 1, 2016.

 

Mein Kampf being the White Supremicsts’ Bible was the main reason it’s considered forbidden reading for non-historic purposes. Have I read the book myself? Yes, I have–an English translation of course. It takes a lot of guts to be able to read something penned by a man who you know would want to lynch you if he was alive right now. I read it for historical purposes and though I was able to overlook the obvious anti-semitism and his visions of exterminating basically 90% of the world, it was very easy to see why it is the White Supremicists’ Bible like I said before. Hitler was evil incarnate but it’s obvious he was charismatic. More so given his ideologies didn’t die with him.

 

All that said, like I said earlier the most effective way to convert a hardcore White Supremicist is biracial families. I know a few folks who have family members that are or used to be unapologetic White Supremicists. They were told from a young age they would be disowned if they fell in love with someone who wasn’t White.

 

Nothing gets them to renounce their racist views faster than holding a biracial baby who shares their blood. I promise you, they will not follow through on threats to kill biracial babies because they don’t want to go to prison. The worst they’ll do is just stop talking to the family member in question and pretend their child(ren) doesn’t exist.

Before I move on to the last section, I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out the often far less vocal but more open hostility toward biracial relationships from the Black Community. I have an uncle on my mother’s side who is only interested in dating white women. An aunt on my father’s side who lives in Seattle married a White man. Both are basically black sheep because of the skin color of who they chose love.

I’m noticing even more so in recent years many Black Christians in particular trying to hide their overt racism by urging their kids to only date people who share their faith. Ok. What happens when you find a White person who checks that box? They’re mad anyway and want to talk you out of being romantically involved. Especially Black men who choose White women as their partner. I eluded to this six years ago on a different post but some Black women take the idea of a Black male relative choosing a White woman extremely personally. “Why couldn’t he pick one of us? Why did he have to pick a White woman over a Black woman?” The obvious “Why does it bother you so much?” aside, the root reason for asking is genuine curiosity. No, really.

It’s not as bad if you pick someone who’s Asian, Hispanic or even from Europe. Only if it’s a White American. Both sides do it basically like I said before. This is also why I am VERY worried about the very real possability of Loving v. Viriginia being overturned and what it could mean.

 

 

 

I want to end with these two charts because more so these days, it’s extremely important that the public is aware of hate symbols in plain sight and their meanings. Open the charts in a new window read the words clearly.

If you live in the South (former Confederate States), Midwest or around the Great Lakes you stand a good chance of seeing people with one more of these tattoos openly displayed somewhere on their body. They usually have them on their torso back or chest though some will put them on their biceps or calves as long as it’s not easy to see. If you see them in a plain sight area such as their face or hands, you can probably assume they either work with others like them or otherwise have a work situation where it’s not a problem for them.

I made sure to include the 14/88 explaination because White Supremecists have been getting better at using coded language to identify each other in public. If you hear someone say “14 Words” in public or you see it in a chatroom without context, you can safely assume they are referring to the phrase “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children.” but that’s just half of the quote. The other half of the quote is “Because the beauty of the White Aryan woman must not perish from the Earth.” The full quote is referred to as “28 Words” on that note.

 

The quote is heavily associated with David Lane, who was a hardcore White Supremicst and Neo Nazi. He was given a 190 year prison sentance for killing  Jewish Talk Show host in 1984 (he died at age 68 in prison in 2007) as well as other charges. Lane’s 88 Precepts were written while he was in prison on that note. Lane’s writings are integral for recruitment and indoctrination as far as his “fans” are concerned. He is revered as a prophet and a martyr for the cause in short not just in the U.S. but in Europe as well.

 

If you’re wondering about the Celtic and Norse symbols, these are in reference to the Animism and Druidism–commonly referred to as “The Old Ways”–that were practiced in Northern Europe. Before Catholicism became the dominant religion, the people of those regions had very hedonistic and draconian beliefs in short. White Nationalists adopted those beliefs as a cover though they do embrace the more graphic and barbaric ideologies of The Old Ways.

 

You have to keep in mind most if not all White Supremecists and White Nationalists believe in the White Replacement conspiracy theory, usually blaming it on Jews. This is why during their demonstration in Charlottesville a few years ago they chanted “Jews will not replace us”. The idea was popularized by–you guessed it–David Lane in 1995. All you need to keep in mind is belief in these conspiracy theories is used as justification for violence.

Roe v. Wade being overturned in June 2022 is directly connected to this as well. The racists want to force White women to carry their pregnancies to term. That’s what it’s really about. They don’t mind everyone else still getting abortions. They just want to stop White women from getting abortions is all.

 

Those who renounce their racist views typically go out of their way to make sure everyone they know understands the meaning of these symbols and gestures. More so given the White Supremecists are not just trying to recruit Military Vets but are doing outreach in Prisons.

 

Do not avert your eyes from the evil and hate Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Mike Flynn, Trump and others  have drawn out of their parents’ basements into the mainstream. It’s here and it’s escalating in some places.

 

 

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