
A Beating in Berkeley - tomohawk
http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-beating-in-berkeley/article/2009498
======
nyargh
Lie with dogs, get fleas.

Joey Gibson has repeatedly embraced some truly horrible people in Portland,
and claims ignorance when he is met with fury. He's a provocateur and knows
exactly what he is doing.

For example, Allen Pucket, a frequent speaker at his local rallies:

[http://rosecityantifa.org/articles/allen-
pucket/](http://rosecityantifa.org/articles/allen-pucket/)

This guy has been a fixture in Portland for years, but entered national
prominence when he showed up to scream at brown people at the Portland airport
after Trump's first visa ban. He regularly harasses pride marchers in
Portland, stands outside gay bars with a megaphone to harass patrons, but he
managed to find a friend in Joey Gibson's Patriot Prayer - all in the name of
Freeze Peach, of course.

SSDD

~~~
ipsocannibal
It seems to me you are promoting guilt by association while condoning
extrajudicial violence by masked vigilantes against those exercising their
constitutionally protected rights. Or did I miss something?

~~~
MrZongle2
That was my interpretation as well.

This is the result of the line of thinking that goes from "we're against bad
people" to "those who don't agree with us are bad people" to "it's OK to punch
bad people".

Antifa have become the very thing they supposedly oppose.

~~~
nyargh
> Antifa have become the very thing they supposedly oppose.

You know the funny thing about Antifa? They would cease to exist if these
aspiring fascists stopped supporting violence (direct or state-sponsored)
against minority communities. You can't say the opposite is true. This attempt
at moral equivalence is weak, weak, weak.

Joey Gibson loudly, proudly aligns with fascist white nationalists and
gaybashers, goes to liberal enclaves to provoke (er... "trigger" \-- in his
words) and gets punched. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Despite all the Freeze Peach winging that goes on here - "Fighting Words" are
an important limitation of that right in the 'States. Gibson walks hand-in-
hand with those who regularly threaten violence and intimidate minorities.
There is no "both sides-ism" on this issue in civil society. You can't
simultaneously support those who terrorize American minorities and claim you
are supporting our nation's ideals. The math isn't that difficult here.

EDIT: And before you drag the ACLU into this as a counterexample a) they have
a solid track record of defending _all sides_ \- where Gibson clearly has an
agenda to provoke one side and b) they have drawn the line at defending armed
protest after the shit show in Charlottesville.

~~~
krapp
>They would cease to exist if these aspiring fascists stopped supporting
violence (direct or state-sponsored) against minority communities.

They would have to be a surprisingly disciplined bunch of radicals were that
to be the case.

~~~
nyargh
> They would have to be a surprisingly disciplined bunch of radicals were that
> to be the case.

True, white supremacists don't exactly have a great history of non-violence.

~~~
krapp
I was talking about Antifa, but yes.

Although it is easier for the white supremacists to keep the law on their
side, unfortunately. The ones who aren't utter thugs know not to throw the
first punch. There's probably a lot of low hanging fruit left, though. But
would Antifa really just pack up their masks and bats and go home if the white
supremacists stopped giving them the rationale around which they've built
their identity? It seems doubtful to me.

~~~
nyargh
> But would Antifa really just pack up their masks and bats and go home ... ?

You know that "Antifa" has been around in various incarnations since 1930s,
right? They have "packed up and gone home" many times over the past 80+ years
as fascist/far-right movements have come and gone.

Also, I believe giving agency to the latest version of "Antifa" as some sort
of cohesive, organized group is a mistake. I don't believe they have any sort
of hierarchy or are particularly well organized, beyond doing a good job
consistently showing up at recent far-right rallies.

