My interpretation The administration wants to label antifata as a foreign terrorist organization. This would add legal teeth to stop anti fascists. Any organization that this administration thinks is anti nazi or anti fascist could legally be shutdown if this goes through.
Antifa isn’t an organization at all, it’s just an abbreviated version of the adjective ‘anti-fascist’ that people have been using to describe themselves to show they stand against fascism.
I mean, the regime can make up any name they want, designate it or any organization they don’t like as a terrorist organization, then just say that whoever they want to arrest is a member of it.
Part of what’s making it easier for them to do this with ‘antifa’ is that it was probably a mistake to abbreviate ‘fascist’ as ‘fa’ in the first place, which means the average person may not understand what ‘antifa’ actually means. If the full term ‘anti-fascist’ had been used all along, it would be harder for them to say “anti-fascism is bad!” or “the anti-fascists are bad!” Because they’d be saying they’re the opposite of that, i.e., openly calling themselves fascists (which TBH they don’t seem to have a problem with).
This is why I’ve been putting it in quotes for years now, as well as often spelling it out. I’d suggest others do the same.
When I’ve heard a Confederate railing against “antifa” I’ve asked them to explain what they mean, and to explain why they are against anti-fascism? What is it about fascism that they support? And if someone is anti-anti-fascism, what does that mean they support?
A similarly fun conversation is when someone is railing against “woke” - ask them what the opposite of woke is?
What is the opposite of woke? Sleep?
That’s also why they purposefully mispronounce it as “Anne Teefa.”
There’s more of an organization behind BLM than antifa and even BLM is very decentralized.
They do touch on that in the article that’s it’s a way of thinking not an organization but the guest doesn’t think it matters. Trump said on TV he’s going to do it so unless he’s challenged I think he will get away with it. This will then give him teeth to go after anti fascists.