Originally posted by Jaecp
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The Antifa was at several high profile events, which turned violent, and the left wing politics became intertwined with anti fascism so much that many on the right could not distinguish anti fascism from extreme left wing politics.
Then the summer of 17 had a series of alt right rallies, ostensibly to protect against the removal of Confederate statues. Charlottesville had some rallies which had a strong Antifa presence, Gettysburg had a rally in the Fourth with little Antifa presence. But the rallies were successful in putting forth the right wing agenda, while downplaying the racist items in that age da. The movement was presented and accepted as consistent with Christian conservatism. Sales of Confederate flags soared, and in my area it was displayed by some who had never flown it before then.
The Charlottesville really did not just pop up, it was the culmination of a summer long political campaign. The police response plan was modelled on the successful police plan of earlier rallies, in spite of the evidence that the scope and scale would be different. (the after action report was rather lengthy, noting the shortcomings of the police plan, I can't find it on the net, but read it when it came out. It is worth the effort to read.)
The Antifa was seen (with some reason, many antifas were hardly sympathetic to the faith) as a movement at odds with the Christian ethic. Simce the Antifa was seen as antichristian and the alt right had many Christian apologists, few Christians saw any conceivable place for Christians after the nature of the alt right was apparent.
Few could envision Christians marching alongside openly racist Nazis or the leftist and Marxists in the Antifa, so many concluded there was no Christian presence at the rally or counter rally. And it was reflected in the conservative media. This was in spite of calls, by Christians, for a presence at the rally, who did keep their church open, and Christians who travelled to the city from outside. Which made the claim of "outside agitators" absurd.
Any attempt to reduce the politics to simplistic dichotomies ultimately fails. The "fine people" remark is defended by people who recognize the symbolism of a president taking a stand against evil. Trump failed to score political points by making a symbolic statement against the far right fascists; a mistake more appalling considering his campaign was criticized for the early and enthusiastic support of the neo Nazis and neo confederates. Americans look to the symbolism of a president making benign remarks after a tragedy, the obligatory soundbite from the scene of the disaster.
Many forget the background
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