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Comment by theultdev | Hacker News Reader

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It's not a loosely organized group, it's a label applied (by the right) to many different groups with little to no coordination operating in entirely different places

It may have a different connotation in the US than in Europe. In US media I’ve only heard the term being used recently, in Europe it’s been around for decades.

In Europe, “Antifascist” is a label that people groups use to describe themselves, similar to how other describe themselves as patriot or pacifist. Someone carrying an Antifa flag at a protest is maybe comparable to someone carrying a Gadsden flag at a right wing rally.

Yeah, basically this. People have been calling themselves Antifascist, but only the right-wing calls it "Antifa". Literally anyone carrying a sign at a protest that says "Reject Fascism" is an antifascist. Those are the people the US government is calling terrorists.

Parent comment was flagged but fair point. There’s nobody calling the global shots. I wouldn’t say “little to no coordination” but I think I’m splitting hairs.

There were a bunch of groups who actually called themselves either Antifa or Antifascist Action. That's where the name originates. It's not that US govt wants to give them credit for being "anti fascism."

No, they did not. Jerry Nadler is often cited as an example here and that’s wrong; what he actually said is that it was a myth that Antifa provocateurs were behind the ongoing violent protests in Portland. Not the same thing.

Don’t make vague accusations. If you have real cites, provide them. And your claim is “quite a few” so pointing at one candidate somewhere isn’t gonna do it.

As far as your second paragraph goes, I didn’t say that anyone should be protected from the consequences of their actions so that portion of your comment is irrelevant.

It’s still a myth. This administration labels anything that is against their agenda as “Antifa.”

They still haven’t positively identified an organization called “Antifa” and never will.

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