This speech might have just as well been delivered by a member of the Bloods and titled, “Anti-Cripism and the Bloods’ Fear of Power.” Although it’s probably more appropriate to compare this stuff to “Ghostbusters” than to street gangs. Increasingly, I am leaning toward the view that the key to developing a new kind of radicalism is cultivating the ability to break out of these cultic paradigms.
Neither West nor East. Against all imperialisms. Neither Left nor Right. Against all states. Neither Red nor Blue. Peace between all tribes. Neither State nor Corporation. Against the power elite in all its manifestations. Neither Alt-Right nor Antifa. Against all authoritarians.
By Maximillian Alvarez
The Baffler
This article has been adapted from a talk delivered at Purdue University on April 18, 2018, hosted by the Purdue chapter of the Campus Antifascist Network.
In the United States today people tend to squirm with profound discomfort, if not sneer with outright revulsion, when they hear talk of “antifascism.” It is, by most accounts, a dirty word. That alone should be proof enough that we desperately need it.
In general, and among other things, I describe myself as an antifascist. In concrete terms, I serve on local and national Steering Committees of an organization called the Campus Antifascist Network (CAN), whose mission involves building broad coalitions in campus communities to prevent the creeping forces of fascism from taking root and counter-mobilizing against those forces when they show up. In that capacity, I regularly collaborate and organize with a diverse range of people who wouldn’t hesitate to describe themselves as antifascists—from socialists in DSA to anarchists to even rank-and-file Democrats. Collectively and individually, our groups do a great deal of work that falls under the umbrella of the broad, multifaceted cause of antifascism—a cause that, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t simply revolve around punching Nazis and white supremacists like Richard Spencer.
