colin_cox's review against another edition
4.0
In the summer of 2020, George Floyd's death and the protests that followed provoked many Americans to reevaluate what they thought they knew about racism and police discrimination in the United States. Despite images of property damage in some major U.S. cities, many news sources suggest the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful. According to the Washington Post, "96.3 percent of events involved no property damage or police injuries, and in 97.7 percent of events, no injuries were reported among participants, bystanders or police." In fact, in that same Washington Post piece, Erica Chenoweth and Jeremy Pressman conclude, "The protests were extraordinarily nonviolent, and extraordinarily nondestructive, given the unprecedented size of the movement's participation and geographic scope." However, in moments of civil unrest, even if the civil unrest in question is overwhelmingly nonviolent, establishment forces find or create a scapegoat. Enter Antifa.
Antifa's presence has increased since the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016, and this comes as no surprise to Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook. In Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, he argues that anti-fascism exists when fascism exists, even if Trump and what he represents is a step or two removed from actual fascism (although, for many, this is a debatable point). In this way, the presence of Antifa reminds me of a line from that Star Wars movie from 2015. I think the line goes like this, "There's been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark side and the Light." This should strike any conservative concerned about Antifa as reassuring. As Bray emphasizes throughout his book, Antifa cares little about antagonizing garden-variety conservatives. They care, instead, about those organizations and groups that foment hate and violence, those organizations and groups that behave like fascists.
While this clarification seems unnecessary (Antifa is, remember, an abbreviation for "anti-fascist"), it is important to reiterate the degree to which Antifa has become a signifier for the end of Western Civilization, at least in the conservative imagination. For example, Donald Trump described Antifa protestors in June 2020 as "anarchists" and "thungs." These ad hominem attacks came despite Trump's FBI Director Chris Wray testifying to Congress that Antifa is "not a group or an organization. It's a movement or an ideology." Figures like Trump mistakenly assume that Antifa is new, but as Bray suggests, Antifa is part of a larger resistance movement that dates back to the 19th century. Furthermore, Antifa eschews centralization because centralization is dangerous when fighting fascists, especially if those fascists occupy positions of state power. Once again, Antifa is, according to Bray, a response to a set of hateful ideas, behaviors, and practices. It only exists when hate exists. Ironically, if figures like Trump wanted in earnest to erratic Antifa, he would stop saying, doing, and supporting hate and discrimination.
Because of Antifa's unwavering antagonism to fascism, it has a complicated relationship with democracy. In the simplest terms, Antifa asks: should someone have the right to say whatever they want? Should hate exist in a marketplace of ideas? Categorically, Antifa groups say "no," even if the only recourse to stop hate and hateful speech is, too often, violence. While this might suggest or expose a presumption of authoritarianism inherent to Antifa, Bray is quick to note that free-speech absolutism is only ever an idea and a widely naive idea at that. For example, the United States has laws criminalizing certain forms of speech, like slander and libel. In short, the First Amendment fails to protect all forms of speech; therefore, Antifa asks why hate cannot be a form of speech the First Amendment refuses to protect.
Of course, what complicates all of this is how we elect to define (or fail to define) hate. When a president calls groups committed to eradicating fascism "anarchists" and "thungs," one wonders. But as Bray suggests, for many minority groups, the very groups fascists target, life is not a collegiate debate about the nature of evil.
What I also like about Bray's book is how he grapples with Antifa's position on violence. As Bray acknowledges, Antifa groups use violence to combat fascism, but this position is not representative of all Antifa groups or efforts. For example, some Antifa efforts use decidedly nonviolent tactics, like singing and chanting to disrupt fledgling fascists. The diversity of Antifa's tactics antagonizes the notion that Antifa is nothing more than a group of "thugs."
While Bray effectively defines what Antifa is, he less successfully defines what fascism is. But as the book's title suggests, defining fascism is far from his main concern. There are though some passages that provide clarification. For example: "Fascism and Nazism emerged as emotional, antirational appeals grounded in masculine promises of renewed national vigor." This passage highlights two critical components of fascism: masculinity, specifically heteropatriarchal masculinity, and nationalism. If anything, Bray assumes, perhaps incorrectly, that his reader has a clear, working understanding of fascism. This omission does not detract from the book's effectiveness, however.
Antifa's presence has increased since the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016, and this comes as no surprise to Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook. In Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, he argues that anti-fascism exists when fascism exists, even if Trump and what he represents is a step or two removed from actual fascism (although, for many, this is a debatable point). In this way, the presence of Antifa reminds me of a line from that Star Wars movie from 2015. I think the line goes like this, "There's been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark side and the Light." This should strike any conservative concerned about Antifa as reassuring. As Bray emphasizes throughout his book, Antifa cares little about antagonizing garden-variety conservatives. They care, instead, about those organizations and groups that foment hate and violence, those organizations and groups that behave like fascists.
While this clarification seems unnecessary (Antifa is, remember, an abbreviation for "anti-fascist"), it is important to reiterate the degree to which Antifa has become a signifier for the end of Western Civilization, at least in the conservative imagination. For example, Donald Trump described Antifa protestors in June 2020 as "anarchists" and "thungs." These ad hominem attacks came despite Trump's FBI Director Chris Wray testifying to Congress that Antifa is "not a group or an organization. It's a movement or an ideology." Figures like Trump mistakenly assume that Antifa is new, but as Bray suggests, Antifa is part of a larger resistance movement that dates back to the 19th century. Furthermore, Antifa eschews centralization because centralization is dangerous when fighting fascists, especially if those fascists occupy positions of state power. Once again, Antifa is, according to Bray, a response to a set of hateful ideas, behaviors, and practices. It only exists when hate exists. Ironically, if figures like Trump wanted in earnest to erratic Antifa, he would stop saying, doing, and supporting hate and discrimination.
Because of Antifa's unwavering antagonism to fascism, it has a complicated relationship with democracy. In the simplest terms, Antifa asks: should someone have the right to say whatever they want? Should hate exist in a marketplace of ideas? Categorically, Antifa groups say "no," even if the only recourse to stop hate and hateful speech is, too often, violence. While this might suggest or expose a presumption of authoritarianism inherent to Antifa, Bray is quick to note that free-speech absolutism is only ever an idea and a widely naive idea at that. For example, the United States has laws criminalizing certain forms of speech, like slander and libel. In short, the First Amendment fails to protect all forms of speech; therefore, Antifa asks why hate cannot be a form of speech the First Amendment refuses to protect.
Of course, what complicates all of this is how we elect to define (or fail to define) hate. When a president calls groups committed to eradicating fascism "anarchists" and "thungs," one wonders. But as Bray suggests, for many minority groups, the very groups fascists target, life is not a collegiate debate about the nature of evil.
What I also like about Bray's book is how he grapples with Antifa's position on violence. As Bray acknowledges, Antifa groups use violence to combat fascism, but this position is not representative of all Antifa groups or efforts. For example, some Antifa efforts use decidedly nonviolent tactics, like singing and chanting to disrupt fledgling fascists. The diversity of Antifa's tactics antagonizes the notion that Antifa is nothing more than a group of "thugs."
While Bray effectively defines what Antifa is, he less successfully defines what fascism is. But as the book's title suggests, defining fascism is far from his main concern. There are though some passages that provide clarification. For example: "Fascism and Nazism emerged as emotional, antirational appeals grounded in masculine promises of renewed national vigor." This passage highlights two critical components of fascism: masculinity, specifically heteropatriarchal masculinity, and nationalism. If anything, Bray assumes, perhaps incorrectly, that his reader has a clear, working understanding of fascism. This omission does not detract from the book's effectiveness, however.
some_okie_dude27's review against another edition
Considering the constant violence and general hypocrisy that the antifa movement and that leftism in general entails, I think I'll be giving this book a hard pass.
kathryn_mcb's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Super informativeÂ
briannadasilva's review against another edition
3.0
Well... this was an interesting read. I can both say that I learned a lot of about the history of fascism and anti-fascism, and that I felt like everything I was reading was heavily biased, so it was hard to trust every claim it made.
Also, the writing itself was dry. There were long passages without breaks that were hard to stay focused on sometimes.
Did this book convince me on all its points regarding the best responses to fascism and authoritarianism? No.
Did I learn new things? Did it present some arguments that were persuasive? Yes.
Glad I finished it, but I'll definitely be reading more on this subject from different perspectives to get a more rounded understanding.
(And no, in case you're wondering, I don't mean hearing the perspectives of literal Nazis.)
Also, the writing itself was dry. There were long passages without breaks that were hard to stay focused on sometimes.
Did this book convince me on all its points regarding the best responses to fascism and authoritarianism? No.
Did I learn new things? Did it present some arguments that were persuasive? Yes.
Glad I finished it, but I'll definitely be reading more on this subject from different perspectives to get a more rounded understanding.
(And no, in case you're wondering, I don't mean hearing the perspectives of literal Nazis.)
nnnaaattteeee's review against another edition
3.0
A historical look at antifascism from the early 20th century to today
lukes_ramblingwritings66's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
A necessary read for understanding not just the history of anti-fascism but also for learning preventative tactics for combating fascism in the present day, this is almost an urgent letter to remind us all that fascism, has no right to exist and shouldn’t be allowed to exist in the public sphere.
queerlitlove's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
maxramsay's review against another edition
3.0
This book has a weird focus. I was expecting an analysis of how the far right think and how to directly confront them, but it was just a long list and brief descriptions of antifa groups throughout history. But it's alright.