When Hate Takes a Hard Left
Chad Prather
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If you think that those embracing the principles of the left are simply basement-dwelling weaklings that need their safe spaces, puppies, and coloring books you need to think again. As we have seen in recent days the violence on the streets that as been done by groups such as Antifa have shown us that extreme leftism is slowly becoming the voice of mainstream leftism. One doesn’t need to peruse Twitter for very long to uncover opinions that should be disturbing to all of us. Opinions that have historically been attributed to the “mean spirited” Alt-Right have gradually taken a hard left to currently reside in another camp altogether.
Experts are beginning to be concerned about the strategy of the far left in their protests. For years it has been the extremists of the right that have maintained a status on the violence radar, but with the recent acts of violence committed by avowed Bernie Sanders supporters as prime examples, many are now taking note of an apparent leftist campaign against the government. Those that typically monitor the extremism of right wing groups have now shifted their focus to pay attention to individuals that claim (or at least seem) to be supporters of the left. Their call for hate and acts of violence has become a resounding alarm far beyond Madonna wanting to blow up the White House, Kathy Griffin holding the severed head of Donald Trump, or Johnny Depp joking about assassinating the president. Poor and tasteless attempts at humor are one thing, but anti-protests that contain the rhetoric of and actual call to violence are another. Those studying the current status of political extremism are now saying that a violent confrontation between two extremes is becoming inevitable.
Consider, if you will, an emerging group known as the Redneck Revolt. They are a self-proclaimed anti-white supremacy, anti-racist group. And while most of you reading this would agree that you too are both of those things, the Redneck Revolt actually has a call to arms in order to defend their belief system. Yes, you read that right. They actually encourage their members to train with rifles in order to defend their communities against those that would espouse such values. Violence is now being promoted as necessary to the cause for many far left, anarchist, and anti-government groups such as this.
Groups with an anti-establishment purpose are certainly nothing new. We have had the Black Panthers and Weather Underground but now groups such as the Redneck Revolt are actually proclaiming themselves to be an “above ground militant formation.” https://www.redneckrevolt.org/principles In fact, in our post-911 world, the majority of violent acts have had their source in leftist groups that are eco-terrorists or animal rights activists. Most of their actions were taken against institutions, however. It appears though that the trend of violence has taken a sickening twist. We are now witnessing the rise of individuals with rifles that are obsessed with making a statement with violence such as the recent shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise by Bernie Sanders supporter and anti-Trump ranter James Hodgkinson.
The Redneck Revolt, as an example, doesn’t identify itself as a leftist group but it clearly holds many values that are central to the left’s message: Anti-capitalism, pro-immigration, pro-LGBT, pro-Muslim, etc. They stand clearly in opposition to the rhetoric of what has been traditionally valued by extremists on the far right. As the chatter continues and the oppositions grow it could become inevitable that America is head towards civil unrest if not collision. The more extremism is ignored so that it can become normalized and the calls to violence (Punch a Nazi memes and games) become standard operating procedure then don’t be surprised when you see radical tactics running rampant in our city streets.
Unfortunately, when that time comes you won’t be able to go hide in your safe spaces anymore.
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