antifas, teoria e prática dos media

I

Como mudar a narrativa mediática: uma hipótese teórica.

These are the sorts of issues that never get discussed.

Missing: The Unions

In almost all the protests against racism, against the police, and against Trump the unions have been missing in action. Their absence has been so constant that hardly anybody even notices it anymore.

In place of mobilizing their members, the union leadership will sometimes send a few of their representatives to speak at protests. Invariably, these union leaders boast about how they "represent 10,000 members", or some such. This is met with great cheers, but the real question is: "So, why didn’t you try to mobilize them?"

Imagine if the unions had a major and open presence in these events: Right now, the general image is that the right is made up of discontented and frustrated workers while the left is idealistic middle class people and crazed radicals. If the unions had a mass presence, this would completely flip the script. It would start to really clarify the question: That the far right, including but not only the fascists, represent the interests of Corporate America, the US capitalist class, and that the left represents the working class.

This leaves a huge vacuum, and that vacuum tends to get filled with the Nike approach: "Just do it!" In other words, action. Any sort of action. It doesn’t matter where the action leads. What comes next doesn’t matter. Just do something, anything. And those who feel the most strongly should commit the most extreme actions is the view. That inevitably leads to physical attacks against the right wing on the part of some.
in "'Antifa', the working class movement and the far right" ^{2 set 2017}

II

E, como controlar a narrativa mediática em sentido inverso: um exemplo prático.
Pelo Politico, mesmo sujeito: antifas, essa patifaria.

Federal authorities have been warning state and local officials since early 2016 that leftist extremists known as "antifa" had become increasingly confrontational and dangerous, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security formally classified their activities as "domestic terrorist violence"
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Grosso modo, toda a peça tem por fundo uma investigação de 2016, com algumas extrapolações à violência recente, e é nesse ponto que merece pontos pela imbecilidade.

DHS studied "recent violent clashes … at lawfully organized white supremacist"

Authorities believed that "anarchist extremists" were the primary instigators of violence at public rallies against a range of targets. They were blamed by authorities for attacks on the police, government and political institutions, along with symbols of "the capitalist system," racism, social injustice and fascism.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Sempre bom recordar no mesmo parágrafo: "polícia", "governo" e "instituições políticas" com "símbolos do sistema capitalista, racismo, injustiça e fascismo". Any-ho:

"A whole bunch of them" have been deemed dangerous enough to be placed on U.S. terrorism watch lists.

By the spring of 2016, the anarchist groups had become so aggressive, including making armed attacks on individuals and small groups of perceived enemies, that federal officials launched a global investigation with the help of the U.S. intelligence community, according to the DHS and FBI assessment. The purpose of the investigation: To determine whether the U.S.-based anarchists might start committing terrorist bombings like their counterparts in "foreign anarchist extremist movements" in Greece, Italy and Mexico, possibly at the Republican and Democratic conventions that summer.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Os criminosos. Os vândalos. E porquê o ressurgir destes grupos de gente horrível? Ah, porque alguém tem que fazer frente aos nazis:

The assessment also said the anarchist groups could become more aggressive [and] acquire more powerful weapons or obtain the financial means to travel abroad and learn more violent tactics - if they seek to "retaliate violently to a violent act by a white supremacist extremist or group".
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Pois. Enterrado no final do artigo. Tal como esta pérola: depois de todo o alarme, a verdade é que os próprios admitem que não sabem do que falam:

"There’s a lot more we don’t know about these groups than what we do know about them."

The agency also acknowledged gaps in its understanding of antifa, saying it had only "medium confidence" in its assessments regarding both the affiliations among the various groups and the motivation of attackers.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Ora, o problema desta narrativa deverá ser óbvio. E, como típica peça que lança uma ideia bombástica no título para ao longo do seu corpo denotar o contrário apenas àqueles que lerem o artigo com atenção, o próprio compreende a amplitude da sua imbecilidade:

Those reports appear to bolster Trump’s insistence that extremists on the left bore some blame for the clashes in Charlottesville and represent a "problem" nationally.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

E dá-lhe argumentos:

These antifa guys were showing up with weapons, shields and bike helmets and just beating the shit out of people. … They’re using Molotov cocktails, they’re starting fires, they’re throwing bombs and smashing windows. Almost immediately, the right-wing targets of the antifa attacks began fighting back, bringing more and larger weapons and launching unprovoked attacks of their own, the documents and interviews show. Even before Charlottesville, dozens and, in some cases, hundreds of people on both sides showed up at events in Texas, California, Oregon and elsewhere, carrying weapons and looking for a fight. Both the racists and a segment of violent antifa counter-protestors are amped for battle in an escalating arms race, resulting in increasingly violent dangerous confrontations.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

...mas, Trumpas, remember?

In interviews, law enforcement authorities made clear that Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and policies - first as a candidate and then as president - helped to create a situation that has escalated so quickly and extensively that they do not have a handle on it. "It was in that period [as the Trump campaign emerged] that we really became aware of them".
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Extra, duas pérolas a notar dessa mesma peça. Primeiro, ignoram a longa história de perseguição feita aos "eco-terroristas", uma tão rica que até há sufixo próprio.

In recent decades, authorities have focused almost exclusively on right-wing groups as the most likely instigators of domestic terrorist violence, especially since Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, killing 168 people.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Pérola dois, a marca pontos pelo profissionalismo.

At the Sacramento rally, antifa protesters came looking for violence, and "engaged in several activities indicating proficiency in pre-operational planning, to include organizing carpools to travel from different locations, raising bail money in preparation for arrests, counter-surveilling law enforcement using three-man scout teams, using handheld radios for communication, and coordinating the event via social media," the DHS report said.
in "FBI, Homeland Security warn of more ‘antifa’ attacks" ^{1 set 2017}

Menos mal.

pessoas e forquilhas