As long as he fought imaginary giants, Don Quixote was just play-acting. However once he actually kills someone, he will cling to his fantasies for all he is worth, because only they give meaning to his tragic misdeed. Paradoxically, the more sacrifices we make for an imaginary story, the more tenaciously we hold on to it, because we desperately want to give meaning to these sacrifices and to the suffering we have caused.
Yuval Noah Harari, “Homo Deus”
Can we agree that it’s one thing to be anti-fascist and another to be Antifa? or Iron Front? There’s been a bit of a firestorm in the Pacific Northwest due to our local MLS supporter clubs in Portland and Seattle flying the Iron Front flag at games. In Seattle, representatives of the team compounded the problem by initially ham-fisting their request not to use the symbol — equating it politically to Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer.
Oops. That argument lacked a little…nuance.
Now I’m no fan of the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer. In fact, you could call me “anti-” those things and I’d be fine with it; but I think it’s perfectly justifiable to also be uncomfortable with the adoption of symbols and tactics from historical paramilitary groups (e.g. Iron Front). These symbols have power because they pull from complicated legacies that are impossible. Nobody today has the full context of that symbol and group, and everyone reads into it with their own self-righteous response.
My personal belief is that heightening direct opposition to groups like the Proud Boys creates a sense of legitimacy for them and increases its appeal. These guys are trying to stand out and to draw a response—successfully as it turns out. The way to defuse the situation is to NOT draw attention to it and treat them as you would anybody else—have a pint, listen with compassion, and call out their BS as if they were a crazy family member you HAVE TO TOLERATE. They have to find out that there is nobody to fight, nobody windmill to tilt at; they’re just…wrong.
Eric Frankl.in 