We're ALL antifa, now

To be perfectly clear, I’ve never been a fan of Steve Colbert or Jimmy Kimmel. They do what they do. Sometimes I may have found them mildly amusing, but even then, it was only if I happened to stumble upon something they said in some online clip of material. I have never purposely sought them out. Through the years of their careers, I never considered either of them of consequence.

How wild is it now to know that those who may have seemed insignificant in the greater scheme of things may very well be considered the bellwether for the end of a once-free nation? What began as creeping fascism has bolted forward into full-on authoritarian rule.

Crush dissent, praise the serfdom.

So for those living in a vacuum over the past few weeks, late night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel have had their shows unceremoniously axed, all because of pressure put on their parent networks (Paramount and Disney), due to their criticisms of the Great American Disgrace [that would be Trump, for those of you still not catching on]. And while some would argue that the remarks made by Kimmel about the death of MAGA podcaster, Charlie Kirk, required that Kimmel be silenced, even Kirk himself would likely oppose the move, given his statements regarding keeping ALL speech free.

Oddly, those same people celebrating the silencing of Colbert and Kimmel were muted when a Fox News personality called for the extrajudicial murder of homeless Americans.

A quick search of the characteristics of fascism and the treatment of critics yields this eerily familiar explanation:

Fascism inherently requires the suppression of critics and dissent to maintain its power and enforce a single, unifying ideology. By eliminating political rivals and alternative ideas, fascist leaders ensure that their authority cannot be challenged by other viewpoints.

Tactics for silencing critics

Controlling the media: Fascist regimes censor or take over independent media outlets to control the information citizens receive. By spreading misinformation and propaganda that glorifies the regime and demonizes opponents, they prevent the public from learning about government failures and critical perspectives. The Nazi regime, for instance, banned and burned books that were deemed "un-German" and censored all news to align with their ideology.

There was also this:

Criminalizing dissent: Once in power, fascist regimes make it illegal to criticize the government. The Nazi regime, for example, passed laws in 1934 that made any criticism of the government an act of treason. This creates a climate of fear that compels citizens to self-censor and prevents organized opposition from forming.

Most of us have probably encountered some of the smooth brained internet Nazi-wannabes, declaring that anyone who either questions Trump or competes against him is guilty of “treason.” Of course, nothing they’re bleating about is rooted in any sort of Constitutional knowledge or purpose. It’s all about the glory of the man; their idol; their “Daddy.”

I know from my writing experiences that some of you reading this now still fail to see or recognize what is happening to our nation.

My hope is with those of you who do.

On Wednesday of this week, Furher Trump used his sole means of governance – the executive order – to deem “antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization.

From Reuters:

It was not clear what legal weight Trump's proclamation carried. Antifa is a loosely organized ideological movement without a clear leadership structure or hierarchy, experts said.

Indeed. You don’t see news stories about “Antifa leader, JoeBeth Transgender Liberal praises Black Lives Matter movement” or “Annie Woke promoted to co-chair of Antifa.”

Yes, we have all seen the idiots in hoodies disrupting campus speakers or the others burning and looting cities after some hot button tragedy. The question at hand is, who are they? Where did they come from? Was the event a natural outpouring of angst, or are there organized meetings, with a recipe book for chaos, with big money backers?

The Trump regime seems to think so, or at least they want us to think so.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Fox News Channel's "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Wednesday, repeatedly blamed what he called left-wing political radicalization for the assassination.

He said the White House was working hard to ensure that "funding networks for left-wing violence" are going to be treated like a terrorist organization.

What about the funding network for the far right radicals? I suspect they have nothing to fear, as long as their goals work for the good of those currently in power.

Can Trump unilaterally declare fellow citizens as terrorists? According to legal experts, he cannot.

From the BBC:

"There is no legal mechanism I'm aware of that would formally establish any group as a domestic terror organisation", Luke Baumgartner, a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, told us.

"As far as I know it's just a proclamation on Truth Social which means nothing, and unless Congress wants to take concrete steps I don't see that happening," he said.

Other legal experts who spoke to BBC Verify pointed out that free speech rights under the First Amendment to the US constitution could limit Trump's ability to implement the designation.

Professor David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University, said: "The First Amendment protects the right of association, which encompasses the right of individuals to form groups and prohibits the government from interfering with the operations of those groups, unless of course, they have violated the law."

"The president's designation of such a group as a 'major terrorist organisation' does not change those fundamental constitutional rights," he added.

Brad Evans - professor of political violence at Bath University - warned that Antifa's lack of an organisational structure and membership "offers a remarkable opportunity to extend the [government's] remit and apply it to anybody who may be assumed to belong to an organisation that is ill-defined".

"This means that anybody suspected of belonging to Antifa, would need to disprove their association. The dangers of overreach are all too apparent."

The emphasis there is mine.

What Trump is doing is a clear violation of the First Amendment. Silence the critics, deem dissent as “terrorism.” The unfortunate end of Charlie Kirk, a loyal and devoted clinger to all things related to MAGA, was simply the excuse he needed. It’s not about Kirk, who he claimed to love in one breath, before making it all about himself. It’s about control, and the tearing down of our Constitutional republic, in order to install himself as authoritarian overlord.

The question everyone, including those who are all-too willing to abandon the foundations of this nation to see Trump elevated should be asking is who is next? If he can deem an ideology as “terrorist,” then he can easily lump anyone he sees as a threat into that group. Simply expressing concern or raising these questions could be considered criminal activity by a government that has become so bold in its overreach that anything is possible.

When I look back, going on Trump’s definition, for the last decade I’ve been antifa-ing away, on many platforms. Can I expect to be labeled, targeted, maybe sent to a Uganda slave camp?

I don’t put anything past this horrible, wretched, criminal administration, but the cowardice of major corporations is stunning. If there is to be any pushback, it must come from the people. If the republic is to be saved, the citizens need to be vocal, be active, be anti-fascist.

A perpetual state of civic apathy got us here. An empowered, enraged revolution may be all that can bend our current trajectory.

God help us all.