“WELL THIS IS AWKWARD. THIS PIECE PROMOTING VIOLENT LEFTIES RAN IN THE LOCAL SECTION OF TODAY’S WASHINGTON POST,” Curtis Houck of NewsBusters tweets.
The Post’s article is headlined, “What draws Americans to anarchy? It’s more than just smashing windows.” Yes – it’s the puff pieces they know they’ll get from newspapers like the WaPo:
Anarchists — who are often grouped with the antifascists, or antifa — have been increasingly visible across the country, engaging in high-profile protests that sometimes turn violent. In Berkeley, Calif., they have squared off with far-right and other groups, rioting to stop people they deem to be fascists from speaking on campus — ticking off debates about free speech. In Portland, Ore., the threat of violence between anarchists and far-right groups forced a popular family parade to be shut down.
Interviews with a dozen anarchists in the Washington area and beyond show a group that, while angry with President Trump, would be dissatisfied with any U.S. leader. (They protested President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, too, but it was a smaller group.)
They said they think liberals become complacent when a Democrat is in the White House, letting injustices go unquestioned. But they also think marginalized groups will fare worse under the Trump administration. In their minds, the entire U.S. government should be abolished and reimagined on a much smaller scale. [Oh wait, they’re libertarians now? I don’t think so — Ed]
“The Trump presidency has certainly given a boldness to fascists and racist movements throughout the country, and that’s a moment where anarchists are ready to respond in a way that many others aren’t,” said Samantha Miller, 32, a D.C. anarchist who helped organize the Inauguration Day protests.
And the photo atop the Post’s article graphically illustrates how “anarchists are ready to respond in a way that many others aren’t.” It features a smug-looking 37-year old fella dressed in black, wearing polka-dotted sunglasses – and carrying a baseball bat over his shoulder. It’s reminiscent of Rolling Stone’s efforts to glamorize convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The Post would never be caught dead running a photo of a member of the alt-right in such a “look at how cool this guy is” pose, and rightly so. But as the captions I added to it illustrate, the masked slipped a bit with this photo selection.
