A recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document titled “Domestic Terrorism Symbols Guide”* links common protest symbols to “terrorism” — another marker in a common theme of conflating militant protest for social justice with deadly terrorist violence within the United States. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Brennan Center have raised warnings about such documents, citing inadequate protections for people’s constitutional rights.

315 points

I refuse to believe those groups are terrorist organizations because the CIA has never armed them.

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57 points

Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if there were syops to radicalize anti-fascist groups to make them less appealing to the masses.

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37 points

This is essentially my pet conspiracy theory about Alex Jones. He was a plant by the CIA, to make all conspiracy theorists look absolutely batshit crazy. By having him peddle the extreme theories right alongside the “these are a little too close to reality, and the people are getting dangerously close to figuring it out” theories, they’re able to discredit those accurate theories. Because now they don’t need to attack the individual theory; They can just attack the face of conspiracy theories.

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61 points

Anti-fascists aren’t conspiracy theorists, though, they’re just people who oppose fascism.

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8 points
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I feel like that conspiracy is too smart for the CIA. Remember this is the same organization that regularly had employees secretly drugging each others coffee with LSD so much that it became common place around the office. And also tried to convince communists in the Philippines that vampires where real despite Philippine culture/mythology not having vampires.

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4 points

See I believe that for 20th century conspiracy theorists. I fully suspect there was an effort to combine aliens, government mind control (and what would eventually be revealed as MK ULTRA), the remnants of the protocols of the elders of Zion and other similar conspiracy theories, COINTELPRO, and other things all together by the FBI. It’s part of COINTELPRO style tactics. Make them sound ridiculous and drive them so far to the extreme they’re hard to listen to.

That said Alex Jones seems pretty much an unintended consequence of all the conspiratorial milieu

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2 points

This is literally on one of those declassified 3-letter agency docs. Dunno about Alex Jones but they do shit like this.

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0 points

Oooh, I’ve noticed this, too. That there are some ‘conspiracies’ that are / could be true, but if you talk about them to anyone you are instantly one of the crazies. They have weponised the stupid.

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0 points

Alex Jones says the same thing the FBI does about antifascists. He edges for violence daily, and is using radical christianity to do so. He is absolutely not a plant; he is the face of radical christofascist terrorism. It doesnt matter if he’s serious or not; it doesnt matter that he’s just bilking listeners for money… The fact is that he is a terrorist leader and agitator and should be arrested or executed. If the FBI hasnt done so then we know where their allegiances lie.

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13 points

Yet…have yet to arm them you mean…or they have and we won’t know for 50 years.

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14 points

All I know is I’m still waiting on my check

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4 points

According to highly credible german far right Qanon followers german antifascists get paid 600€ (656,15$) per demo they visit. They also get 20€ (21,87$) per sticker they spread. I demand the same payment for any antifascist worldwide! International Solidarity!

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11 points

Wait. Why the fuck am I still paying for my own guns and ammo?

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7 points

Somehow I feel like selling the future short is a bad idea

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5 points

Someone at the Pentagon just had PTSD flashbacks to that time they armed Castro because of this comment

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180 points

So, being pro-democracy means you are a Violent Extremist?

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98 points

It does to the people trying to burn that democracy to the ground.

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13 points

Who are also employed all throughout our government and police forces.

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-5 points

Bbbbbbbut the REAL Americans only vote for OUR people. -Corpratists that don’t realize that’s what they are.

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1 point

I have no idea what point you’re trying to prove, but I’m certain you’re mistaken.

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35 points

Sometimes yes. Authoritarians sometimes refuse to cede without violence. The FBI appears to have taken that position

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10 points
*

Being violent doesn’t mean being an extremist, though. Especially if they are opposing authoritarians.

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4 points

It depends on what the culture defines as acceptable politics. It’s so extreme that it’s an executable offense in some countries and has been so in our culture too. We have to fight to keep it from that

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25 points
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https://vault.fbi.gov/domestic-terrorism-symbols-guide/domestic-terrorism-symbols-guide-part-01/view

No.

The document lists symbols that violent extremists use, but explicitly calls out that not everyone who uses those symbols is a violent extremist.

The punisher skull is also in there, but that doesn’t mean they’re claiming every asshole with a punisher skull on their truck is a terrorist. Just that if someone with a punisher skull on their truck shoots up a mosque, that the punisher iconography is evidence that it was an act of right-wing militia terrorism.

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132 points

Republicans, at CPAC, loud and clear: “We are all domestic terrorists”

The FBI: “But whatabout antifa?”

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27 points
*

Let’s not forget these idiots failed so bad to keep to the country safe because all their friends are racist bigots that they were clueless and powerless to stop an attempted violent overthrow of the US government that was planned PUBLICLY on Facebook by all their friends who they just hand wave off as “oh gary is nice, he just doesn’t like black people but he loves America so he is a good guy”.

Literally, what the hell else is the FBI for?

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1 point
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1 point
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Deleted by creator
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2 points

The traitors are on the inside, prepare accordingly

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100 points
*

Excuses to label you as a criminal so their overreach is justified.

Talk about double speak, being against fascists and racists means you’re terrorist now, LMAO.

FBI has long since been relabeled as the face of the cia, nsa and are the gen pop wranglers.

Call this shit the fuck out for what it is, an attack against Americans of ALL political backgrounds. This is a unified issue, they might only be banging on your neighbors door but you are next.

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46 points

Yup, it’s setting up a legal framework that allows them to designate anyone that ruffles feathers or speaks out as a violent extremist, and haul them off without much recourse (it’s worth noting that if you’re arrested on terrorism charges, your rights are automatically suspended).

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5 points
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1 point

I too am curious on the legal basis for the rights forfeiture.

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19 points

Unfortunately, the face-eating leopard party is not generally concerned with their own faces, so long as people-they-hate’s faces are being eaten too.

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90 points

“Anti-fa” literally means anti-fascist. The allies storming the beaches of Normandy were “anti-fa.” The only thing “anti-fa” wants these days is for cops to stop murdering them. Needless to say, I support that position.

Some idiot put that in the list for purely political reasons.

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52 points
*

It’s easy to hate antifa if you’re fa.

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12 points

Names are meaningless. The allies were fighting the “National Socialists”, who weren’t Socialists. Likewise, “Defund the Police” movement members need not actually support defunding the police - supporting lowering their funding without lowering it to zero still qualifies.

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4 points

“Defund the Police” movement members need not actually support defunding the police - supporting lowering their funding without lowering it to zero still qualifies.

I swear this was the worst slogan in the history of all of slogans, and it did irreparable harm to the reform movement.

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0 points

and it did irreparable harm to the reform movement.

No. The reform movement did it all by themselves.

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2 points

Part of me loves that they kept the title, because it’s so easy to ask very brief questions to get the word’s user to start blubbering.

“Anti-what? They’re against ‘fa’? Oh, what is that short for? What idea are these people opposing? Tell me.”

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1 point
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Deleted by creator
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1 point

LOL at all the downvotes for saying that fascism is bad. The Western world is totally screwed.

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-1 points

Yet when the Gadsen flag was put in the same leaflet there wasn’t any commenting on political reasons

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-72 points

No, it’s important to separate ideology from actions. Most, and all reasonable, would agree that fascism is bad. Most people are anti-fascist as is morally right and just.

The novel group of activists that call themselves Antifa have performed inexcusable, terrorist actions in the name of the movement and perverted it’s noble goals. Fascism is bad, as are those that make misguided and foolish mistakes that harm innocents in the name of righteousness.

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51 points

Antifa have performed inexcusable, terrorist actions in the name of the movement

Name one. And before you say it, no, looting after a protest goes south isn’t an act of terror.

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47 points

The novel group of activists that call themselves Antifa

Can you name any members of this group or share a news story of any action they have been a part of?

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23 points

No, it’s important to separate ideology from actions.

Which is something the FBI has chosen not to do by calling the symbols of the ideology terrorist symbols instead of calling out any particular organizations that are doing anything actually criminal.

Antifa is not an organization, so if someone is labeling protest symbols as terrorism, we know where their loyalties lie. (hint: they don’t want freedom of speech, they want to suppress the ideology).

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6 points

There are actual terrorist organizations operating in the United States that the FBI is actually choosing to turn a blind eye to because they’re afraid of the political ramifications of actually enforcing the law. Donald Trump is public enemy number one and protected only because the federal judiciary is too scared, the legislature too stupid and the executive too lazy to do anything about it.

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21 points

Oh look… a confused fascist!

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7 points

Your first half was good, but impugning terrorist actions on them wasn’t the way to go.

I do agree though: setting fire to courthouses, or creating an environment of lawlessness that guarantees small mom and pop businesses get looted is also not a winning cause. Protesting and counter-protesting where normal operations can continue is essential. The moment you start fucking with people’s day-to-day is where you lost.

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20 points

Isn’t protest supposed to make things inconvenient for people and to make them uncomfortable? I agree that local small businesses should not be wrecked because that just makes you the bad guy, but if people are able to go about their day without having to make any adjustments, then is the message being properly conveyed?

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2 points

LOL at this both sides copypasta.

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