Destructive protests by anarchists and extremists signal divided left as Biden administration begins

[DonViejo]

Destructive protests by anarchists and extremists signal divided left as Biden administration begins

ADDED: 24.01.2021 1:18 |

By Marissa J. Lang and Kimberly Kindy
Jan. 23, 2021 at 8:05 p.m. EST

The hundreds of far-left and anarchist demonstrators who gathered in protest mere hours after President Biden swore the oath of office Wednesday signal a fracturing on the left that could become a scourge for the new administration, political leaders and experts say.

Some activists are carrying their destructive tactics into a new administration to voice rejection of centrist ideologies they believe will do little to address existential worries over climate change, economic inequality, foreign wars and racism. The vandalizing of the Oregon Democratic Party headquarters by extreme-left demonstrators on ­Inauguration Day has split Portland liberals, and federal agents’ launching of tear gas at crowds that descended on the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters produced scenes reminiscent of similar summer standoffs ordered by President Donald Trump.

In Seattle, a march organized by anarchists and the city’s Youth Liberation Front branch roved through neighborhoods, chanting expletives at both Trump and Biden, some breaking windows at the original Starbucks. In Denver, dozens of demonstrators burned an American flag and yelled epithets at police.

James Ofsink, president of Portland Forward, a local advocacy group for liberal causes, said the growing tension in Portland’s progressive circles — and the elation with which right-wing pundits and politicians have watched far-left demonstrators destroy Democratic structures, sometimes literally — is emblematic of a larger tug of war happening in the nation.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/destructive-protests-by-anarchists-and-extremists-signal-divided-left-as-biden-administration-begins/2021/01/23/70f93610-5d8c-11eb-a976-bad6431e03e2_story.html

[TheBlackAdder]

1. While originally a left-leaning principle, anarchists can be sectarian Libertarian w/a fascist bent

.

Some forms of these are trying to bring about a fascist response, to fuel a paramilitary takeover of society.

They want troops on every street corner and a panopticon to monitor everything people do.


===

In light of the fascism that is prevalent in Oregon, Idaho and Washington State, I tend to hold the belief that these people are not left-leaning by any means, but ultra-right leaning fascists.

.

[quaint]

3. +++

[bullwinkle428]

12. I think you're very much onto something, going back to the late 1990s and the

WTO protests that got violent in that part of the country. Anarchists are essentially nihilists, and by that standard, barely any different from those animals that attacked the Capitol.

[2naSalit]

16. +1

[Turin_C3PO]

2. My friends, family, and myself

are very “left” and none of us supports these assholes mentioned in the article. I wouldn’t say the left is in any way divided. No one with any sense agrees with the anarchists causing destruction.

[Thekaspervote]

4. This makes it sound like protests are nation wide when they aren't ..such BS

Seattle and Portland have been protesting one thing or another since September? Come on!!

[comradebillyboy]

20. I lost track of what the Portland protests were about

a long time ago. But those anarchists were never part of the Democratic coalition.

[GreenEyedLefty]

5. I don't think the left is "divided"

but this is the typical "Democrats in disarray" story you hear when Democrats control government.

Also, are we *sure* the "thugs" are all from the "left?"

[servermsh]

6. This is a bullshit article. These anarchists protested Obama.

These are lawless criminals who need to be charged with crimes they commit (not peaceful protesters of course).

[Wounded Bear]

11. No shit...nt

[ancianita]

23. Exactly. This is media horse race both siderism.

No true lefty smashes anything over Biden. Bernie and his people know this. Antifa know this. WaPo knows it, but run with local news' takes with quotes from leo's mixed in with militias, and their state leaders can't tell the difference. WaPo neatly profits from not getting to the bottom of the local politics.

Posing as lefties has been the the white nationalists' and white supremacist strategy as far back as Hitler's Nazis posing as socialists.

[DBoon]

8. Yeah, we sure are divided

99% of us support peaceful constitutional change, and 1% want the thrill of vandalism

A HUGE divide that the press will continue to harp over

They ran out of trump supporters to cover, and now they are covering the vandals

[2naSalit]

17. +1

[StarfishSaver]

9. BS. This hasn't divided anyone. These people were never with us.

[Turin_C3PO]

10. Exactly.

Unlike the seditionist terrorists that reside in the mainstream of the Republican Party, Democrats and progressives shun these idiots and rightfully so.

[LizBeth]

22. +1

[Hortensis]

13. LW extremists and LW-RW extremists are not part of OUR left. They're extremists,

energized and encouraged by RW extremism, out to destroy.

[Chicago1980]

14. Seattle and Portland need to get their shit straight and right now.

What are these people accomplishing with their tactics and destructive nature?

[kpete]

15. hahaha

[Squinch]

18. More bullshit.

[hatrack]

19. Anarchists In Disarray!!!

Oh, wait . . .

[LizBeth]

21. They have been doing this since climbing on the back of BLM way back to summer.

Just a small group of punk ass boys causing destruction. Arrest and charge them.

[jmbar2]

24. What makes them "left"?

We don't have anything in common with them, do we? Can't figure this out.

[DeminPennswoods]

25. Anarchists are Anarchists

They don't belong to any party. They are unique unto themselves.

[struggle4progress]

26. ... A day after police arrested 14 people at Portland demonstrations

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced he would pursue charges for rioting and criminal mischief against four of them. Three of the people charged .. are accused of vandalizing the Democratic Party offices ... The "J20" demonstrations .. were modestly attended, leaderless and often lost on the street. "This is the worst fucking march I've ever attended," one protester reported ... Mayor Ted Wheeler has called for the Oregon Legislature to give police new tools to track vandals during protests

https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2021/01/21/protester-arrested-for-smashing-windows-in-portland-allegedly-carried-four-molotov-cocktails-in-his-backpack/