The Recalibration Part 1: Snake Oil & Symbols

Communism, Socialism, and Good Logo Design

I’m the only one you can trust, said every creep ever.

Donald Trump is president… again. There are many theories on how we got here. I want to explore a single claim, popular with the far-left, that this was the only possible outcome under liberal democracy. The above poster is noteworthy, especially the quotes around “tried.” We didn’t really try, you see. We liberals are actually fascists. You’d know that if you read more Soviet propaganda.

Trump has this toxic habit of calling his opponents communists. They like to call him a fascist. Neither of these things are true. You may disagree with me, but this doesn’t nullify my argument. In fact if I’m wrong, the situation is even worse.

So why are we LARPing the Fall of the Weimar Republic? Because it’s professional wrestling and it has been since the day Trump announced his candidacy. Maybe it always was. We aren’t serious people, but we should be.

Kids can really hurt each other trying to hit their favorite wrestling moves because they aren’t in on the gimmick. Similar to people who don’t understand we aren’t in an existential struggle between two murderous, authoritarian ideologies. The only parties who truly benefit from this myth are the members of those ideologies and the leeches that cling to them.

If you’re truly worried about the damage a second Trump Administration can cause, the last thing you’d want to do is exaggerate, lie, and ally with communists who will happily stab you in the back the moment you stop being useful.

In Portland, where fascism isn’t even on the menu, actual communists are winning elections because they’ve tricked enough people into thinking it’s Germany in 1932. Also, that they aren’t actual communists because there’s a difference between Socialism, Marxism, and Communism and really we should all be antifascists and if you think about it, isn’t capitalism just another form of… yada yada.

🤮

The Importance of Branding

Back in November I mentioned the Iron Front’s Three Arrows in:

This Thing Looked Different in the Showroom...

It’s finally time to explore antifascism, Antifa, and the Three Arrows. Why do our local antifascists seem so authoritarian?

Shane Burley will likely disagree with me and he’s supposed to be the PNW’s resident expert but he’s also a hack and I don’t care. He got to write several books and sell them entirely driven by fear of Trump and look where we are now? Thanks Shane! You and Rose City Antifa crushed it. I feel so safe.

Fucking prick.

The Three Arrows

You’ve seen them on posters and at Portland Timbers games. They were even banned by MLS for a time. If you check that article, the symbol is referred to as “Antifa’s Three Arrows.” That’s how people commonly associate it; with Antifa. The group that certainly isn’t a group, except that it has members, trainings, leadership, and organizing principles. When I punched Nazis with them, it felt group-y but what do I know?

Side note: I love having to link to the Post Millennial because they were the only site to share many of those details. Thanks Shane!

After all, “Antifa” just means antifascist. Everyone knows this. The problem is that this is a lie. Some “brand management,” if you will.

It would be more accurate to say Antifa is short for Antifaschistische Aktion, a paramilitary wing of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).

1932

The Two Flags was, and is, their logo. Their leader back then, Ernst Thälmann was a Marxist-Leninist, deeply loyal to the Soviet Union, and opposed to both Hitler and the SPD (the Social Democrats) who he called “social fascists.” He claimed that social democracy was merely a modern version of fascism. Sound familiar?

Here’s an election poster for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from the same year as the KPD one above:

1932

The Three Arrows are in opposition to monarchism (Papen), fascism (Hitler), and communism (our boy Thälmann). Later generations of Social Democrats argued monarchism (mostly dead) should be replaced with clericalism, but in almost every form, the three arrows are aligned against totalitarian groups and ideologies.

I am oversimplifying German history. There were many economic and social factors affecting this period. This is about symbols. Please find it in your heart to forgive me.

The Social Democrats were the primary opposition to the Nazis. They were not without flaws (they were Marxists after all) but they were pro-union, pro-liberty, and pro-democracy. Thälman and his KPD argued that Social Democrats were actually the primary fascist force in Germany, and moved to help oust them. Marxist-Leninist dogma proclaimed it necessary for the revolution!

So, if you’re keeping score, the Three Arrows guys (SPD/Iron Front) opposed fascism but also all forms of totalitarianism. The Two Flags guys (KPD/Antifa) opposed fascism but also everything except communism (aka the only thing that isn’t fascism).

The Nazis won. You know the rest.

Thanks Shane!

…that one was unfair. I just don’t like him.

Back to Portland

So communist organizers in Portland are using icons that are, historically, anticommunist. It’s important to not let them backdoor their way into all leftist and liberal politics, but this is exactly what they’ve been succeeding at. Using the average activist’s limited knowledge of history to whitewash Marxist-Leninist theory and try the old snake oil sales pitch again.

Supplied by the Portland Police Bureau

Take this image from the Koin article I referenced in my post on Olivia Katbi. Notice the odd orientation of the Three Arrows?

Down-down-up; no to monarchism, no to fascism, yes to communism.

Activists used this variant for a period, but it caused issues. By highlighting what was different, the communist bit stood out. That didn’t sit well with those of us who are against all forms of totalitarianism. Especially Liberal Democrats and Social Democrats.

There were variations with only two arrows, but those didn’t click either. Rose City Antifa and other Antifa groups wanted to avoid alienating sane people while still coddling their communist members. Remember that Antifa is communist, baked into the bones of the group’s history and philosophy. They believe the world we live in must burn in a revolution in order to build the utopia of tomorrow. This is Marxist-Leninist accepted truth.

So what did they end up settling on? The most communist thing possible. They edited history. Antifa-affiliated and anarchist authors began claiming the Three Arrows never stood against communism or so-called totalitarianism - a liberal (read fascist) dogwhistle. So what were they for?

Maybe they stood for:

• Fascism, capitalism, and reaction, or

• The French liberté, égalité, fraternité, or

• Unity, activity, discipline, or

• The SPD, the unions, and the Reichsbanner.

Anything but communism. Remember what Olivia said:

We will never get out of this crisis unless we confront the system that created it. So, let them call us communists, because some of us are!

Hold for applause.

Olivia & Friends pivoted away from this explicitly communist language shortly after this and helped promote “everyday antifascism.” The Antifa Two Flags is still used by Rose City Antifa and others, but the everyday antifascist makes use of the Three Arrows. It doesn’t have the same direct links to communism so it wrinkles fewer noses.

Many of Olivia’s references to herself and the DSA as communist evaporate around this time. Maybe they had a marketing meeting and decided it wasn’t testing as well.

So Antifa was rebranded as “short for antifascist” and to use the original name was seen as a bit of a conservative dogwhistle. Antifa didn’t really exist by the time the 2020 riots came around. It was just an ideology, and a totally normal everyday one. Your grandfather was an antifascist. Why aren’t you?

I can’t recommend Noah Rothman’s recent A Clockwork Blue enough. It’s a beast of an article but well worth your time.

These activists took a popular moral stance, antifascism, and used it as a trojan horse to promote communism and old Marxist-Leninist perversions. Primarily the idea that antifascism is communist. Everything that isn’t communist is automatically fascist.

We are the only ones who can save you.

Democratic Socialism

I keep saying Social Democrat, but what about the DSA? The Democratic Socialists. Aren’t they the same thing?

I’ll quote a Reddit Communist (my favorite flavor) who did a decent job explaining. I’m not going to credit him so I can exploit his labor.

Social Democrats are capitalist. Their ideal is a capitalist welfare state like those of the Scandinavian nations. They're not interested in the Proletariat seizing the Means of Production.

Democratic Socialists are socialists. However they reject the idea that revolution is necessary. They, nominally, want the same thing as other branches of socialism but they want to achieve them through reforming the Bourgeois State rather than destroying it and creating a Proletarian/Socialist State.

Some Reddit Communist

The DSA believe you can elect your way to communism, instead of revolution being “necessary.” I promise you they are fine with revolution. They are all good with guillotines and firing squads. They just think you can probably also run for office and switch the government over to communism one piece at a time. Bloodshed is your Plan B.

This weekend, the DSA, the PSL, the RCA, and other communist orgs marched to “oppose fascism” and Trump and to “Reclaim MLK Day.” This is after they spent the last eight years encouraging Americans not to vote for the major opposition party. They argued there was no material difference between our two major parties. They’re both fascist.

Instead, you should support “socialists” and communists because they are the only ones who can save you from the end of America (which is ironically something they also want). I hope I’ve given you enough abridged history to recognize this move.

It’s such a tired playbook. This is not Germany in 1932. We have none of the key conditions for fascism to rise in this country. However, these idiots are certainly trying to fix that.

Now, if I’m wrong? If Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to humanity since Adolf Hitler? Then you’re looking at the group who spent years arguing that Kamala Harris was a genocidal fascist and this country isn’t worth saving anyway.

That’s not better.

How about we cut the bullshit and kick them back to the margins where they belong?

All 3 Arrows!

So, where do we draw the line on our way back to sanity? Who gets cut from the team? I’ll discuss that in The Recalibration Part 2: Horseshoes and Bridges.