The Proud Boys, the bizarre far-right street fighters behind violence in New York

[Phaty]

antifa literally resorts to violence and vandalism everywhere they show up. they also act very fascist and try to stop free speech.

[Stelio Kontos]

antifa literally resorts to violence and vandalism everywhere they show up. they also act very fascist and try to stop free speech.

Apparently it's all a part of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy™

[dpark1023]

Sounds like some Gangs of New York shit right there.

Have they moved past hating the Irish and gone on to some other minority, now?



That's a lovely tangent you have there.

Any comments on the topic at hand?



His point, I believe, is that they don't exist as some united front acting on organized orders. There's no "main headquarters of the ANTIFA" telling people to go around starting trouble. They have no leadership to speak of or coordinated effort they act on.

In essence, they're a handful of rabble-rousers that slide into protests or counter-protests to cause trouble. They aren't some giant vox populi violent movement bubbling under the surface.

However, this Antifa boogeyman label is a convenient thing to apply to any and all such "leftist troublemakers." Or, rather, anyone conspicuous enough to be caught up in a quarrel against these right-wing protesters.

"Oh, gun toting rednecks clashed with counter-protesters? Well those counter protesters must have been the antifa looking for trouble!"

Unless Antifa is considered right-wing the title of the article is wrong.

[Independent voter]

Antifa get these alt-right groups on the news, giving them $millions in free publicity. Free publicity that gets them recruits and legitimacy.

Thanks Antifa.

[derpkitteh]

surveillance footage proved that antifa started the violence in new york.

[Worvon]

surveillance footage proved that antifa started the violence in new york.

It proved it so much that the police said they are after 9 proud boys for instigating a riot. Makes perfect sense.

[Aurrora]

The left wing media condemns them as well. They just don’t draw an equivalence between them and people like those at Charlottesville or the Proud Boys.

Media only condemned them when they started beating up journalists.

[derpkitteh]

It proved it so much that the police said they are after 9 proud boys for instigating a riot. Makes perfect sense.

probably the group that stomped those guys that they had on the ground already.

but the fighting started when antifa both hit a guy with a bottle and beat and robbed someone.

[Deleted]

probably the group that stomped those guys that they had on the ground already.

but the fighting started when antifa both hit a guy with a bottle and beat and robbed someone.

https://twitter.com/nathanTbernard/s...07052498587648

proud boys are a gang. they have a gang initiation that says you have to have been in a street brawl to be an official member.

They actively went searching for people to beat up, like playing that knockout game.

If they were black i doubt you'd be defending them.

[derpkitteh]

https://twitter.com/nathanTbernard/s...07052498587648

proud boys are a gang. they have a gang initiation that says you have to have been in a street brawl to be an official member.

They actively went searching for people to beat up, like playing that knockout game.

If they were black i doubt you'd be defending them.

i'm not defending them.

but it's almost always antifa that starts the fighting.

[Orbitus]

The majority of fights ive seen were started by Antifa

https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=sI5Lw_1539636156

Dont dress like a hoodlum and throw bottles at people if you don't want to fight.

Yeah, no you haven't.

[Venant]

Antifa get these alt-right groups on the news, giving them $millions in free publicity. Free publicity that gets them recruits and legitimacy.

Thanks Antifa.

The current paradigm began with Antifa showing up armed with melee weapons and beating up unarmed people who were attempting to attend events like Ben Shapiro giving a speech at Berkeley. Repeatedly there were images of massive groups of Antifa just chasing people down and beating them, often with police simply standing there and watching due to stand down orders from the local government. Eventually, the anti-Antifa emerged, with people showing up with homemade shields, body armor and sticks/clubs, and then these people started to organize and engage in pitched street combat with Antifa.

I would say that the internet helped to add fuel to this fire by spreading early footage of Antifa just running completely unopposed.

[Malikath]

Lol fucking what ?

we full Egypt now.

[Serenity91]

Lol fucking what ?

Are you fucking kidding me? Fucking Russian troll bots...

[Deleted]

Im not disagreeing with you at all. Im just saying it does go both ways. I just personally believe that if you're Far Right/left you need to be called out on your bullshit from everyone.

Moderates chat more than their fair of shit as well to be fair.

[Deleted]

Yes, the Universe has a way of keeping itself in balance. Once something upsets that balance, something else will rise to counter balance it and re-establish the status quo.

It's hardly surpising that a group of assholes rose up to combat another group of assholes.

[Skulltaker]

I guess I know what they are trying to emmulate with the name 'proud boys' but this day and age I think that name might confuse someone not familiar with the topic. "I'm a Proud Boy now, Grandma!" "Ah, dear, good for you, I always suspected. What's his name?" "Ahm... wait, what?"

Yes, the Universe has a way of keeping itself in balance. Once something upsets that balance, something else will rise to counter balance it and re-establish the status quo.

It's hardly surpising that a group of assholes rose up to combat another group of assholes.

If that was actually the case than by now mankind would have spawned an actual god into existance for the single and only purpose to smite us out of existance for all the shit we have pulled towards each other and our planet.

[Zubacz]

https://www.vox.com/2018/10/15/17978...n-gop-violence

There's been a lot of discussion here lately about right-wing groups like the Proud Boys and there supposed battles with "antifa." If you do a little research, a couple things become clear.

Groups like the Proud Boys stand out from other alt-right groups in that they advocate political violence. There group's founder, Gavin McInnes, has directly called for violence to solve political problems. Not only has he praised the assassination of politicians, he's gone so far to publicly re-enact the murder of a Japanese socialist with other members of the Proud Boys group. They speak about the necessity of political violence frequently. It is their primary tenet.

To deflect criticism over their use of violence, the Proud Boys often argue that the violence was started by "antifa." There's a problem with that: antifa doesn't exist, not as any kind of political group. Proud Boys and similar groups simply describe anyone they get in a fight with as antifa. The pattern goes like this: they go out in large groups, consume alcohol, look for fights, shout loud and provocative things (including hatred for minorities such as Muslims and Jews). Eventually the attack someone or someone attacks them. Later they tell the press they were attacked by "antifa." This has led to a lot of confusion, including reports that make it sound like two separate groups, the Proud Boys and antifa, are at war with each other. The victim-hood narrative is so important to the Proud Boys that they've created fake social media accounts in which they pretend to be antifa to send threatening messages. There's a reason why there's no prominent member of antifa to point to or interview. There are occasionally counter-protesters, but the idea that they're part of a single entity called antifa is a delusion. In reality, all we have here is an angry, violent gang that goes out looking for fights.

Ever notice how "antifa" didn't appear to attack Tea Party rallies, or Trump rallies, or never got mentioned apart from these very specific groups? It is because these groups were created to seek out violence, and they need the myth of antifa so they can claim that videos of them beating up people somehow represent self-defense.

This is fake news. I dare you to provide even 1 first hand proof of anything you've written.

[Dead Moose Fandango]

Huh, I always thought the Proud Boys were just a minor faction of the alt right, not a gang unto themselves. What's their name supposed to mean anyway? Proud of being openly racist assholes?

[Deleted]

Huh, I always thought the Proud Boys were just a minor faction of the alt right, not a gang unto themselves. What's their name supposed to mean anyway? Proud of being openly racist assholes?

They used to be until Antifa's actions validated their existence and started getting them fans and recruits.

Funny how society works, isn't it? You push a group of people too much, and they start pushing back.