Thanks, SupaDudz
Seems like we are in agreement on definitions, BOP, etc. That's good.
Let's remind readers of the resolution:
"ANTIFA is equivalent to the KKK as a hate group."
PRO must show that Antifa is a hate group equal in force, amount, or value to the Ku Klux Klan. Conversely, if CON can demonstrate that the KKK is far more significant in terms of membership, history, impact on American lives, and/or impact on American politics then CON should be voted the winner of this debate.
Let's recall the current scoring has the KKK coming in at 5,000+ murders--- maybe 10,000 murders, possibly even 15,000 murders. We just don't know for sure.
Antifa has zero murders.
There's plenty here we can talk about, perhaps improve our mutual perspectives but ultimately, CON expects that this fact alone by itself easily establishes a difference in scale that is irrefutable, unmovable by PRO and so an essential difference between the two groups that disproves PRO resolution outright.
Antifa equal to the KKK? But the Klan must have killed at least five thousand people...how many has Antifa killed? What? Nobody? End of discussion.
REBUTTALS:
Counter Response to Wiki Definition:
My opponent claims that the same source does not define ANTIFA as a hate group.
That's not a claim, just a simple fact worth noting. PRO used
Wikipedia to define HATE GROUP. Therefore, CON used the same source to define
Antifa and the
KKK. The Wikipedia article for the KKK calls the clan a hate group right off the bat- that is who they are and what they do. Wikipedia's article for Antifa never once calls Antifa a hate group. Now we've agreed to use Wikipedia's very loose definition of HATE GROUP so there will be plenty of groups of people who may prove "hostile" to a "sector of society" without necessarily getting tagged as a hate group in encyclopedias, (Denver Broncos Fans were my R1 example) but it seems worth mentioning that Antifa is one of these while the Klan is primarily identified as a HATE GROUP. That difference between the two groups speaks directly to my point. Even PRO's sources suggest that the differences are important.
This is because the KKK is the most notorious hate group in America. We will soon realize that ANTIFA is the same hate genre as the KKK itself, due to leftist belief that they are morally right to kill and shoot people and kidnap people because of conservative values.
PRO has just about conceded the debate here. Saying that Antifa will be the same as the Klan once they get around to shooting and kidnapping people is an admission that Antifa has not shot or kidnapped anybody so far, which fully undermines PRO's claim that Antifa and the KKK are alike in violence. One group shoots and kidnaps, one group does not shoot or kidnap (or at least has not shot and kidnapped yet). Unless PRO can show incontrovertible proof that Antifa will kill people in the future, PRO has lost the debate at this point.
I. AT to Killing
I.A.1. PRO’s first example of Antifa violence is a YouTube video of an ABC News report of a rumor of violence spread by a conservative YouTube personality. University of Utah spokesperson
Chris Nelson told the local Fox News station that same evening that, “Police looked at the video, evaluated other information available to them, and determined the individuals did not pose a credible threat that warranted action.”
In the video itself, the video clearly displayed a knife in the persons hand. There was also a display of a gun too.
Are we watching the same video?
1:51:the shot is two teenaged girls sitting on a park bench. We can't hear the sound but captions printed at the bottom suggest that some unseen interviewer is asking somebody, "Did you bring your gun?"
1:55:The captions say that somebody has answered, "I have a like on the border between just a regular rifle..assault weapon" I suppose the speaker is off-screen, certainly the girls' lips are not moving.
1:56:Hard cut to anonymous hands holding an unfamiliar object. A pop up says "Will hands Jared ice pick" but the object shown does not seem to be an ice pick- there's some kind of hinge and a glass device attached. Whatever that thing is it is not a knife, gun, or ice pick.
1:58:Hard cut back to the girls and the caption "sawed-off style shotgun"
2:00-:Another hard cut. One of the girl's lips are moving and the captions read "And then I've got I've got a handgun" but those captions don't match whatever the girl is saying.
2:02- Another hard cut. The caption reads, "yeah two AKs coming" Again those words don't match what the girl is saying.
That's 4 cuts in the space of 11 second. That is a lot of blatant editing out for something that supposed to be serving as evidence.
I'm not surprised that the Salt Lake Police dismissed this video as potential evidence of anything. I don't see anything that looks like a weapon. I don't see anything to suggest any members of Antifa are present. Four video edits in 11 seconds suggests that the editor of the clip was working hard to manipulate content. Seems to me that if you were actually a member of an organization planning to assassinate Ben Shapiro you wouldn't be sitting around in the hours before the event giving interviews to people. This whole clip strikes reads as one profoundly amateurish put up job.
There intent was too do something harmful and bad. While the threat diminished and was not credible, there was a threat there in the first place.
Since the threat was deemed incredible, why would PRO continue to assert intent? Since this video doesn't establish any kind of threat what evidence compels Pro to assert that there was a threat, a threat that later diminished?
Many KKK leaders have called for action when action was not credible in a sense.
ok
The media covered up what they did too.
If anything, ABC's Nightline seems to be buying Crowder's heavily edited video without sufficient skepticism. Certainly, they ran with the "threat of violence " angle before checking with the police. Expressing credulity on the national news without first checking out the facts is more like the opposite of a cover-up, isn't it?
There is no good reason to buy any part of PRO's first example of violence but even if we accepted all of it as true it would still amount to no more than a rumor of violence not even actual violence, much less murder, much less murder of 5000+ which is the standard PRO has to accomplish in order to equate Antifa with the Klan.
CON’s first example of Klan violence is the
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama on Sept. 15, 1963. The FBI determined that four known Klansmen planted at least 15 sticks of dynamite under the steps of the church, timed to explode during Sunday morning services. 4, 11-14 year old choir girls were killed, 22 other churchgoers were maimed, blinded, and otherwise injured.
The KKK had the resources to get bombs and weapons around that nature to commit these mass harming. They had various funds coming in because they were an established group that was projecting wealth. Security was extremely low too and the threat level in the US was low too. No one would have thought a mass bombing like that from that group would have happen
Actually, so many black citizens had been attacked by Klansman throwing dynamite that the neighborhood was known as "Dynamite Hill." Wikipedia suggests
50 such terrorist attacks in Birmingham, Alabama between 1947 and 1965. So everybody expected mass bombing, had seen mass bombings before against the same group of people and knew more mass bombings were likely. The Birmingham police were so thoroughly entrenched with the Klan that no security was considered, the bombings essentially represented the will of the local government. The KKK perpetrator was well known, worked for the city in the police department's garage and was nevertheless not brought to justice for forty years.
ANTIFA lives in an age where the world is stricter and harder to get those weapons. They would use these weapons the same way the KKK did.
If they are willing to beat up police officers and kidnap people, then they have the ability to kill.
PRO has failed to offer any evidence of Antifa beating up police and kidnapping people. We have established that one probable Antifa member hit one police officer in the helmet with an apple in Berkeley two summers ago. The charges were dropped and I can't even tell whether the police was the intended target. Zero evidence for kidnapping. Zero evidence for murder.
I.A.2 PRO’s second example of Antifa violence does show 2 bottle rockets fired into the air and one egg nearly hitting a reporter.
The Washington Post’s description of the event was less interested, “...outside of a confrontation between some Antifa, or anti-fascist, protesters and police long after the rally had ended, there were no reports of violence.” The Wikipedia entry for the Unite the Right 2 Rally states that the “rally ended without violence.”
Rocket launchers had the intent to destroy something in it's path and potentially hurt someone. That was the reason it happened. The ACT of harming or the attempt is what justifies them as a hate group
Bottle rockets are fairly far cry from rocket launchers. I suppose a bottle rocket could take out an eye but if the level of violence offered by PRO is roughly consistent with the level of violence at an average Fourth of July picnic, then we aren't really comparing apples to apples, are we?
Unfortunately the website that supplied to video clips could not send the clips. I tried searching, but I was not successful. If I find any in the debate, i will post in comments
PRO does not seems to connect the scarcity of Antifa violence videos with the rarity of violence perpetrated by Antifa. CON submits the scarcity described by PRO as evidence that violence by Antifa is uncommon.
CON ignores the evidence of police officers being beaten in prison
CON has not been shown any evidence of police officers being beaten in prison.
and how ANTIFA members have attacked police officers.
Well, there was that apple.
This is another article about the same Aug 27, 2017 event where the apple was thrown. 2 people went to the hospital for pepper spray. 13 were arrested at least some of whom were know right-wing agitators. Only the apple thrower was charged and those charges later dropped. There were thousands of protesters on both sides of whom about 100 were Antifa. If any evidence definitely establishes that Antifa caused the pepper spray hospitalizations, PRO has not found it.
This is an article from a conservative think-tank saying that Republican lawmakers are targeting Antifa by increasing penalties for criminals who commit certain crimes while concealing their identities. Since criminals regularly conceal their identities while committing crimes it is not clear how this law was meant to target Antifa particularly. In any case, the bill has not passed (probably because any such increased penalty necessarily impact right wing violence disproportionate to left wing violence. Last year, for example,
100% of the fifty murders attributed to political violence in the US came from right-wing political extremists. There were zero murders by left-wing extremists.
Mike Bivins, the maker of this video only identifies the perpetrator as "black clad." Since members of the right-wing Patriot Prayer group were dressed in black:
and members of the Proud Boys were also dressed in black:
and even the police were similarly dressed:
and since the perpetrator was never apprehended, we are left asking how did Newsweek determine that the perpetrator was certainly Antifa or was that just a popular assumption?
We might also note that at the same event, Police revealed months later that they caught members of Patriot Prayer assembling a cache of firearms on the rooftops above the the Aug 4 rally.
Given that
1) right-wing and left-wing agitators were in identical disguises and
2) that the perpetrator was never caught in a district where the police were showing preferential treatment towards right-wing agitators and
3) the target of violence was a well-known left wing demonstrator,
the likelihood that the perpetrator was Antifa seems far less likely than some other group, dressed the same and with a stated purpose of hurting left-wingers.
All these articles prove that ANTIFA has the intent to harm people, and these article show their actions and highlight what they have done. They have harmed people. If you want more, I will soul search
Well, what we are looking for is evidence that Antifa has murdered more than 5000+. If PRO has any evidence that Antifa has killed someone that should be presented. If not, keep soul searching.
Instructively, the only people present in all these articles are not Antifa members but Joey Gibson's Patriot Prayer and Tusitala "Tiny" Toese's Proud Boys. These groups are based out of Portland, OR but the rallies described in Berkeley and San Francisco also originate as rallies organized by Gibson & Toese. We also see these groups organizing rallies in Seattle and Austin and committing acts of violence whether or not Antifa is present. Which side, then, is the more provocative? This small group of thugs travelling from one liberal enclave to another or the local residents who counter-demonstrate?
Toese, like many members has a substantial violent criminal record. One of the members who participated in these rallies,
Jeremy Joseph Christian killed two train passengers who stepped in to protect teenage girls from his racial abuse. At his trial Christian said in his defense, "
You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism. You hear me? Die. Leave this country if you hate our freedom—death to Antifa!"
I.C PRO has argued that the Klan and Antifa are alike in violence. CON compares at least 5,000 dead from the Klan vs. 0 dead from Antifa argues that Antifa is nothing like the Klan in terms of violence.
Killing is not nearly the biggest outlier of a hate group. The intent to kill and persecute is the real nail in the coffin.
Manifestly false. Actual murder is always much worse than intent to murder- as is reflected by every criminal code I know of. Persecution is a far more general term but murder is considered far worse than most incidents of persecution. A group that has murdered thousands is manifestly more violent than a group that may or may not harbor some unsubstantiated intention of violence.
ANTIFA proves they want to kill and harm others, falling into the same boat as nearly all the hate groups. They don't have resources to kill, but they can brutally harm and beat up as they do. The intent is to kill and harm, making them equal.
What evidence can PRO possibly show that establishes have every intention of being as violent as the Klan if only they didn't lack the resources? PRO is reduced to wild speculation at this point.
We also have to look at time span in this debate. The KKK has been around for nearly 3 centuries and extreme ANTIFA has only been around in 3 years. If there violence keeps happening, it will progress into the same force the KKK has done
Right! That's another big difference between the two. The KKK has been around for many decades of violence and therefore "the KKK is far more significant in terms of membership, history, impact on American lives, and/or impact on American politics."
------------------
II. Moral Right AT
My opponent ignores the point here. Some of my evidence from the article even show how they justify themselves. The KKK justified themselves and ANTIFA justifies there attacks and intent to harm. They violently protest and they beat up people because they people from their perspective, they are morally right.
CON has ignored nothing. CON re-iterates: If PRO wants to claim that Antifa claims a moral right to violence, PRO needs to document that claim specifically and show how that moral justification matches assertions by the Ku Klux Klan.
---------------------------
III. Antifa Violates 1st Amendment AT
The First Amendment also states that they are allowed to protest in a non violent and peaceful way. The constitution applies to our lassiez-fair system too with people. A person can not restrict another person right to freedom. The Constitution clearly states this.
Rather than quibble irrelevantly, I'll repeat my first round response to which PRO can agree or disagree: "PRO and CON should agree that free speech in a human right that is generally abrogated by most any act or threat of violence no matter how minor."
ANTIFA wants to silence conservatives.
Does PRO mean conservatives instead of fascists (examples, please) or fascist conservatives (examples, please)? Is wanting to silence someone better or worse than murder?
A person is held to the same standards of the constitution.
“ As if the damage done by far-left extremists is in any way equivalent to the damage done by far-right radicals.
It isn't.
According to the conservative Daily Caller, right-wing extremists have committed anywhere from 73 to 92 percent of the ideologically motivated murders in the U.S. over the last 10 years. To date, Antifa has killed ...
... no one.”
Her whole news feed is full of opinions and such. She is an opinion author in that sense. She does nothing more than spread her views.
Which in this case contradict yours. You used Robert's piece as evidence of Antifa violence but failed to notice that Roberts (like CON) believes that Antifa and the KKK are not (in any way equivalent). Roberts is evidence submitted by PRO but substantiating CON.
My opponent also states killing, but I am saying that both sides have the same intent to kill.
Based on what? Look, take the politics out of it and look at Robert's statistic objectively: if I told you that 73-92% of murders were committed by men, would you say that women are the same as men in terms of violence? Of course not. Women actually do about 15% of the murders in the US- so would you say that women and men are alike in their intention to kill its just that men are more decisive or women less resourceful or whatever? Nope. The fact that men perform 85% of the murders is pretty strong evidence that men and women are different in terms of violence and also that men harbor a more profound intent to kill.
OK. Now add back the politics and the actual breakdown: in the set of all members of hate groups that get labeled Antifa or Ku Klux Klan, 100% of the many thousands of murders were done by the Klan. 0.00% of the many thousands of murders were done by Antifa. If you can accept that there are gender differences in murder and therefore intent to murder than one must likewise accept an even more profound difference exists between Antifa and the Klan.
ANTIFA is literally a military coup ready to kill.
I expect this one will be particularly hard to prove. Who's military is Antifa couping with? What government is getting couped? What parts of govt have already fallen to Antifa and how many are dead?
They are ready to kill people.
The last Antifa activity I can document is a 100 person march in Georgia on Superbowl Sunday. No injuries or arrests. What evidence do you have that Antifa is preparing to kill? kill who? where? when?
My evidence shows the violence they have instated.
Instigated? So far, every event PRO has offered has been counter-protest to a Proud Boys/Patriot Prayer rally. So no instigation there. Can prove that Antifa actually threw the first punch, apple, etc? at some event?
Both parties are allowed to speak, but they can not act in the way that is unconstitutional. Both the KKK and ANTIFA are unconstitutional.
I don't think PRO knows what constitutionality is. To the extent that the government may not simply shut down or make illegal the Ku Klux Klan than I suppose you might say the Klan is protected by the constitution.
CON keeps relating to violence.
The topic is hate groups: the frequency and degree of comparative violence is entirely relevant.
These are small things that eventually could turn into the magnitude the KKK had and what they did.
Which is again concession that Antifa and the KKK are not now of the same magnitude. I call that a win.
My evidence shows the capability they had at the time.
Please explain.
IV. Opposites AT
My opponents state that they are opposite and this is true, but because of who they are hating against, not the hate itself
This does not mean that ANTIFA is not the 2nd biggest in American history
Yes, it does. Using PRO's source, The Southern Poverty Law Center
assembled a list of 1,020 US hate groups active in 2018. Antifa is not on that list. Indeed, the SPLC has never named any Antifa group as a hate group.
or could overtake that in the future. The time that ANTIFA has been around is way less than the KKK.
PRO stating that they might be alike in violence in the future does not serve as evidence that Antifa and the Klan are alike in violence now. PRO's statement serves as evidence that Antifa and the Klan are NOT alike in violence.
Membership of ANTIFA is on the rise as well
Is it? How did PRO make that determination? How is Antifa membership determined? ascertained?
Antifa has no history in America, no folklore.
The KKK was not a folklore at the time near its formation. ANTIFa has been around for a smaller amount of time. This argument is bogus because the history is being rooted, and it is a hate history
Yeah, but Antifa also didn't kill many thousands of people in the first couple of years of its existence. Antifa wasn't founded by famous enemy generals to preserve the violence and fascism of the enemy's institution of slavery long after the overwhelming majority of Americans rejected the violence and fascism of that institution as unAmerican. The argument is that the very famous history of the KKK distinguishes the Klan by reputation and by potential threat from Antifa.
IV.B.4 This claim is strictly personal observation and difficult to document but the average Klan member seems to be in his 50s, white, male, with a high school education. Judging mostly by arrest records, Antifa seems mostly in their 20’s, non-white, college educated, and female and queer to a remarkable degree, possibly even comprising a majority of Antifa groups.
PRO is now running out of ideas, so they basically start saying characteristics. It doesn't matter what age, gender, sex, you are. If you are a hate group, you take charge at that group you hate. There is no sugar coating it.
Agreed. The point you missed is that there are important race, gender, and sex differences between the two groups. We've already discussed how gender makes a difference both in real murder rates and murderous intention: seems highly relevant to point out that these gender differences are in play when we consider differences in violence between the two groups. Women are less murderous. Antifa's majority gender is less murderous than the Klan's majority gender- that is a difference in violence.
Let's face facts, the KKK is way, way worse than Antifa. Set the BS about future Antifa and violent intent aside, the KKK is just obviously way, way more murderous than Antifa.
I appreciate you taking the time to vote. Thanks!
A try hard will be beaten but it is not as easy as somebody who is also incompetent but who doesn't try hard. That is how I interpret it
yeh, that shows.
ok, cool??I guess, I dont care
You use that word tryhard a lot, in fact it was you that got me to look it up a few weeks ago, but I am increasingly convinced you don't understand the word. The definition is usually something about a person of little to no talent posing as a person of more talent. Your usage consistently indicates something else....below you say this debate is easily won unless a tryhard accepts. If a tryhard has little talent, then the debate should be winnable even if a tryhard accepts maybe especially if a tryhard accept. If a tryhard is an obstacle to victory that suggests talent or skill. I suspect you are missing the irony in the popular usage and are perhaps just criticizing people for making an effort.
ok
Both groups are extremist groups. The KKK doesn't kill people anymore in the name of their ideology anymore. They don't vandalize stuff. If they did, they would face some trouble. Dylan Roof murdered 9 black people and the KKK denounces him. The KKK won't call all their political opponents "hate groups". Because of that, I would objectively say that the KKK is more civilized and more stable then Antifa.
* Gasp *
They want to bring down western society and capitalism, their true goal exposed
>>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40930831
Well what would you suggest?
Hah, you think thats antifa's message
You think "I don't like fascist ideology in this country" is morally comparable to "I don't like non-white people in this country"?
shit a tryhard accepted
Nah
I disagree. The morality of the principles behind Antifa and the KKK are inherently different
easy win for supa unless a tryhard accepts