La derecha de EEUU, desesperada por negar su extremismo, carga contra los Antifa
Los conservadores aún se siguen preguntando si de verdad la extrema derecha supone algún peligro.
El aumento de los actos de violencia política cometidos por la extrema derecha estadounidense ha provocado que la máquina propagandística de los conservadores entre en desesperación e intente desmentir su propio extremismo atacando por cualquier vía posible a su nueva cabeza de turco: los Antifa.
Durante el fin de semana, el colectivo Proud Boys, de extrema derecha, celebró una manifestación en Portland (EEUU) como una victoria gracias a un tuit del presidente Donald Trump, que calificó de organización terrorista al colectivo Antifa.
“Echadle un ojo al Twitter del presidente Trump”, comentó al medio The Oregonian el líder de Proud Boys en Florida, Joe Biggs. “Ha hablado sobre Portland y ha dicho que está viendo lo que hace Antifa. Eso es lo que queríamos. Queríamos atención nacional y la hemos conseguido. Misión cumplida”.
Los tuits de Trump han sido una distracción estupenda para Proud Boys, que tienen muchos motivos para desviar la atención: dos de sus miembros fueron detenidos este lunes en Nueva York por tentativa de asalto en grupo y disturbios, además de haber atacado a un grupo de manifestantes antifascistas el año pasado en un evento convocado por el Partido Republicano. Son una banda violenta de matones callejeros que se las arreglan de forma meticulosa para atacar a manifestantes y quedar como si ellos fueran las víctimas, de modo que los Proud Boys conciben como premios por sus actos cualquier dedo que señale a sus rivales ideológicos.
La hoja de ruta actual de los conservadores de Estados Unidos consiste en quitar hierro a la intolerancia y la violencia al mismo tiempo que culpan a los progresistas difundiendo noticias y opiniones sesgadas y erróneas. A menudo, esa jugada la llevan a cabo políticos como Trump o los diputados republicanos. El Tampa Bay Times informó la semana pasada de un informe interno de la Casa Blanca que daba consejos para responder a las preguntas sobre el supremacismo blanco justificando que ambos bandos son igual de culpables.
Los senadores republicanos Ted Cruz (Texas) y Bill Cassidy (Luisiana) decretaron la designación de Antifa como grupo terrorista pese a que no se conocen crímenes terroristas asociados a este grupo en Estados Unidos.
Aunque la cifra de víctimas de la extrema derecha sigue aumentando, los conservadores hacen lo posible por cargarle esa violencia a Antifa. La cadena conservadora Fox News le ha dedicado al menos cinco reportajes a Antifa en los últimos cinco días. Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity y otros presentadores de la cadena han alimentado el temor al “extremismo” de Antifa en sus propias secciones. El bloguero de extrema derecha Andy Ngo, famoso por recibir varios golpes en una manifestación extremista en Portland, distorsionó la realidad por Twitter al argumentar que los manifestantes de Antifa son más violentos que las agrupaciones fascistas contra las que protestan.
Antifa ―un grupo de manifestantes antifascistas sin rostros reconocibles― suele ser la diana de la derecha para culpar de la violencia a la izquierda, dado que no requiere realizar ninguna acusación directa contra nadie y, por tanto, no hace falta aportar pruebas de ningún acto criminal. Para ellos, Antifa representa la izquierda política, dado que se manifiestan a menudo contra la derecha fascista.
El programa de entrevistas Fox & Friends, por ejemplo, publicó unas imágenes editadas y sesgadas de la manifestación de Portland para tergiversar la realidad sobre un incidente de violencia mutua y convertirlo en un acto de violencia llevado a cabo exclusivamente por los antifascistas.
Pero, al igual que los Proud Boys, Trump y todos quienes promueven su campaña contra los antifascistas tienen un buen motivo para hacerlo: desmentir su propia intolerancia, que alimenta el extremismo. Tucker Carlson, por ejemplo, ha perdido 70 patrocinadores en su programa desde diciembre por su insistencia en quitar importancia a la amenaza del supremacismo blanco tras actos de violencia motivados por el odio. Tanto él como Ngo se han aliado en varias ocasiones para transmitir un mensaje engañoso sobre la violencia de la izquierda (lo que ha hecho que la revista progresista Jacobin declare a Ngo “el sinvergüenza más peligroso de Estados Unidos”). Trump también ha sido criticado por su incapacidad de censurar el supremacismo blanco y la violencia de la extrema derecha, y su silencio se interpreta como una aprobación tácita.
La volencia de la extrema derecha y el supremacismo blanco están en auge. Los extremistas del país, muchos de los cuales son supremacistas blancos, mataron a al menos 50 personas en Estados Unidos solamente en 2018 y están asociados a una larga lista de masacres, como la de Pittsburgh, Texas, California, Florida, Kentucky y Nuevo México. Mientras tanto, personas de gran influencia como Carlson y los políticos conservadores aún se siguen preguntando si de verdad la extrema derecha supone algún peligro.
Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en el ‘HuffPost’ Estados Unidos y ha sido traducido del inglés por Daniel Templeman Sauco.
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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JUNE 01: (This image has been converted to black and white.) Protestors march down Queen Street on June 01, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. The rally was organised in solidarity with protests across the United States follo...
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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JUNE 01: A protestor marches down Queen Street on June 01, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. The rally was organised in solidarity with protests across the United States following the killing of an unarmed black man George F...
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JUNE 01: Protestors march down Queen Street on June 01, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. The rally was organised in solidarity with protests across the United States following the killing of an unarmed black man George Floy...
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JUNE 01: Protestors march down Queen Street on June 01, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. The rally was organised in solidarity with protests across the United States following the killing of an unarmed black man George Floy...
VANCOUVER, BC - MAY 31: Thousands attend a protest against racism and police brutality at the Vancouver Art Gallery on May 31, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A worker removes graffiti near the White House after a third night of violent protests over the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC. - Police fired tear gas outside the White House late Sunday as...
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 01: Protesters take part in a 'Black Lives Matter' demonstration on June 01, 2020 in London, England. Protests and riots continue across American following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minn...
