Are We the Good Guys?

At some point you have to take a look at your movement from the outside. If multiple slices of your movement is functionally indistinguishable from the mafia, maybe, just maybe, some deep introspection and deprogramming is in order.

Shuford’s Smoke House says leftists threatened to burn down their business after the accepted an order from “Back the Blue” police supporters.

This type of action is very similar to the American War of Independence. Loyalist businesses were threatened by ruffians, then they were burned out, then recalcitrants were tarred and feathered, then forcibly expelled. Each step ratcheted up things just a little bit. But, of course, it was deserved because those Loyalists just weren't getting the message.

Of course Loyalist strongholds did the same thing to Patriots. They just had the force of law behind them. This slowed down their response rate. It also forced more consensus among Loyalists and the law, resulting in clearer thresholds for action. Of course, that ultimately cost them the revolution.

I don't remember similar things happening during the Civil War. Nor do I remember this type of targeting during the 1890's - 1910's labour (progressive) insurrection. During the Civil Rights era, these types of actions were limited to Jim Crow rednecks trying to enforce segregation. I'm not sure that puts modern radicals among good company.

Maybe, just maybe, that means taking a hard look at the dynamics of the movement and thinking about where things have gone wrong. Because, I doubt very much it's as simple as "those Antifa just co-opted things because they're just a bit too excitable and over zealous". Chances are, there's a thread of much deeper insidiousness happening. Are we really the good guys?