Think about what negative space does.
Like a black and white image. What people don’t say can provide the contours and shape of what they believe and who they are.
So if their constant silence about political and social issues is only broken up and punctuated by derisive talk about an antifascist movement then you don’t need them to post a full throated endorsement of fascist acts to see who and what they are.
In a time of violent acts, what makes the (often purported) violent acts of Antifa – which isn’t really a thing so much as an idea – such a motivating boogeyman for these people? What is it about that that pulled them off the sidelines?
Peer group pressure and media are certainly factors but it’s hard to get someone to co-sign under something they don’t at least mostly believe.
If the threat (even if merely an apparition) provokes a response then that response itself is a statement and you have your answer:
These people are closet fascists or at the very least aspiring to be.
—jason malmberg
Flommist Jason Malmberg is a simple man who believes in brown liquor and small dogs. He also makes art sometimes. Copyright © 2020 Jason Malmberg. Pictured: Kazimir Malevich, Black and White, Suprematist Composition (detail), 1915, source.
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