@typhlosion yep. it's almost as if, if people had to acknowledge that anti-fascist protestors only went after fascists, while still condemning them at every turn, they'd have to acknowledge that they are actively protecting and want to continue american fascism. That's the core the country was based on, after all - slavery, murder, and genocide, in the name of manifest destiny. The majority of americans *are* fascists, as those are the values they were raised with, and deep down they know it.

thus, they abstract it and hope everyone forgets what the word stands for, and make up lies about them. Lie enough, and maybe antifa will only ever be seen as a formless boogeyman from now on, and everyone will forget that what they're fighting is specifically fascists like you.