Chris Abraham

Antifa isn’t anti-fascism the way the name implies—it’s a specific political tradition with specific roots. The original Antifaschistische Aktion was a German Communist Party front in the early 1930s, explicitly Marxist-Leninist, fighting the Nazis not because Nazis were authoritarian but because they were the wrong kind of authoritarian—rival socialists competing for the same working class. It was left versus left with a branding advantage.

Every GI who stormed Normandy was technically anti-fascist but would be canceled by modern Antifa before breakfast—wrong views on race, gender, religion, sexuality, all of it. The “greatest generation” would be called fascists by the people who claim their mantle. That contradiction alone should end the argument.

Modern Antifa inherited the aesthetics and the street-fighting tradition but replaced the coherent ideology with a kind of performative radicalism that serves mostly as a jobs program for mask-wearing white kids with skateboards and misdemeanor records who have appointed themselves protectors of communities that never asked for the coverage. The name is marketing. The product is something else entirely.

open.substack.com/pub/lakes…

Research conducted by American University sociologist Dana R. Fisher and the CECE project provides detailed demographic data on the No Kings protests. The findings paint a consistent picture across multiple events.

Participants were predominantly white, with researchers noting significantly less racial diversity than other recent protest movements. Women made up approximately 76% of all attendees nationwide. Education levels were high, with most participants holding college degrees.

Age demographics shifted notably over time. During early marches, the median participant age was 36. By later events that figure had risen to 48. Among organizers specifically, the median age was 67—reflecting a movement led largely by older Americans.

Participants reported hearing about events primarily through personal networks and social media, particularly Instagram. Civic engagement levels were high across the board, with most attendees reporting prior involvement in political or community organizations.

The movement was predominantly female at both the organizational and participant level. Researchers noted that older women were particularly prominent in leadership roles, with the organizer demographic skewing significantly toward women in their 60s and older.

The demographic profile distinguishes No Kings from other recent mass protest movements, which have typically shown greater racial diversity and broader age distribution. Whether this demographic composition affects the movement’s long-term political influence remains an open question that researchers continue to track.