By David Futrelle
Call it a tale of two videos. On Monday, Vice News released a mini-documentary on “Race and Terror” in Charlottesville chronicling the #UniteTheRight march of this past weekend and the murder of antifascist activist Heather Heyer.
Some of the most chilling moments in the highly disturbing video, as I noted yesterday, came courtesy of Men’s-Rights-Activist-turned-white-supremacist Christopher Cantwell, one of the scheduled speakers at the abortive rally, who proudly showed off his numerous guns for the cameras before telling Vice News that he considered the weekend to have been a huge victory for the cause of white nationalism.
The fact that nobody on our side died, I’d go ahead and call that points for us. The fact that none of our people killed anybody unjustly, I think is a plus for us. And I think that we showed our rivals we won’t be cowed.
When Vice News reporter Elle Reeve gently suggested that the ISIS-style car attack that left Heather Heyer dead was “unprovoked,” Cantwell was indignant.
“That’s not true and you know that’s not true,” he tells her. After accusing antifa “animals” of attacking the car, Cantwell declares that the driver had no other option but to “hit the gas.” (In fact, videos show the driver “hitting the gas” when he was more than a block away from protesters, then speeding into the crowd.)
“And sadly,” Cantwell continued,
because our rivals are a bunch of stupid animals who don’t pay attention, they couldn’t just get out of the way of his car and some people got hurt. …
I think it was more than justified. The amount of restraint our people showed out there, I think was astounding. …
I think a lot more people are going to die before we’re done here, frankly.
Cantwell is now singing a rather different tune. In a new video, a tearful Cantwell — who plainly admits he engaged in violence at the rally — laments that a warrant has apparently been issued for his arrest, and that he’s terrified that if he is arrested the police will kill him.
He also fears for his life at the hands of “our enemies, [who’ve] been threatening us all over the place,” taking exception especially to a tweet from Chelsea Manning promising to “curb stomp” fascists. (A somewhat ironic complaint from a guy who used to harass feminists on Twitter with graphic suggestions as to how they might best kill themselves.)
He insists that he and his fellow white supremacists — many of whom, I need not remind you, showed up to their Charlottesville marches heavily armed and armored — have done their best to be peaceful and follow all the rules.
Quite a change from the fellow who only a few days earlier was talking so confidently about the necessity of a white “ethnostate” and coldly predicting that “a lot more people are going to die before we’re done here.”
Before taking up arms as a would-be warrior for a white ethnostate, as I noted in a post yesterday, Cantwell was a race- and gun-obsessed Men’s Rights Activist — and a regular contributor to A Voice for Men.
Here’s the Vice News video; it’s a tough watch but, I think, a necessary one for anyone who reads this blog regularly. While Cantwell is featured throughout the video — spouting an assortment of truly awful things — his sit-down interview with Reeve begins roughly 19 minutes in.
Here’s a mirror of Cantwell’s new video:
EDITED TO ADD: And here’s a brief clip from CAFE that contrasts the two videos.
https://twitter.com/cafedotcom/status/897934439963021313
H/T — Raw Story
Is the warrant specifically for his actions at the rally, or is it an unrelated issue?
Like I said on the other thread, he seems to have convinced himself that any violence that white nationalists commit is “self defense” and therefore justified. He’s worthy of every bit of mockery that he’s been getting all over the internet today. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t still capable of violence. Especially now that he feels cornered. Pathetic losers can still be a danger and like I said in the other thread, if you’re in the Long Island area, be a little cautious.
That said. It was damn hilarious seeing him cry. Between this dude weeping like a baby and the reveal that Baked Alaska has to charge his Uber rides to his mom’s credit card, I’ve had a good time seeing this dudes get unmasked as anything but the civilization sustaining alpha males they’re always selling themselves as.
What WWTH said. I don’t have sympathy for this guy’s current round of distress, but I don’t want him deciding that he is entitled to commit more violence. Even (especially!) if he believes there are no innocent bystanders.
But if he comes out of this learning something, like basic human decency, and goes on to atone for his misdeeds, then I’ll welcome him back to the human race.
Bullies the lot of them. Goes on about causing alot of murder but the minute people stand up to him he cowers and cries.
I paused at 5 seconds in to make popcorn, and I don’t even like popcorn.
The stark contrast of “Where is my other AK? Oh I don’t know.” and “OMG PLS DON”T HURT ME DADDY WE JUST WANT AN ETHNOSTATE.” Such Lol.
Dude could not handle being black in this country for 10 fucking seconds. Absurd.
“When I have a weapon I’m cool… when I don’t I’m terrified.” That’s what I got from that second video.
“I know we talk a lot of shit on the internet, but I don’t want violence with you.” Sums up the mentality of these people quite handily.
That said, even a mouse will bite with its back to the wall. So even these coward could be dangerous Under the right circumstances
Someone tell me if I’ve misunderstood but it seems to me like the following:
“Antifa” appears to have been swallowed whole as a term that Nazis (yes, I went there) use to describe white protestors (non-white protestors get labelled BLM, and it’s shocking how quickly that has become a slur or stereotype, given how tame the demands are – “please don’t kill us”).
Clearly, it’s an attempt to separate the public from understanding these are anti-fascists. I’ve seen (and shared) arguments about that today. I wonder if it’s worth a rebranding, given it’s happening under our feet anyway. “Antifa’s” are democracy activists, aren’t they? That’s the point.
Am I off-piste? Happy to hear different views.
Hey, IP! Glad you’re back!
@Weatherwax,
No, you’ve pretty much got it. These assholes have lumped every protester (including BLM, if there is a whole group of people protesting at once, like Charlottesville) as Antifa.
If one isn’t a white supremacist/white nationalist/Nazi, and are protesting those groups, you’re Antifa.
Lock him up!
Lock him up!
Lock him up!
@ Axe;
Butter his emails!
Christopher Cantwell openly describes himself as an asshole (his website used the tagline “Anarchist, Atheist, Asshole”). You couldn’t build a more stereotypical Internet Tough Guy if you tried.
Does anyone else find it funny that when he wishes death to others via Twitter, it’s “talking a lot of shit on the Internet,” but when other people wish death on him, it’s a threat to his personal safety?
I hope the cops do take him without incident. The last thing we need is for him to be a martyr for white supremacy. He’s the kind of person who deserves to be forgotten.
Because Hitler totally approved of anarchists and atheists.
ETA: Although I would associate anarchists way more with antifa than with neo-nazis. None of the anarchists I’ve ever known would want anything to do with this chucklefuck. He’s probably one of those libertarian assholes who are pretentious enough to call themselves “anarchocapitalists.”
I’m hesitant to watch the videos, as I usually am (when they don’t involve cute animals). But this is a good contrast, indeed.
In other news, I’m on track to join my campus’s LGBTQIA+ club.
@WWTH
Nailed it
I live in charlottesville . The public memorial happened a few blocks from my workplace. I couldn’t attend because I was at work. Apparently Heather was a regular at a coffee shop adjacent to my job. They converted the sign they’d normally write specials on to a message board for memories and condolences.
A friend of my brothers was attacked in a parking lot during the rally and now has a broken wrist. I myself couldn’t attend because I slept 18 hours that day. (I wasn’t allowed any stimulants this week because I’m having a polysomnograph tonight).
everything sucks.
Musical interlude:
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/dvppp6/the-colbert-report-difference-makers—the-free-keene-squad
Y’all need to watch this.
@weatherwax, I wouldn’t necessarily describes be antifa as “democracy activists” I’m sure most antifa are pro-democracy but they’re certainly not all in favor. Some are too anarchist to approve of democracy and a tiny handful are old school communists. In any event, love of democracy isn’t their common cause and unifying principle.
I hope that sack of pig shit is afraid to crawl outside right now. Fucking coward. Cry some more LOL
So uh, I can’t help but notice that the world’s most ridiculous terrorist is currently free enough to post cry videos. I’m gonna sound like a broken record but if it had been BLM…
Orion,
I’m sorry these miscreants flung their feces in your community. Hugs if you’d like them.
I’ve been aware of Cantwell for awhile. He was a right-libertarian before getting involved with the alt-right.
Cantwell used to live in Keene, which has a large number of right-libertarian activist groups (it’s also where Thomas Ball set himself on fire in front of the courthouse as a “fathers’ rights” protest). Cantwell got kicked out of multiple libertarian organizations in Keene because he promoted radical views in favor of violence against police, which most libertarian organizations don’t allow members to hold. Other libertarians even didn’t like his association with MRA’s, and it was well-known in libertarian circles in Keene that he was a heavy drinker. Recently, he’s drifted towards fascism, though he disagrees with people in the alt-right who want more government regulation of the economy.
He started out running for a New York US House seat for the Libertarian Party in 2009 while he was facing a DWI charge, which could’ve given him a felony conviction because it was his second in New York in ten years. It all went downhill from there.