Thread by @IwriteOK

Alan's body language here is a perfect example of the "cargo cult of masculinity". He is large, bearded, wearing armor and a gun and a knife. He believes those things confer authority and power to him.

When I ignored his commands, he had no idea what to do.

https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1297314279230541824

This fellow is another perfect example. He kept shouting "MOVE!" in imitation of the police. He expected that owning cool body armor and an AR-looking airsoft gun would confer power to him. When I ignored his commands, he aimed his weapon at me. When that didn't work, he fled.

Weapons are dangerous even in the hands of a coward. But all weapons allow a coward to do is damage. In the past this was enough; most Portlanders at protests were inexperienced with violence. Weapons scared them.

After 86 days of fighting the police, people are not scared.

Take a look at the antifascist shieldwall here. They are actually outnumbered. But they are not afraid. When a firework bursts in their midst, no one panics. No one runs.

Now, let's look at what broke the fascist shieldwall. It started when they tried to grab a BLM banner from some young women walking by. A fight ensued, and they deployed tons of mace. Antifascists had masks and held their ground. But the fascists did not, so many of them ran.

And here we see what breaks them: a single firework. The front of their wall realizes that their flanks are dissolving. Their comrades abandon the front line as soon as it gets scary.

Here we see the value of courage and experience. The fascists immediately lose cohesion as they retreat. They know their friends do not have their back.

The outnumbered antifascists advance with confidence. They trust the people behind them.

This whole battle perfectly illustrates the shallowness of cargo cult masculinity. The fascists all had knives and mace and armor and literal guns.

They did not have courage. Or faith in each other. And so they broke and ran.