Many conspiracy theories begin their lives as rumors. When those rumors, however unsubstantiated, are then given a hint of credibility they then graduate to “fact” in the minds of the conspiracy theorists who wish to believe them, and they become conspiracies because law enforcement and media don’t report them as truth.
Case in point, concrete milkshakes.
The simple fact is that Antifa are awful people. The self-proclaimed “anti-fascists” regularly use threats, violence, and intimidation to shut down the political speech of those they oppose. In other, simpler terms, they’re fascists.
What they are not doing is loading up cups with cement and hurling them at people.
The origins of the rumor are indeterminate, but I will present what I believe is a reasonable start to the inanity: Freddy’s Frozen Custard. The nationwide frozen custard chain carries a variety of desserts, including their version of the Dairy Queen Blizzard, the Concrete. It would be completely reasonable for some Antifa member to discuss purchasing some concretes to dump on their enemies, and for the statement to be misunderstood.
One way or another, the rumor grew that concrete was being secreted inside of milkshakes that Antifa members were tossing at people. That rumor was reported to Portland police, who acted in a completely responsible way and asked for confirmation from those who had been present at a demonstration.
This, and some stock footage photos of chemical burns, were enough to convince many that the rumors were true. At this point, the rumor graduated to “fact”.
The police did not pursue any of the “proven” instances of cement being thrown, despite their “admission”. Moreover, many pro-Antifa journalists took the opportunity presented by the false cement claims to focus exclusively on those, ignoring the fact that they’d been abusing and harassing people and had even brutally beaten gay center-left journalist Andy Ngo, mistaking him for a pro-white supremacist blogger.
Throwing things at people is still against the law, whether it’s a milkshake or a rock. Beating people is still wrong. Antifa is a fascist organization and its supporters don’t care, and that should be of concern to all citizens. This in no way means that the Proud Boys, white supremacist groups, or any other protest organization should have their false allegations about doctored milkshakes stand. It will only encourage some lunatic to modify theirs in the future, in a way that may severely injure someone.
