> "The thing that concerns me more than shitposters and daft trolls is the chilling effect these far left Maoists wield over political discourse."

Too true.  I still believe that it's because they're left-wing.  Left-wing politics have always been seen as good, in the sense that left-wing politics are perceived as benevolent, philanthropic, caring for the little guy, fighting for equal rights, and all that stuff....where as right-wing politics are perceived as self-serving and uncaring, if not strictly easily-dismissed as "fascism" or "Nazism".  Because of how much trust is placed on left-wing politics, leftism can get away with almost everything.  That's why you can see AntiFa doing actions similar to what the Braunhemden (Brownshirts) did, but they will never be condemned, and certainly not compared to the Brownshirts nor any similar violent fascist activity.  Meanwhile, if right-wing groups did what AntiFa does, people would be screaming ape-shit bloody-murder.  The difference is that left-wing activities are "for a good cause" or "for the greater good"....of course, given what I hinted at earlier (the exploitation of trust), the insistence of good intentions can serve as a cover.

As for the Maoists and whatever far-leftists out there, they need to wake up and realize that Communism wasn't all that great.  In fact, I'd argue that Communism was worse than Nazism....and Communism got to continue after WWII.  Unfortunately, it's every excuse under the sun, like "tHaT wAsN'T rEaL cOmMuNiSm", and as such, Communism gets a free pass.