by Crimethinc. Workers' Collective
Available in 284 free installments
Owner:
It always starts the same way. Racist fliers or stickers show up on the walls of local hangouts or are distributed to people's homes. Reports of attacks and acts of intimidation against people of color appear in the news. Rumors fly about Nazi boneheads hanging around local high schools. Queer-bashing incidents rise. Hip-hop kids, punks, and anti-racist skinheads report run-ins with Nazis on the street. Shady characters start pushing anti-immigration campaigns. A local controversy erupts over race issues, and Klan and Nazi groups plan a rally to escalate the tension. Soon it snowballs: white power groups organize concerts, racists run for office, boneheads crash shows, start fights, and attack left-wing political centers, exerting dominance over local youth and street scenes. Pressure mounts . . . time to fight back!
Liberals and authorities will tell you that ignoring fascists will make them go away, or that the police vvdll handle them. Bullshit. Ignoring a problem does not make it go away, and as often as not police have ties to fascists or are at least willing to look the other way?they may even be glad to have fascists around to take care of radicals for them. But if the fascists are exposed and opposed with both ideas and fists, their organizing efforts can be seriously weakened, even defeated.
Instructions
Know Your Enemy
*Throughout this article, the term
"fascist" is generally used to refer
to your standard white supremacist
neo-Nazi types. In reality, fascism
is a lot more connplicated. Though
many definitions exist, the core of
fascism lies in rigid authoritarianism,
nationalism, glorification of violence,
and the subservience of women.
While our present government
may appear to display these
characteristics, a key distinction is
the fascist emphasis on autonomous
and popular action outside of the
regulation of the State, usually
with the intention of replacing the
government. Emphasis on racial
identity, supremacist beliefs, talk
of mythical heritage, and a cult of
personality are also common, but
optional. There are many other
types of fascists out there: Christian
zealot clinic-bombers, Islamic
fundamentalists, strict authoritarian
Stalinists, even black nationalist
separatists. Each group is unique and
must be considered individually.
Antifascist Action 36
Some people think fascists are inconsequential fringe groups whose ideas nobody takes seriously anymore. Think again. Neo-fascist movements are off the respirators and breathing with renewed vigor, making a strong comeback around the world. In the past ten years alone they've made electoral gains and taken over the streets in some cities (Europe), spurred ethnic cleansing {Eastern Europe), built up a million-dollar white power music and merchandising empire to fund their organizing (USA), and committed various acts of terrorism (worldwide)?and that's not counting the local efforts, including small-scale organizing, propaganda blitzes, and physical assaults.
There is a real movement of far right and neo-Nazi groups taking root." This movement is diverse, including contradictory and competing factions: legal vs. outlaw, mass organizing vs. leaderless cells, religious vs. secular, Christian vs. Satanist, white supremacist vs. nationalist, suit vs. skinhead. Some are unorganized crews who just hang out and occasionally attack the most obvious and defenseless targets. Others are highly organized and serious about changing society, using either clandestine cells or front groups to achieve their goals. Some are open about their racist beliefs and call for ethnic strife, while others mask their motives behind "cultural heritage" and claim to be acting out of pride and love for "their people." Their support base includes politicians, cops, academics, military personnel?^perhaps even your neighbors. Many of their supporters remain secret, preferring to remain unknown but providing information, money and other forms of aid, including guns and other weapons.
Fascism, past and present, has an undisputable history of racist terror and murder. Treating fascists as a serious threat is not paranoid?it's commonsense self-defense. Even small fascist groups can be vocal enough to force their politics into the public dialogue, shifting public opinion and debate to the right. Once fascists start to get a grip in an area, they will raise the level of violence to drive their enemies (including anarchists) out.
