Benutzereinstellungen

Neue Veranstaltungshinweise

Indonesia / Philippines / Australia

Es wurden keine neuen Veranstaltungshinweise in der letzten Woche veröffentlicht

Kommende Veranstaltungen

Indonesia / Philippines / Australia | Anti-fascism

Keine kommenden Veranstaltungen veröffentlicht
Recent articles by GeorgeK
This author has not submitted any other articles.
Recent Articles about Indonesia / Philippines / Australia Anti-fascism

MACG join PUSH! Oct 15 18 by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group

Rise and rise of the extreme right Sep 01 16 by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group

Reclaim Australia is one brick in the wall Jul 02 15 by MACG

Fascism, Anti-fascism, and a coffee shop full of white liberals

category indonesia / philippines / australia | anti-fascism | opinion / analysis author Saturday June 18, 2016 19:36author by GeorgeK Report this post to the editors

If you have been following what’s been going with the fash over the past year, you might want to skip to the paragraph under the image of the Herald Scum. Otherwise, read on:
front.png

Fascism, Anti-fascism, and a coffee shop full of white liberals

by GeorgeK

If you have been following what’s been going with the fash over the past year, you might want to skip to the paragraph under the image of the Herald Scum. Otherwise, read on:

Over the past few years there has been increase in the number of nationalist and fascist organizations in Australia. Currently their main unifying mantra is a hatred of Islam and a paranoia that Muslims, via the sale of Halal products and the building of Mosques, are enacting a massive conspiracy to impose Sharia Law on honest and simple “Aussies”. In a ham-fisted attempt at sleight-of-hand these groups claim that they are not racist because “Islam is not a race”. Groups such as the United Patriots Front, Reclaim Australia, True Blue Crew, Party For Freedom, and the Australian Liberty Alliance are trying to capitalize on the fertile ground prepared by the LNP and the Labor Party’s racist policies, most notably in their willingness to use refugees’ lives as political footballs. Many people have heard of these groups but believe them to be trivial entities, however, one only needs to visit their social media pages to see that even in their current state they are a serious threat to public safety, particularly to people of color and women. Calls for assault, rape and murder of Muslims, First Nations Peoples, Africans, anyone that you care to mention that is not white/Anglo/European and in agreeance, are commonplace.

Let’s be clear here: this is not simply freedom of speech that fascist groups are exercising. It is racist misogynist hate speech, it is an incitement to violence against minorities, and it is illegal. Not that police or federal agencies seem too concerned. Aside from the horrific long-term aims of these far right groups, the possibility of individuals carrying out US-style killings is certainly not out of the question. If and when something like this does happen, we will wonder how on earth it was not prevented when the intent was clearly and publicly declared for all and sundry.

Allowing these groups to organize themselves, to publicly and freely gather, is to allow them to reaffirm each other in their beliefs, and therefore to strengthen and grow. They do not simply exhaust themselves if the public pays them no attention: no one was paying attention when on 5th April 2015 they managed to organize simultaneous rallies across Australia, many of which went largely unchallenged. In fact, unless there is violent clash between anti-fascist activists and the far-right the media does not pay any attention, but these groups still grow. They have subsequently held other rallies around the country, most notably in Melbourne and Bendigo. This year they have stepped up their activities by not only holding their own rallies, but going and disrupting peaceful anti-racist rallies, as well as other gatherings such as a Halal food festival in Melbourne. As of today they have planned at least two more events in the next month. Neither the police nor any major political party has taken any steps to prevent these actions – they have merely washed their hands of the whole situation, apart from a concerted effort to increase police powers to limit the rights of protestors. The only group of people who have identified the far-right fascist threat and have organized to directly confront it are anti-fascist and anti-racist individuals and organizations, many of whom were in Coburg last Saturday.

The counter protesters who go to prevent these gatherings understand that this is the nascence of a fascist movement. The idea that these right-wing groups will simply exhaust themselves and disappear is clearly unfounded, and deeply irresponsible, particularly considering the current political climate. Successive Australian governments are systematically abusing the human rights of political prisoners to such an extent that is inspiring the far right even in Europe (for example British UKIP and German NDP). Australian fascist groups are capitalizing on this and pushing for what are essentially White Australia policies.

front
fascists and anti-fascists are equal in the eyes of The ‘Scum
Given this context, the response by commentators and the corporate and national media has been a disgraceful combination of deliberate obscuration of the facts and smug, white complacency. Consider the fact that the vast majority of reports focus solely on the fact that there was a brawl and that police used capsicum spray to quell “extremists from both sides”. It is reprehensible to call both neo-Nazis and the people opposing them “extremists”: they are simply not equivalent. The idea that in the absence of the counter-protestors the Nazis would have simply gone home is laughable if it wasn’t such a strong indication of the naivety of people who are relied upon to provide intelligent commentary.

Indeed, some people have tried to blame Councilor Sue Bolton, who organized the initial “Moreland Says No To Racism” rally, as the effective instigator of the fight that took place on Bell St. Think about that a little: the reason there was violence in Coburg was because people organized to peacefully speak out against racism. Never mind that it was the United Patriots Front and the True Blue Crew who decided to bus in flag-waving meatheads in from Bendigo and Melton to cause trouble. And in a small measure they did succeed in this aim by causing the Greens Councilor and Wills candidate Samantha Ratnam to not participate.

If the idea of opposing racist fascists is more distasteful than the fascists themselves then your conception of being anti-racist and anti-fascist is severely warped. Taking the moral high ground by doing exactly nothing about the growth of extreme right-wing ideology is having your cake and eating too, and it is not on . The much abused corpses of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King have been wheeled out in order remind us that “dialogue” and “true compromise” are what stops single-minded racist ideologies – by people who do no such thing. This public performance of appalled outrage also involved a performed dewy-eyed innocence of foundational (and ever present) Australian racism: it’s as if genocide has never been committed here, and we have all lived in glorious harmony until the riff-raff mucked it up.

Armchair expert Ben Birchall was much more concerned that “discourse will not be any richer” following the Saturday clash than the fact that there would be a large gathering of neo-Nazis in his local park. He then curses the people putting themselves on the line while he strolls off to have a coffee (a multicultural coffee and za’atar, because see how he’s being anti-racist?).

twitter
Darren Gray’s article didn’t even mention fascism or Nazis: its main point of this article was how “surreal” Coburg felt on the day. Thrilling! Emily Wood’s article detailed how residents didn’t want racism in their neighborhood, but then somehow failed to mention that one side of the “racially fueled brawl” were neo-Nazis. Other pieces, such as this one by Bianca Hall, were more concerned about the unseemly nature of the brawl rather than the truly threatening ideology of the UPF and TBC. Her article also used people of color as currency to validate her own perspective while actually erasing the many people of color and Coburg locals who had the courage to get out on the street and eject the fascist intrusion.

I imagine these people think of themselves as anti-racist, but, as a person of color who turned up to chase those bigots out of town, they are symptomatic of the worth placed on words and not actions. They disgust me. People who do not do any anti-racist or anti-fascist activism do not suddenly get to loftily dictate strategy or morality to the people who are actually affected by racism and/or who do the hard work of anti-racism. Retweets don’t count.

You can bet that they will not say a word against what I predict will be the increasingly racist coverage of future clashes between fascist and antifascist supporters: only last Monday the Herald Sun front-page had a completely decontextualized photo (image uploaded soon) of Coburg locals, people of color, standing in front of police and yelling. Out of the frame of view are the fascists, but what editors wanted the public to see and react to were young Muslim men shouting while standing in front of riot police. There is already talk of a ban on face masks at rallies restarting the niqab/burka arguments, affecting Muslim women and their fundamental right to exist on the street.

And in future, as more people of color gain courage and start to take to the streets in response to fascist groups, expect to see the focus move from “masked vigilantes” to “riotous migrants who have failed to integrate”. And where will these commentators be? In a warm coffee shop, on Twitter, congratulating each other on their high moral standards.

*Published in https://secretagoo.wordpress.com

This page can be viewed in
English Italiano Deutsch

Indonesia / Philippines / Australia | Anti-fascism | en

Fri 29 Mar, 21:47

browse text browse image

push.jpg imageMACG join PUSH! 20:31 Mon 15 Oct by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group 0 comments

The Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group have joined PUSH! Organising and Educating to Build an Anti-Fascist United Front. As its name implies, PUSH! aims to build a united front of working class organisations against Fascism. Our forces are modest, composed of a handful of groups and individual activists who have left CARF, but we are clear about our basic direction. ... The MACG will pursue our vision for an anti-Fascist united front within PUSH! We know that many groups in the labour movement don’t share our strategy, so they will have to be either won over or sidelined. And we know that the union bureaucracy is craven and conservative, but we place our faith in the rank and file workers who are Fascism’s targets. The struggle against Fascism is inseparable from the struggle against the union bureaucracy – but didn’t we know that already?

richmond_31_may_2015a.jpg imageA Bad Day for the Master Race 22:33 Thu 11 Jun by Ablokeimet from MACG 0 comments

The United Patriots Front, which is a Fascist split-off from the far Right Reclaim Australia, held a rally in Richmond on Sunday 31 May. They wanted to rally in front of the Richmond Town Hall, but were opposed by the Campaign Against Racism & Fascism*. The Fascists came off second best.

rallynoticefinalsaturday4april2015a41e1427453761459.jpg imageRally Against Racism Sat 4 April 21:21 Sun 29 Mar by MACG 0 comments

The far Right “Reclaim Australia” plans to hold an anti-Muslim rally in Melbourne and also at other places around Australia. They want people to believe they’re just “ordinary Australians” who are worried about “radical Islam”. What they’re NOT telling you is that they are Fascists – yes, actual far Right, Hitler-loving racists who have decided it’s a tactical advantage to wrap themselves in Australian flags. [Italiano]

66872_240179722787690_1273947852_n.jpg imageCounter rally against Golden Dawn 20:54 Tue 22 Oct by Dmitri (republishing) 0 comments

The Oakleigh Greek Glendi on Sunday 27 October will include the annual parade to commemorate Ochi Day. This type of event has a history of attracting fascists, such as members of the neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn.

unitebanner.jpg imageAnti-fascist counter rally 14:18 Mon 16 May by Dmitri (republishing) 0 comments

There was loud and decisive rejection of the anti-Islamic message of a small group gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square under the banner of the Australian Defence League.

anti.png imageAnti-fascist Occupation of Newtown Square 20:29 Sun 19 Sep by Anonymous 0 comments

Newtown square/The Hub was occupied today by anarchists, anti-authoritarians, antifascists and people in solidarity to make a demonstration against the Sydney Fascist Forum happening this weekend in Tempe.

textAttacked by neo-Nazis 22:28 Fri 02 Oct by various 0 comments

Recently, the Melbourne Anarchist Resource Centre (MARC) in Northcote was attacked by neo-Nazis.

imageRise and rise of the extreme right Sep 01 by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group 0 comments

All efforts must now be made to bring the unions into the struggle. This will be difficult, though, due to the cowardly nature of the union bureaucracy. The message must be got through to all unionists that racism is fatal to working class solidarity.

imageReclaim Australia is one brick in the wall Jul 02 by MACG 0 comments

We must go a few steps further, therefore, than just engaging in anti-racist and antifascist organising. We must fight the ongoing displacement of Aboriginal people from their homelands in Western Australia. We must fight the mass incarceration and illegalisation of people seeking asylum in this country. We must confront all of these “single” issues. They are part of an entire against the working class and our communities, by the Government, capital and the State.

imageFascists crawl out of the sewers Apr 09 by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group 0 comments

Fascism is a movement of the ruined middle classes (e.g. small business going out backwards), who aim to take State power by, or with the assistance of, extra-legal force in order to resolve their problems at the expense of the working class. In attempting this, it makes use of demoralised sections of the unemployed who can think little further than where their next meal is coming from.

imageMACG join PUSH! Oct 15 Anarkismo 0 comments

The Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group have joined PUSH! Organising and Educating to Build an Anti-Fascist United Front. As its name implies, PUSH! aims to build a united front of working class organisations against Fascism. Our forces are modest, composed of a handful of groups and individual activists who have left CARF, but we are clear about our basic direction. ... The MACG will pursue our vision for an anti-Fascist united front within PUSH! We know that many groups in the labour movement don’t share our strategy, so they will have to be either won over or sidelined. And we know that the union bureaucracy is craven and conservative, but we place our faith in the rank and file workers who are Fascism’s targets. The struggle against Fascism is inseparable from the struggle against the union bureaucracy – but didn’t we know that already?

imageRally Against Racism Sat 4 April Mar 29 Anarkismo 0 comments

The far Right “Reclaim Australia” plans to hold an anti-Muslim rally in Melbourne and also at other places around Australia. They want people to believe they’re just “ordinary Australians” who are worried about “radical Islam”. What they’re NOT telling you is that they are Fascists – yes, actual far Right, Hitler-loving racists who have decided it’s a tactical advantage to wrap themselves in Australian flags. [Italiano]

imageCounter rally against Golden Dawn Oct 22 MACG (personal capacity) 0 comments

The Oakleigh Greek Glendi on Sunday 27 October will include the annual parade to commemorate Ochi Day. This type of event has a history of attracting fascists, such as members of the neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn.

imageAnti-fascist Occupation of Newtown Square Sep 19 0 comments

Newtown square/The Hub was occupied today by anarchists, anti-authoritarians, antifascists and people in solidarity to make a demonstration against the Sydney Fascist Forum happening this weekend in Tempe.

© 2005-2024 Anarkismo.net. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Anarkismo.net. [ Disclaimer | Privacy ]