disinformation | nazi skins + pavement = victory

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Violence Mars Nigerian Strikes
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Religion in the News: June 2003
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nazi skins + pavement = victory
by Nick Mamatas (Laddertrick@gvny.com) - October 18, 2000

In Austria, Jorg Haider, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, was briefly a legitimate partner in a coalition government.

Haider, known as the "yuppie fascist", was involved with the neo-Nazi movement from his youth, and as an adult, called members of the Waffen SS "decent people of good character." He also praised Hitler's employment policies, and regularly scapegoats immigrants, even going so far as to call for the removal of non-German speaking children from schools. Haider's rise was accompanied by a decline in the popularity of the center-right and center-left parties that have dominated Austrian politics since the end of World War II.

In England, David Copeland terrorized London's gay community with a nail bombing campaign which killed three and injured others. Copeland claimed to be mentally ill. He was obsessed with Nazism and Hitler, and was reportedly a member of Combat 18, a neo-Nazi terrorist organization. One of many underclass wastrels with a checkered past, Copeland was attracted to neo-Nazism because of his own inadequacies and a misreading of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Will to Power." But what keeps a Copeland from becoming a Haider? What keeps the Copelands of England from lifting the British Nationalist Party (BNP) to the heights of Austria's Freedom Party? Lack of parapolitical insight and anti-Nazi activists do.

In the UK, the BNP's rise in the 1970s was fought by an array of labor unions, immigrant groups, and direct action groups like the Anti-Nazi League attacked the fascist threat on the streets themselves. Carnivals, the "Rock Against Racism" movement and good old-fashioned street brawls and neo-Nazi meeting ambushes rounded out anti-Nazi activity in the UK.

Neo-Nazism re-emerged as a threat in the UK and across Europe in the early 1990s. Politicians like Jean-Marie Le Pen in France took advantage of the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent recession to stake a claim in civil society. In France, Italy, and Russia, far-right and neo-Nazi parties sucked up the middle-class outrage at both the wealthy transnational capitalists and a working class filled with immigrants and organized laborers. Some far-right parties formed coalitions with the center-right mainstream parties and even held influence in government. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi - who was ousted by former communists in 1996 - will probably regain his place in Italy's government. In the United Kingdon, a council election on the Isle of Dogs went to a BNP member in 1993, but a massive demonstration by the anti neo-Nazi movement fought through police lines to bring down the office. Unemployment on the Isle increased by one soon afterwards.

Direct action hasn't been the only way neo-Nazis are fought. In Germany, neo-Nazi material is banned, and denying the Holocaust is illegal. This hasn't stopped the neo-Nazi movement from gaining ground and from committing deadly acts of terror against immigrant communities.

In the United States, liberals often hold candlelight vigils, silent protests and "unity marches" in response to overt fascism. This hasn't stopped the Republican Party from adopting some of former Klansmen David Duke's policy planks, nor has it ended the rash of racist attacks across the country.

Liberal states often embrace right-wing neo-liberalism when economic troubles loom, and conservative states will use police powers against anti-Nazis and neo-Nazis alike. The way to victory over neo-Nazism is an old, but proven formula: take one neo-Nazi, apply head liberally to sidewalk. Rinse. Repeat. And let the cops and the government watch, so they can see how it can be done. And so they can know who is next.

The Nizkor Project
The Nizkor Project presents intellectual ammunition against Holocaust revisionism. Revisionists, like Nazis, enjoy utilizing the trappings of civil society and the polite rules of academic discourse, but only so long as the cameras are on. A good site to convince the wayward or confused friend that Holocaust revisionism is inaccurate, but not all that useful to organize around. The Nazi threat is not a tea party tiff, it is life and death. Don't debate Nazis, smash them.

Anti-Fascist Org
A group that fights fascism both on and off the Internet. Anti-fascist theory links tend towards the anarchist/Trotskyist (lots of stuff on the Spanish Civil War, but a hodgepodge). Anti-fascist tactics articles tend towards basic primers on using the Internet to fight online Nazis in chatrooms and newsgroups. Good newsletter though.

Football Unites Racism Divides
Marginalized in most places, British Nazis still have a hearing in the football (that's soccer to Americans) stadiums. Hooligan culture is often seen as an extension of working class "lad" exuberance, and sport has always been a useful tool for instilling national pride (at the expense of immigrants and foreigners). No more. A movement is under way to eject hooligans and Nazis from the fan base of the sport. Sites loses a pyramid because it is under construction.

Jorg Haider: The Rise Of An Austrian Extreme Rightist
The Anti-Defamation League's report on the history of Austrian politician Jorg Haider. A good demonstration of how the political fringe can resurge toward the political center, with proper application of economic insecurity and the "blow dried" look.

Fascism: What It Is And How To Fight It
A famous pamphlet by Leon Trotsky. While the mainstream Communist movement labelled social democrats as "social fascists" and hemmed and hawed when Stalin cemented his "non-aggression" pact with Hitler, the small Trot movement was trying to catch the fascist tiger by the tail. The pamphlet provides an excellent history and analysis of fascism, but the "cure all" of building a revolutionary workers' party seems dated and hopelessly abstract. The call to fight fascists in the streets as part of a mass movement is right on, though.

The Anti-Nazi League
One of the largest militant anti-Nazi groups, this British organization was founded in the late 1970s by (and still fronts) the British Socialist Workers Party. It was put to rest after the decline of the British Nationalist Party, only to be relaunched in 1992 during the post-Cold War rehabilitation of fascism, and some say, during a dip in the SWP's own membership. The ANL tends to aim its appeals away from the state and towards direct action from the working class.

Anti-Racist Action
Direct action against racists and fascists, with an anti-authoritarian, anarchist slant. The principles are simple: "We go where they go. We don't rely on the cops or the courts. Non-sectarian defense of other anti-fascists. We intend to win." ARA isn't above criticism either. While not designed to funnel members into other organizations, ARA political strategy can take the form of mass protests or futile bar brawls between three members and a roomful of skinheads. You must not only intend to win, you must have a winning strategy. ARA operates out of the US and Canada.

Campaign Against Racism & Fascism
A British group fighting both racism and fascism. Good articles, good background (though mostly limited to the UK) and a great magazine. Reportage has recently been expanding into European racism as well, so the rag is definitely worth picking up.

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