Join Us On Boston Common
Saturday August 19th –Built The Anti-Fascist United Front Against
The Trump’s Alt-Right Troops
Frank Jackman comment:
Recently in commenting
on an article from a leftist group about the struggle against the Alt Right,
White Nationalists, Nazis, KKK and their assorted hangers-on in high places and
low I mentioned that on other occasions I usually have posted political
material here that may be of interest to the liberal and radical milieu without
comment. And without necessarily agreeing with the content. Occasionally, and
given the developments in Charlottesville on Saturday August 12, 2017 when this
white trash menaced our people, our brave counter-protestors, and took one of
our own I will make additional comment. I do so here in solidarity with the
idea that we have to stop this para-military fascistic wing of the right in its
tracks now.
A lot of what this site
is about is presenting past history, past political history especially. More
than once I have mentioned that we need to learn the lessons of history around
particular political question. Apparently some people are consciously
forgetful. On this question, the question of opposing what I will short-hand as
the Alt-Right 1933 in Germany when Hitler and his storm troopers, the guys that
the White Nationalists, et. al drool over today, were controlling the streets
and ready to take power was too late (essentially unopposed on those streets by
the natural forces to oppose them, the socialist and the communists, who had
their heads in the sand thinking light-headedly as one Communist Party leader
put it at the time-‘after Hitler us”). Over time I will add to the commentary above
which I used when I first posted about the situation in Charlottesville (and
soon to be elsewhere) in addressing some issues that we should be clear about
like the fascists’ right to free speech in a democracy, dependence on police to
protect today’s counter-demonstrators, effective ways to stop the White
Nationalist cabal in its tracks and other anti-fascist organizing
questions.
The reason I placed the
question of the fascists’ so-called right to free speech first was not
fortuitous. On the day after the horrible events in Charlottesville, August 13,
2017, I responded to an ad hoc call to attend a rally on Boston Common to
express solidarity with the anti-fascist counter-demonstrators in
Charlottesville. A few hundred people showed up representing many different
liberal to leftist views. (I was somewhat disappointed by the turn-out given
the pressing issue involved in spite of the short notice-other situation less
grave in the past have drawn many more on short notice.) As usual on such
occasions while the speakers were having their say I wound up talking to
various participants to get a feel for why they were there and what they were
thinking about strategically in order to stop the fascists in their tracks. As
part of one conversation with a bright young man, a graduate student at one of
the myriad colleges in the Boston, the seemingly inevitable question of the
right of the fascist cabal to express their rights to free speech under the
terms of the U.S. Constitution came up. While we were discussing the issue this
bright young graduate student expressed concern that we, liberals and radicals
alike, not trample of the sacred right to free speech. He took a position of
absolute right somewhat reminiscent of the American Civil Liberties Union’s
positon most notoriously expressed many years ago by their handling of the defense
of Skokie Nazi march case. (Skokie, a suburb of Chicago and home to many Jews
and, more importantly for the controversy concentration camp survivors.) He was adamant, stuck to his guns about it, in
his defense of that right despite Charlottesville and despite history.
No, a thousand times no,
this whole recent “front” of the combined forces of the White Nationalists,
Alt-Right, Nazis and KKK to express their deadly program as merely another in
the line of free speech exercises is not at issue. Is not something frankly
that we blooming antifascist fighters should lose one minute’s sleep over. The
key words just expressed are “deadly program” because that is the nub of the
matter. These para-military radical right-wing operations, and their military pose
including a show of guns graphically bear this observation out are not some run
of the mill odd-ball parliamentary organizations who like the say Democrats and
Republicans have policy disputes which no matter how far apart are worked
though. In other words although on some days it seems a close thing there is a
rational basis with seemingly reasonable rational arguments for their
disputes.
No so the fascists, not
by history and not by the real programs of today’s crop. Race war, genocide,
ethnic cleansing and the violent atomization and destruction of any political opposition
are not something today’s counter-protesters should cover for by calling for,
or supporting, the rights of free speech for these bastards. This is no game.
This is no debating point among rational if far-part opponents. The fascists in
their turn if they become as in Germany a mass movement will respect our rights
to free speech right into the concentration camps. They are more than willing
to walk on a pile of bones to initiate their bloody programs. Let’s be clear or
get ourselves clear on that issue.
Another question that
came up on that August Sunday afternoon in speaking to another participant was
our, the counter-protestors, relationship to the police, our assumptions about
whether we should depend on them to defend us against the rampages of the
Alt-Right. Charlottesville, and before it any number of events, most
notoriously in my memory Greensboro in 1979, involving the Alt-Right and its
predecessors and counter-protestors, has shown for all to see that while the
police (and National Guard if it comes to that) have their own agenda to keep
order they may, or may not, defend us. (In Greensboro the police and feds knew
what the KKK and their hangers-on were ready to do, had an informer inside, and
sat on their hands when the guns came out.)
Although this point is
not decisive in my argument the police have many elements much more sympathetic
to the Alt-Right than to our side and are as likely to sit on their hands as
they did extensively in Charlottesville as defend our right to protest. While I
would not argue anything more at this point we should treat the police as a
factor, a factor for order I suppose, in any public antifascist protests but
organize our own forces to defend our people against any Alt-Right onslaught.
There can be many and varied tactically approaches to this question about
cooperation with the police but the key point for now is to rely on our own
resources.
As an example of what I
mean by the above I will relate a first-hand experience. In the fall of 2011
the Occupy movement set up camp in Dewey Square on one end of the Rose Kennedy
Greenway in Boston near the South Station transportation hub. A few days into
the occupation a decision was made by the occupiers (I, and the people I will
mention presently, were not occupiers in any formal sense although many
supported the Occupy ideas) to extend the campsite another block to accommodate
the additional people who wanted to stay during the occupation.
This ad hoc extension brought
things to a head since the Greenway people did not want the camp extension. The
Boston Police, headed by the present Police Commissioner, had orders to clear
the premises. A call went out for forces to defend the occupiers. An
organization, Veterans for Peace, which I support answered the call and set up
a defense perimeter between the forming police attack lines and the camp site.
We always had on other occasions formally good if not cordial relations with
the police. That night though when the deal went down and the order came to
close the camp down the police force-marched through our perimeter causing both
injuries and arrests to us and others. Remember that little lesson as we go
against a much more sinister situation. I know I do. Organize defense teams
now!
We need to stop the White
Nationalist, Nazis, KKK, Alt-right and their supporters in the egg. Every worker,
every black person, every non-white ethnic minority come to think of it, every
Jewish person, every leftist, every one with a non-heterosexual sexual
preference or identity needs to incorporate this message now! The slogan of the
hour, this hour when the long-standing cold civil war in America is turning
hot-Build the Labor, Black, and other oppressed people United Front against the
Fascists-Now!!!!
Join us on Boston Common
beginning around 10 AM Saturday August 19, 2017 to stop the White Nationalists
and their ilk in their tracks.
Facebook page:
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