After today’s incident in South London, we can expect the whipping up of tension and recruits heading to the fascists and a further ratcheting of UK politics in an authoritarian right wing direction. Without being at all alarmist, we need to recognise that a change in the situation has occurred. Its incumbent on all of us to reconsider our political commitment – to community and workplace organising, to anti-capitalist politics and to fighting despair with hope and vision. We need also re-commit to anti-fascism and the pressing need to combat those who blame scapegoats and minorities rather than the boss class for the social crisis. We need people on the militant anti-fascist mobilisation on Saturday this Newcastle and we need some serious thinking and commitment to building effective opposition from our side. No Pasaran!

iALERTA! iALERTA! iANTIFASCISTA!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-East-Anti-Fascists/421655391251203?fref=ts

Regarding Newcastle May 25th; It is fair to say that determined anti fascists have been smeared and otherwise been treated badly by an embarrassing Labour/UAF/SWP fools alliance in Newcastle Unites. 

Our main point is their contradiction, they bang on about UNITY but in practice doing everything that prevents that possibility actually happening.

They say they want a peaceful event to encourage families along, old people and children. They do this by creating an event that has no anti fascist content in terms of acting against fascists. Fine. BUT they have no right to chant ‘whose streets our streets’, ‘EDL off our streets’ etc. since they have no intention of doing so. Will they be leaving the ‘smash the edl’ placards at home?

Its funny how the strawman gets wheeled out every time, & violence gets mentioned when what we believe people are suggesting is civil disobedience. Rather than actually talk with us and discuss what are reasonable anti fascist steps to take they have ‘ran to the hills’, circling the wagons, surrounded by injuns (green/cnd/socialist, some Labour members, anarchists and communists have all been banned) who think we should actually DO something.

We think directly heckling them is a good idea and waving our banners so that the fascists can actually see them. Violence is bad Newcastle unites say…unless it’s by cops or their stewards seems to be their point. It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic, that people are so far removed from genuine working class politics that they think grassing is a good idea and one that can build ‘unity’.

Labour Councillor Dipu Ahad has named anti fascist people publically and threatened to give people over to the police – whose side is he on? Its not on the side of genuine anti fascists and anti fascism.

Its my misfortune to note some of the goings on with the ‘Stop the EDL’ demonstration scheduled for next week in Newcastle and the developing climate of red baiting that seems to have emerged. The targets appear as anyone disagreeing with the demo organisers anti-fascist tactics or responding to a series of lies, mistruths and manipulation of the positions of a range of anti-fascists.

I’m sorry to say that SWP comrades have lined up with Labour councillors to attack anyone raising criticism and of threats to exclude militant anti-fascists from the demonstration. The climate of hysteria and falsehood has been quite breathtaking even for someone like myself with several decades of experience in activist politics.

One ‘Gary Duncan’ has been allowed to slander and accuse while myself and others have been excluded from the online event page and comments made deleted. A catalogue of lies and hysteria from Gary borrows heavy from Stalinism and as a number will know – he has form in this department. Accusers labelling respondents as sectarian, against unity and even anti-democratic – its Orwellian stuff.

You will have to take my word for it as they will be unable to read the deleted exchanges for themselves, however my tone was sober and restricted to pointing out that disallowing the answering of accusation made by the organisers themselves (right to reply) is undemocratic. Other (possibly too mild) comments relating to the need for a debate, post demo caused equal mayhem and web links pointing to alternative versions of past events were the final straw.

Some of the hystria was directed at a group called the Revolutionary Communist Group – whose politics I disagree strongly and North East Anarchists, a group with who I align. Some of my comments pointed out to my view of the shortcomings of the current strategy of confronting street fascism pursued by Labour/SWP/Unite Against Fascism, tied up as it is with shouting behind barriers, waving placards and bothering the fascists 0%. An approach, which in my view strengthens the hands of state agencies to determine our activism and our resistance. Most notably the Police.

Militant Anti-Fascism argues that the far right needs to be confronted ideologically and physically, although the split in this is always tactical. Treblinka and Auschwitz stands as a reminder of what happens if Fascism is allowed to grow without effective confrontation.

Slandering anyone holding this view to the point of even allowing participation is a dangerous precedent. The slander was of rent-a-mobs seeking violent disorder, echoing headlines more worthy of the gutter press. Personally, I agree with physically confronting fascism, however we counter it additionally and more importantly by community and workplace organising, by our anti-capitalism and our working class solidarity – points made plainly receiving tirades of crazy hysterical non-argument.

Comrades, I realise that to some people this will seem like more bickering, more division and why can’t everyone just get along? I agree its a sorry state of affairs, however look at Greece, look at the crisis, remember our history and what happens if we get this stuff wrong. The anti-democratic culture evident from this debacle ( once more, you will either have to believe me or think me a crank) shows painfully how too much of the left is maybe scarred by past defeats, bereft of imagination and clinging on to positions in the power structure thinking that this will somehow provide ‘resistance’ or ‘great successes’.

It baulks at anything it cannot control and any meaningful creative bottom up impulse. The failure to face reality, to see things as they really are, to develop winning strategies and routes forwards is a sickness. We need honesty and frank debate and I will stand with anyone Labour, Green, Anarchist, Trotskyist or Union willing to debate the issues in a calm, rational and meaningful way.

Militant anti-fascists will be drawing lessons, appreciative that they form a minority seeking to confront fascism without hands tied behind backs. We need numbers at this demo, we need strategy and the back to basic essentials of independent working class politics, this alongside some honest upfront debate hopefully. Message me privately about future organising.

We share a concern here with the comrades over a brewing witch hunt against militant anti-fascists, who in actual fact have a diversity of other politics between them, on the Newcastle Unites page. There is a lot of stuff on that thread/page tinged with both hysteria and smear.

The avoidance of engaging with alternative ideas and ascribing to others in the movement, politics that either don’t exist, or are manipulated to avoid clarity, is seriously worrying and reflects a wider sickness in the culture of the working class left, and in particular the authoritarian left.

It suggests also a lack of confidence that would be amusing were the issues at hand not so serious. The movement as a whole is seriously unprepared for the political battles ahead, and this exists in all our organisation (political groups and unions), culture and in some respects our sense of reality.

Many recognise this and are taking small steps to address the deficit. There is a crying need to pull together those who want to take practical steps forward with non – hierarchical anti-fascism, sensible & open discussions, workplace/community organising objectives. A gathering following this debacle maybe in order.

A number of organisations and individuals who would be up for this. Perhaps Teesside Solidarity Movement, amongst others, such as the North East Anarchists, would consider initiating a process of reflection and calm/considered debate. The watchword for us is independent working class focused politics.

If you can be bothered putting a different point of view to liberals you can on their pages, but they are deleting large quantities of opinion from those with different perspectives to their limited, and in places, convenient misinterpretations of the real history of anti fascist resistance. Not only back to Cable street, but including more recent mobilisations where they try to claim success for routing the fascists in Brighton and Walthamstow. The censored ‘debate’ occuring consists of this;
“Jjanice; We will win our fight not with our fists but because we are right….we are many and united against the few…..violence is not the answer no matter how angry we are with them (and I am angry) we need to be controlled in this…..I think that the most important reason for this is that we need to demonstrate to the public that we are not a rabble and that we are morally superior”

“You can not fight aggression and violence with aggression and violence…You will become what your fighting against.
Dance against discrimination and boogie not bigotry”

The first one is just political stupidity, and though we are wary of using the victims of the holocaust as an argument we feel that memory of them and their experience demands it – the gas chambers were FULL of the ‘morally superior’.

Other posts are littered with straightforward slander and the illusion that all there is, is their ‘road to nowhere’, away from the fascists, or violence. This is not the case, there IS a case for straightforward civil disobedience and blocking of the roads in the THEY SHALL NOT PASS tradition which has been done in Brighton (videos on You Tube). This IS not those looking for a fight, THIS IS determined anti fascists resisting, and not looking for an easy life doing nothing (our fallen anti fascist international brigade comrades would be sick at those claiming their tradition).

You claim moral high ground with a rejection of ‘violent’ methods and mocking people who choose to at least have the debate of its
significance, but really what you’re doing is putting the responsibility upon someone else to defend you, in this instance it
will be the police.
Dancing is a very bad form of self defense. What is a protest against the EDL? To show that a (large) group of people are against them?
What then if the EDL attack people & not just on the 25th, a (large)
group of people dancing? As fascists have done previously in the 1970s? It defies all logic, it is an idealised version of protest and anti-fascist history and to rule out a discussion of tactics is simply delusional and political myopia. It is a way to continue working class political defeat however, and the ‘Labour aristocracy’, middle class bureaucrats, party hacks & pacifists/liberals know this.

We share this article because it is concerned with the attempts at Anti Fascist politics regarding the May 25th anti Edl mobilisation;

Recently there have been some allegations aimed at the North East Anarchists, here are a couple of them;

“(a)If you want a fight with the EDL why don’t you ask them for one? (b) Once again Dividing the movement and teaming up with the RCG?”

The first part, labelled (a), of this is so very easy to ridicule, as if fascists need an ‘invite’ for a fight, and this from a ‘prominent’ member of the SWP whose party meeting was attacked by them recently.

(B) is interesting because it is just intellectual nonsense. The ‘movement’ is not unified, and to pretend it is, is stupid. It is not us who have created this situation, it is arrogant and authoritarian politics which has. For example, there has never been a sensible invite only delegate meeting to discuss progressing anti fascism in the region previously, groups which have new and interesting proposals for protests are just not included in their expedient and politically predicatable pretence of anti fascist politics.

As for us ‘teaming up with the RCG’, we were not at their attempt to enter the anti fascist meeting, and furthermore, our loyalty IS ALWAYS to progressive and revolutionary working class politics, and ethics. At that event, well described by the RCG, the traditional reactionary men bullied people, inc. a woman, for no good reason, and some of this from the SWP whose political credibility regarding womens liberation is in tatters due to the rape case. The SWP have gotten away with this sort of behaviour for far too long.

As anarchists we believe in a consistency between what we do, and what we want. The crisis the SWP are facing is because they expediently disolve these distinctions and say that the means are justified by the ends, for us, that is not even a Marxist distinction, it is an authoritarian one though. Here’s the theoretical basis of that observation in this excellent article by a Marxist, and there is decreasing amount of genuine Marxists left within the SWP;