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Hmmmm..... First off, is this tirade about antifascists in the skin scene only? I'm sorry to hear that your scene has gotten so violent and ridden with intolerant egotistical hypocrites (if that is indeed what your talking about). But if this is some generalizing 'warning' to take a stab at labeling antifascist/antiracist/antisexist/antihomophobic etc etc as violent, paranoid extremists who are destroying punk than I have to say some shit.
if there hadn't been anyone to stand up against the neo-nazis in my punk scene in the 90s and early 2000s when i was growing up, I would have turned out a lot different. One thing that always drew me to the scene was this totalizing unity between people who chose to be apart of this collective of misfits and carefree spirits who mostly didn't really need laws to show them what was right and wrong. I can go an entire night at a show where a bunch of anarcho-punk bands play, see people with antifa patches walkin around and not feel like there's a gang mentality or anything - it's a solidarity thing in my experience. I can go the whole night and not know a single persons political opinion unless i ask them, or they spout some misogynistic bullshit, something racist or homophobic. Maybe it's because I generally like to hang out with people who don't stick to groups cornered on any sort of conforming principles, the kind that I often found in with my skin friends. It was exclusionary in a lot of respects - but then again, so are most sub-culture circles that revolve around rejecting the status quo.
I haven't had the same experience as you with violent antifa mobs who apparently jump people just because some "leader" screams "GET HIM!! HE'S A FASCIST!!!!" and points to someone he's trying to silence, or doesn't like for whatever petty bullshit paranoid reason. Most Nazis and fascists are proud of their ideologies, and have their fucking groups that commit hate-crimes. But the only time i've ever seen the whole "Get Em!" shit is when a fucking neo-nazi was molesting my 15 year old friend at a show when I was a teenager. fuck cant remember which show... anyways my friends who were much bigger than I punched him in the face repeatedly while his self-described neo-nazi friends heiled and tried scaring all the punk kids with racial slurs and what have you. My experiences with antifa in Prague were also extremely positive. I thought there might be trouble at this venue (that actually used to be a bomb shelter during soviet occupation) where i noticed a lot of antifa skins looking really serious and shit. but turns out they were really laid back and tolerant to everyone -- the place was filled with a really diverse crowd of people (age, ethnicity, gender etc) -- and the music was fucking rad. Talking to them about antifa in Prague, this guy told me that it was really important to have a strong anti-nazi, anti-homophobic, pro-choice etc etc presence especially around college campuses because there was a huge resurgence of those poisonous ideologies lately.
Listen man - I know you don't like what extremist ideologues do to a community of people just trying to express themselves and have a good time. But please don't try and write all of the anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic, ARA, antifa, whateverthefucks as being violent, fanatical, extremist, paranoid and ignorant. And while I havent been an active member on this site, I have a feeling that a lot of people here feel more in tune with the mentalities that embrace unity, tolerance, freedom, diversity and non-oppressive social conditions. I've never been a skinhead, and while i've met plenty of skins that i despise, i've also met a shiton that i know are good people. I guess you're right that sometimes it only takes a few handfuls of asshole skinheads to turn people off of the scene... It's the same way that many counter-cultures have been hijacked by their opposites...
Just don't judge people by their purported ideologies - let them tell you who the fuck they are. As for these clandestine communists who are conspiring behind bookshelves at your college or whatever -- i've met people in cults too. there are a lot of communist cults in the world - same with neo-nazi cults and people who bible-thump helter skelter. so what? doesn't mean that just because i'm an anarchist or socialist that i'm part of some ultra-violent group conspiring to tyrannize you for not conforming to my vision of how to free society!! And to be fair to the anarchists and communists, it's been increasingly more true that police have infiltrated groups that adhere to anti-establishment principles. I mean this is an old tactic by the federal and state governments to monitor potential trouble makers - cointelpro and the like - since the patriot acts they've spied on any kind of protest organization/activist group even retired peace activists. So it's really not hypocritical to be a little exclusionary when having meetings to talk about organizing political actions.
I still stand by my boys Jello Biafra, Dave Trenga, Steve Ignorant and the many punks who have long advocated against racism, fascism, nazis, sexism and homophobia in the scene.
And why did you tag hamas and islam in this? just because some anti-fascists purportedly are against women's rights in Israel/Palestine? Out of all the anarchist, communist, socialist, anti-fascists that I know, NOT A SINGLE ONE supports the Israeli apartheid, but that doesn't make them against Jewish people. You're obviously one-sided on this issue and can't see the legitimacy of commiserating with Palestinians. I know a lot of Israelis and Jews that support pro-Palestinian organizations. Doesn't make me or them Nazis man. And I also have to argue that radical politics in punk music have always been steadfast. When they become faction-based and sectarian then it's important to take note of their specific case. You're from the US -- when have you seen antifa throw bricks at cops? in Europe, anarchists have been an established social movement for quite a long time. The riots in Greece for example - the molotovs and bricks thrown at riot police - it's a response to the failure of the capitalist system. We don't need to argue politics here, that's not what I'm after here.
My point is, don't generalize these things. I just hope people dont write us all off like lunatic homicidal fundamentalists out to kill counter-revolutionaries who post on Mohawksrock.com!
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