Briefly:
As previously noted, this Saturday, May 28, in the northern Melbourne suburb of Coburg, local councillor Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) has organised a rally: Moreland Says No to Racism. The rally is scheduled to take place outside Coburg Library at 11am, after which there will be a march to Bridges Reserve.
In response to the anti-racism rally, a group called the ‘True Blue Crew’ has organised a counter-rally. Their counter-rally has won the support of the neo-Nazi grouplet ‘United Patriots Front’ (UPF) and a smattering of others, and is scheduled to take place at 10.30am at Bridges Reserve, the planned endpoint of the anti-racist march.
The TBC are a small group which formed last year. Its supporters are largely drawn from Bendigo and Melton and the group has organised a bus to transport supporters from Bendigo and Melton to Coburg. The TBC’s main claim to fame thus far has been: a) to get arrested at the July 18 (2015) Reclaim Australia rally in Melbourne and; b) to fail to break police lines in order to attack counter-protesters at the UPF rally in Bendigo on February 27 (2016). Its two main faces are Zane Chapman and Corey Hadow.
Coburg is a diverse suburb with a large population of immigrant workers and a large number of Muslim residents. It lies within the federal seat of Wills, which has been held by Labor since its formation in 1949 but which has witnessed significant growth in support for the Greens since 2001 (Socialist Alliance member Zane Alcorn is running in 2016, as is Socialist Equality Party’s Will Fugenzi).
Seemingly, the TBC, UPF and other racist boofheads want to plant their flag in Coburg, a place home to many of the groups (Muslims, leftists, ‘people of colour’ et. al.) that they despise — and wish to eliminate. Small in number, they nevertheless pose a potential danger to locals. If left unopposed, it’s possible that this will further embolden these groups and individuals to continue to prosecute their divisive, racialised and reactionary politics.
Coburg has a proud history of resisting fascist intrusions into public spaces. It’s important to carry on that tradition and to let local fascists know that they are not welcome. Please attend the rally on Saturday, let others know about it, and be advised that a small group of fascists will be in the area, looking for opportunities to attack it and other targets.
Fucking leftard commie scum retard useful idiot, if the Muslims take over after you are done all of you will be eliminated by them. While we are going to win soon and nationalists will tak eover Australia, and when we do we will show you the error of your ways. Make you watch as every single one of those subhuman arab sand-monkey leb cockroaches get a bullet put in their head. Fucking cowards are too scared and hide behind you, tell them to come to us face to face next time. What will happen at Cronulla will soon happen on a nationwide scale in Australia against the sandnigger Muslim subhuman scum and retards like you will be put in asylums after. We fought Vietnam to keep you retards out of our country. Australia will soon be rid of the disease of these scum soon regardless, Donald Trump is going to win the election and if we can’t get rid of them alone we will have him help us. Like Austria had Germany come to rescue them, we are brothers with the United States and should be one so I am not against it if the time comes. If we have to join our brothers to rid Australia of the terrorist scum and stop them from breeding we will do it, you on the other hand are committing treason against this great nation. Shame, shame on you. Fuck all of you pieces of shit.
“While we are going to win soon and nationalists will take over Australia, and when we do we will show you the error of your ways.”
Like you did on Saturday? Ha ha ha! We will continue to use reasonable force in self defence – and you will continue to lose.
You seem to continuously call groups like the UPF neo-Nazis, when the vast majority of them hate Nazis. Yes, they are clearly nationalists, but they are anti-socialist. You do know that is what the left stand for, don’t you? How can you call yourself an anarchist while supporting the Socialist Alliance and their desire for government control over the people? You seem very confused, and your writing full of inaccuracies and contradictions.
Yes, you hate racism. I agree, but so do many members of the UPF. Of course they have members who have racist beliefs, but you are delusional if you think there aren’t significantly more members of the Muslim community who are also racist. Also, Islam is a fascist theocracy, why on Earth would you support them if you call yourself an anarchist?
Nathaniel:
“You seem to continuously call groups like the UPF neo-Nazis, when the vast majority of them hate Nazis.”
They certainly don’t hate Blair Cottrell, who is the UPF’s Führer and a certified Nazi. Most UPF members who claim to hate Nazis would be lying. Maybe there is a handful who haven’t twigged that the fact Blair wants a picture of Hitler in every classroom & for every schoolchild to be issued with a copy of Mein Kampf is proof of his Nazism.
“How can you call yourself an anarchist while supporting the Socialist Alliance and their desire for government control over the people?”
The Socialist Alliance & some allies called a rally in Coburg against racism. Some anti-fascists might have been planning to attend. I was certainly considering it. When the Fash decided to come and disrupt their rally, however, the situation changed. Many Anarchists, members of competing Socialist groups and general community members who definitely don’t support the Sallies decided that they were prepared to defend the Socialist Alliance rally – or, at least, to drive the Fash away whatever their pretext for coming to Coburg was.
Any Fascist who thinks the Left will let its sectarian arguments interfere with practical solidarity when people are under physical attack from Fascism has rocks in their head. We’ll use reasonable force in self defence – and then argue amongst ourselves at the pub afterwards.
“Also, Islam is a fascist theocracy, why on Earth would you support them if you call yourself an anarchist?”
Nathaniel can’t be that ignorant, so he must be taking us for fools. There is one country where there is an actual Islamic theocracy – and that is Iran, which is of the Shi’ite persuasion. Shi’ites are regarded as heretics by fundamentalists of the Sunni persuasion. There is probably another half dozen or so countries where the State, though not theocratic, is pretty vigorous about enforcing Islam as the official religion. And there is, of course, the sorta-State, with dreams of global glory, of Daesh, which would definitely be a theocracy if it could actually stablise itself sufficiently to put its energy into governing.
Apart from that, Muslim majority countries are a long way from being theocracies, Fascist or otherwise. Most Muslim majority countries have secular governments which are scathingly criticised by Islamists. There is often a lot less religious freedom than I’d like and with which people in Western countries are familiar, but Nathaniel’s statement is just completely disconnected from the truth.
And finally, we’re not supporting Islam at all. We’re defending freedom of religion. If you say, “I support freedom of religion, except for Islam”, you don’t support freedom of religion. If you say “I support freedom of religion, but I don’t regard Islam as a religion”, you don’t support freedom of religion. Freedom of religion includes the right to be a Muslim without harassment or intimidation, to practice one’s faith whether through dress, diet or otherwise, to have and attend a place of worship, and to proselytise. It includes a lot of other things as well, but if you aren’t prepared to cop that, you don’t support freedom of religion.