SouthamptonAntiFA

Firstly, we need to say a massive thank you to everyone who came out yesterday to oppose nazis in our city, including all the locals that helped and the AFN groups that came down. Without all of you that turned up yesterday, we wouldn’t have been able to keep the place tidy and nazi free! Massive victory! Thanks, we love you all! Check out our Facebook and Twitter pages for lots of victory photos from the day!

SAINTS!

Before the day

As soon as we heard about the far rights intention on marching through Southampton we got the cogs turning in preparation for their trip. We got very busy exposing these nazis for what they are to the communities that we live in (and photoshoping Craig David photos for our Facebook page). We knew early on that SCR (which apparently stands for South Coast Resistance not Shitty Caucasian Rejects) had ‘booked a hotel in Southampton’ and a ‘safe pub’ for a social afterwards. This was enough to piss off lots of proud locals who after getting wind of this, contacted pubs left right and centre but none were open to housing fascists (believe it or not ….). Given it is be better safe than sorry, antifascists were out on the Friday night looking for any signs in and around Southampton that for once they might not have been talking nonsense. But as we thought, not a single fascist, not even one of those tiny little 5ws stickers was could be found in our fine city. Why you ask? Cause they were too scared to stay here in the first place🙂

The day

Up early, we were met by other AFN groups throughout the South. We moved early to join the rest of Southampton’s Antifascists at our call out point (The Bargate, the same place as the nazis but an hour earlier). Pie and Mash Squad claimed they’d pick any one up that wanted to join them at the same time outside a pub round the corner- which believe it or not was completely dead. Meanwhile hundreds of us gathered, holding firmly our demo spot, sending our message loud and clear to everyone out and about on a Saturday morning.

Just after the nazis call out time of 12PM we got word that they were hiding behind police lines in a pub in Bedford Place, the whole other side of the town centre. We were told from people close to the pub that police had put them under pressure to host these racist scumbags. They were very distressed that they had been forced to hold them (blame the cops not the pub!) So with respect to said pub we won’t mention its name here. The police snuck the far right out the back entrance of the pub and quick marched them straight down towards the hundreds of antifascists at the Bargate. Word quickly made it to the Bargate and without a moments hesitation the whole of the antifascist demo moved towards them. Pie and Mash in their Mobile Kettle Unit very quickly made the decision that actually where they wanted to go this lovely Saturday afternoon was to Southampton Central Train Station and on the next train outta here, turning round and moving with some haste!

Home again

home again

jiggity jig

Antifascists, being held back by the police were in hot pursuit and in a Raiders Of The Lost Ark moment the far right just manged to get behind heavy police lines and into the station before antifascists got to them! The train station was quickly surrounded to make sure their only way out was on a train (after all it wasn’t even 1pm yet hahaha!)

Train w**kers

The only down side of this was that whilst Pie and Mash Squad were at the station a couple of antifascists got off at the platform the nazis were being held at. Seeing no other option, and in a truly bad ass moment of solidarity with us all, the antifascists whipped their flag out and charged to confront the nazis. Outnumbered 16(ish)-2 the flag was lost but both were completely unhurt and dignity remains intact! The groups were split and shortly after racist idiots were put on the train and sent home. The stolen flag is now being held up by these clowns as a massive victory. Which is weird cause if we called a demo and a social after and had spent MONTHS going on about it, then didn’t manage either we would be pretty down about the whole thing …

Deluded?

Of course we then took the opportunity for an awesome and well earnt victory march to the guildhall! Even after hanging around to celebrate, we were still all done and dusted before half 1. Fascism smashed and still got time for a pub lunch? Southampton you have spoiled us!

Today was brilliant and we can’t have done it without you. It was a massive loss for the far right; they didn’t made it anywhere near the bargate, their so called “safe pub” was non-existent, North West Infidels were no where to be seen and they were all on the train outta here before lunch. Most importantly, they had no support from local people at all and our demo outnumbered their ridiculous 16 with anything from 500-1000 (we lost count).

The nazi “march” – their demo point was too far away to fit in the screen cap

The Future

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop here. The hard work is to make sure our united and powerful message that racism is not welcome in our city continues to be heard loud and clear. The media response to our march angered lots of us- completely twisting our message and attempting to tease divisions between us.This isn’t a surprise to us, we know that the media has it’s own agenda which will manipulate events to fit it. But unless people have an alternative source of information they won’t learn the actual story of the day.

Thank you to everyone who has been correcting people online, arguing with people who wanted to make out that “we are all as bad as each other” and explaining the reasons why some of us wear face-masks. As many of you have pointed out on our Facebook page, the people in masks are the people that organise against racism and fascism day in and day out. We hide our faces in solidarity with each other and to protect our privacy from the Nazi’s who have lots of reasons to want to stop us doing what we are doing. Far from being troublesome or scary, many of you reached out to let us know that the counter demonstration yesterday made you feel safer to live in Southampton and proud to stand strong with your fellow residents.  None of us want to lose that strength and none of us want people to go back to feeling unsafe, unsupported and detatched. Lets keep Soton tidy! Get in touch on Facebook if you want to get involved!

Love, rage and solidarity from Southampton Antifascists

Yeah it is!!!

Lastly we’d like to add that the week before ours was another antifascist demo in Sacramento, California. Their nazis showed the levels of violence they are capable of, you can donate towards the medical bills of the Antifascists hurt on the day. Peace!

So, the big day is here! Lets go through some hints and tips we at Southampton Antifascists have learnt over the years to best prepare for the day.

What should I bring?

• Food – Sarnies and a snack at least, you may not have time to pop to a shop.
• Water- As above, dehydration isn’t a great look for anyone.
• Sensible shoes.
• Warm clothes/waterproofs – We call collectively hear you saying “yes mum” as you read this but being soaked through really ruins your mood.
• Friends! Protests are better with your buddies
• Banners – show your pride!
• A clear head! Make sure you are well-rested, sober and NOT hungover

Some other things to think about

• Cameras- We all want to remember the day and make sure those who couldn’t make it get to see how awesome it was- but photos can be used by fascists and the police against protestors now and in the future. Be careful about posing for photographs where your identify is visible, and don’t take photos of others without asking! You can always take pictures and block out faces before posting online.
• Smart phones can be great for finding info on the day, and not getting lost. But they also hold a lot of personal information and can share a lot of intelligence. If this is something you might need to be careful about – maybe leave it at home?
• Bringing a face mask (more on that later!)
• How are you getting to and from the demo safely? A long day can feel so much longer if you then have to organise your way home.

Dos

• Watch out for each other, check in with your mates regularly
• Be loud & proud- you are entitled to exercise your right to protest and to tell others about how outrageous it is that neo nazi’s are out and about in our city.

Don’ts

• Get drunk
• Be a d*ck!
• Forget the reason why we are demonstrating (we are all on the same side, the enemy is not each other).

What should I be prepared for?

Nazis – They might not be the brightest, but who knows what they are planning! They thrive on violence and have been known to attack people on their own. Stay with the main group and you’ll be fine🙂

Police – The police will use brute force when they feel its necessary. If you’re in the way whether you have done anything or not you will be moved. They’ve also been known to kettle people and then arrest them on mass.

Legal advice

Obviously the perfect day would involve little to no police presence and we hope the day passes smoothly but its always best to prepared for these things. Remember, you do not have to answer any questions the police ask you. Green and Black Cross has some really good guides about how to deal with the police, what to do if you’ve been arrested and another guide specifically for International Students.

Why are those people wearing masks?

At antifascist demonstrations some antifascists will cover their faces. It’s easy to jump straight to the conclusion that these people are thugs or just ‘looking to cause trouble’. The reality is there are lots of reasons to cover your face. You just have to look at the recent death of Jo Cox to see how violent the far right can be if they have a grudge against you. Fascists will take photos and scourer the media for images of protesters. Mass surveillance is another reason. The police have been known to build intelligence files on even the most peaceful protesters! Other reasons include solidarity (the more people that wear masks the safer everyone is!) and autonomy. For more see: Netpol

Anything else you feel we’ve missed hit us up on facebook

Other good articles & resources are:

Confronting Street Racism- Know the law

Stop and Search Info & Advice 

Guide to police kettles

London Antifascists ‘before you come to the demo’

Good Luck- See you on the streets!

Southampton Antifascists

Southampton has a very proud history of coming together to make sure any visiting fascists and racists are sent home packing (usually never to return). In 1937, the Echo described “exciting scenes” when Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, tried to speak at a public rally in the Common. A 10,000+ local crowd descended on the common to boo, catcall and chant at him. He didn’t get more than 15 minutes in before someone tried to climb up the ladder he was standing on to try and pull him off. Rumor has it someone even ripped his trousers off! Police ended up forming a cordon around him to keep him apart from angry locals, who came out on mass to prevent his message of hate being shared. He was trapped behind the police cordon until eventually a way was cleared for him to escape to safety. With the local crowd hot on his tails, he was placed in a tram for his own safety- although the windows got smashed and he had to be driven away prompto.

“Not down here mush”

Whilst many of us aren’t anywhere near old enough to have been around then, we can learn a lot from examples like these. This is how fascists and racists have been successfully stopped from spreading their toxic, hate filled, and divisive message.
This rest of this blog will talk about a few attempted mobilizations of the far right in the last year and how they were successfully opposed by local networks of people coming together in unity. We hope it will inspire you and give us all confidence to turn out on mass together this coming Saturday (July 2nd) when the neo nazi ‘South Coast Resistance’ are planning on popping to town.

It is important to note that since the 70s groups like the NF, BNP and EDL have tried and failed to gain any major local support let keep it that way!

Firstly, Liverpool

In August 2015 hundreds of local Liverpudlians joined Anti-Fascist Network (AFN) calls for a counter mobilisation against the ‘White Man March’ put on by Neo Nazi group National Action and the North West Infidels (who now plan to turn up here on Saturday). The people of Liverpool wouldn’t have it, they came together on mass to block, disrupt and shut down the march which ended up being cancelled. It was a wonderful victory for militant anti-fascism and a total humiliation for the fascists – they didn’t even manage to leave the train station. The result was the AFN and Liverpool people marching together to where the Fascists were hiding out (the Wetherspoons at the station) before them getting put in police vans and taken out of the city. Followed by a victory march for antifascists.

The far right have tried again since with even less success.

Antifascists en route to shutting down the nazis

These victories were very significant for Liverpool (Much like the signings of Lovern, Clyne, Liellana and Mane! Only digs we promise) for the same reason it was important for locals to mobilise against it in the first place – and why we too must mobilise in Southampton. For most it might seem quite unthinkable that in 2016 actual out-and-out, card carrying, tattooed and flag waving Nazi’s have the confidence to try and march through major multi-ethnic, diverse city centres on a Saturday Lunchtime. But we know that in recent years a Pandora’s Box of extreme nationalism and racism has been opened through the rise and fall of the EDL along with a growing atmosphere of fear, hate and bigotry that has come with UKIP and Britain First types.
Southampton and Liverpool are both richly diverse port cities and, like Sotonites and Liverpudlians have done so in the past, it is so important that we too come out on mass to prevent these nasty nazi’s from walking confidently around our city. A growth in confidence for them means a rise in violence on our streets, a growth in their numbers and an even bigger and nastier problem to face sometime in the future.

How to stop organised nazis- Liverpool August ’15

Secondly, Dover and the Kent Anti-Racism Network (KARN)
KARN formed after the South East Alliance (wish we had a link but their facebook pages keep getting banned for race hate) visited in Dover in September. AFN members and around 40 locals gathered to oppose this fascist mobilisation. The counter demonstrators did amazingly to hold their ground against the violent intent of this vicious alliance of neo nazi, nationalist and racist groups, who threw chains, bricks and bottles at them. The police watched on, without responding to or stopping the South East Alliance’s use of violence in any way. After this, local people decided that the only way to see these horrible racists off for good was to build a bigger, unified mobilisation consisting of anyone who wanted to fight racism together under one banner, and so KARN was born.

When the South East Alliance announced that they would have another go in Dover on Jan 30th, KARN faced a massive challenge to make sure that these groups would not be victorious- they knew that these racists would keep on coming to Dover to use the town as a battle ground for their horrible violence and hateful ideology unless they were met by a strong opposition. KARN is a mixed group, consisting of a variety of different independent groups and individuals who each hold different political affiliations and use different anti-racist tactics. There is a role for all of them within KARN- they stand strongly and united together under one banner; that they all oppose racism and fascism.

On Jan 30th ‘the battle of Dover’, hundreds of anti-racists gathered in the town square, in spite of some coaches being held up on the way and not making it. Counter demonstrators were able to march on mass to block the fascist’s route through the town. [For a more detailed account of the day and KARN see: https://kentantiracismnetwork.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/the-battle-for-dover-september-2015-may-2016/]

Since then, the far right have attempted a few more gatherings in Dover- none have been as big as the 30th. Recently, they attempted a two day weekender of ‘pride and passion’ along with a Nazi blood and Honour gig. They only managed to get 23 of them to turn up on the Saturday, had to hold their gig miles away and they didn’t even show up for the Sunday.

Other great examples of community organizing in the last few years include Brighton, Berkshire and Bristol.
KARN recently posted “We should never forget that holding our ground on 30 January forced the fascists into making tactical errors. Had we not been there, we would still see the same number, if not more on the streets of Dover and elsewhere. Everyone who was there can rightly claim credit for reducing their ranks.”

The awesome KARN celebrating their success at the national refugee’s welcome demo, London.

Freedom of speech does not mean the freedom to spout messages of hate and abuse openly, in public spaces, without expecting the rightful show of disgust and shame from fellow people. The victories of local and national networks of anti-racists coming together over the last few years have been hugely important in reducing the strength and confidence of these groups, and blocking their message of hate from growing.
However, we cannot be complacent about the continued threat of extreme racism, nationalism and fascism. After the EU referendum results, the far right feels vindicated in their extreme ideologies and this has been shown in the huge rise in hate crime (by over 57%) in the last week. We strongly believe that Southampton can claim a huge victory on Saturday, as hundreds of us gather together and take to the South Coast Resistance (Pie and Mash Squad,) North West Infidels and whichever of their mates they can drag along on the day. Let’s send them a united message that those and those like them have never and will never will be welcome in our city.

Love, rage and Solidarity from Southampton Antifascists.

On the 25^th of Jan and with little more than a day and a half notice around 20 local antifascists turned up to oppose knuckle draggers from EDL groups in Bournemouth, Basingstoke, and throughout Hampshire outside the Chandlers Ford Methodist Church, despite claiming 40 Eddles only 20/25 managed to get there, even after weeks of preparation. Why at a Church we hear you ask! Well the Church had the cheek to hold an Muslim community event (so evil these people were they had a crèche!) Now in case you haven’t heard of Chandlers Ford before its biggest claim to fame is the 3rd largest Costa in Hampshire (which the cops made full use of their services cards) and having no links to ISIS. Pie ‘N’ Mash Squad and the Portsmouth fascist scene’s Jaco had been busy giving it the big one online (as always) about turning up but spent the day spamming our Facebook page that they had bailed and they were just ‘messing with lefties.’ We called horseshit on that as soon as we saw it, go where they want them lot, apparently!

“40”

As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by lots of cops! Making our way towards the EDL we were met by the Isle of Wight’s number one and youngest (50 years young) fascist Carl Worral and his mates outside a pub. Called out straight away he played dumb until he could hide behind cops before threatening to batter us all. One antifascist was nearly quick enough grab a flag off a ‘patriot’ until the police got in the way, from there antifascists were moved on by cops. Without the numbers to much else the police moved antifascists opposite the EDL. Our arrival provoked a lot of anger from within the EDL ranks, struggling to keep in time with another they chanted/yelped and jumped around like monkeys in PETA videos. One lad got so angry that he ended up getting himself bent over a bin and arrested. Stu Whitcher and Gary Hazel as well as others made threats they know who antifascists are and where they live (we can’t speak for other individuals but here at SAFA Towers we would be more than happy for them to test that!) The fact that a Church would even hold an event for Muslims clearly outraged Hazel as he was heard telling members of the Church that they were in bed with militant Jihadists. The EDL were in full tune for about 15 minutes before their lungs gave out and they started taking pictures of each other to remind themselves later of the event after all standing outside things get repetitive. Fascists then tried to hand leaflets to people driving past which were duly ignored and the local chippie when realising who they were refused to serve them chips while we tucked into pizzas (Cheers for that, you know who you are!)

Lots of cops

After about 45 minutes and a lot of homophobic slurs from the EDL, Police lines started moving around, it was obvious that Jaco and his mates (all 6 of them) were somewhere close and within minutes made their entrance! Faces covered and in full black (even the fascists want to be us) they ran past us, round the Church car park then past the EDL before disappearing off into the night not to be seen again! ‘We go where we want’ might be their motto but in that moment when confused police couldn’t tell who the causals were there for none of them wanted to be anywhere near us! The EDL already drunk and confused went into panic mode seeing all that black and assumed they were antifascists so booed at them!

All shit

Over the course of the next 20 minutes the EDL decided they’d defended enough of England that night and all jumped into taxis or were walked to the train station by police. We waited around for any sign of Jaco to no avail before being followed back to our transport home by cops, queue more waiting around before a scout of the area. All we saw was relaxed pigs so called it a night but it turns out Pie ‘N’ Mash spent the rest of the night going where they want only the only place they want to go to pub toilets to do cheap coke.

When?

Sucks we couldn’t do more but with little notice at least we got numbers to oppose them! Slow start to the year but we’ll get ’em!

Love & Rage

SAFA