Yeesh.
It’s been almost a month since my last post (July 25), so the following is just a few brief notes re some of the events that have transpired in the intervening period …
Charlottesville
Not surprisingly, the ‘Unite The Reich Right’ rally of August 12 has generated a great deal of discussion, which it would be impossible to summarise here. Certainly, a number of folks in the US and elsewhere have expressed varying degrees of shock and outrage, both at the sight of over 1,000 neo-Nazis, fascists and White supremacists (supplemented by small groupings of armed militants) staging a militant rally, and the murder of a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, by a nazi belonging to one of its constituent groups (‘Vanguard America’). FWIW, the CrimethInc podcast of August 14 provides what I think is the most useful accounts of events that I’ve encountered, while It’s Going Down continues to provide rolling coverage and analysis of the fallout from Charlottesville (and much more besides). Also useful reading is Jason Wilson in The Guardian — his recent interview with Corey Pein for Pein’s News From Nowhere podcast is also worth listening to — and Spencer Sunshine on Colorlines.
Closer to home, last week there was a minor brouhaha involving yoof radio JJJ and its news and current affairs program, Hack. Hosted by Tom Tilley, Hack decided to report on the events in Charlottesville by inviting one of its neo-Nazi organisers, ‘Eli Mosley’, on to the show to talk shit and to ensure that the ABC met its obligations to provide a platform for nazi propaganda (or something). Mosley — whose real name is Elliott Kline — has a brief history as a neo-Nazi organiser, and is one of thousands who’ve assumed this role in the wake of Trump’s becoming El Presidente. Writing for Andrew Anglin’s neo-Nazi Daily Stormer site regarding a Trump supporters rally in Philadelphia in March, Kline (Philly March Ground Report: Cops and Trumpenkriegers Work Together to Defeat Kikes and Antifa Faggots) writes that:
The boys are back in town.
On Saturday afternoon hundreds of marches took place across the Trumpenkrieg in support of Trump. In Philadelphia, the city of faggotry love, played out an alliance between the Nazi led marchers and local police departments against their oven-dodging enemies.
Up to their typical tricks again, not a single Shlomo-ran media outlet covered the event accurately. Of course. Luckily I was able to cover the event from on the ground to prevent the spread of fake news.
Spoiler, the Nazis won bigly.
A thinker as well as a doer, Kline concludes his examination of the bigly nazi victory as follows:
So what does this event mean in our struggle for total Aryan Victory? This is a sign that we have moved into a new era in the Nazification of America. Normie Trump supporters are becoming racially aware and Jew wise. They are willing to stick up for themselves side by side with Nazis without being adverse to violence. The police departments are begging for the return of law and order and love jokes about hooked-nose merchants, but need our help in getting strongmen elected so they can do their jobs. Antifa and the kike media are so dumb they can be tricked by a monkey in a police uniform. All of this while the media continues to cover antifa in a positive light while demonizing all Trump supporters and law enforcement, further pushing them into our arms.
So: is the neo-Nazi organiser of a neo-Nazi event, at which an anti-fascist protester was murdered by one of the neo-Nazis attending the event, really the best person for Australian yoof to gain a better understanding of the meaning and significance of Charlottesville? Apparently so. The stoopid was further compounded, however, when Hack put to air a call by a nazi troll, ‘Herschel from Brisbane’. So: not only did the episode feature an interview with a neo-Nazi organiser, it also put to air neo-Nazis posing as Jews (you can read some channers discuss the raid here).
Not everybody was opposed to Tilley’s decision to give a neo-Nazi platform to talk, however: Andrew Bolt thought he did a great job.
See also : How Triple J’s Hack presenter Tom Tilley became a far-right meme, Amanda Meade, The Guardian, August 18, 2017 | How the alt-right trolled Triple J’s Hack program over Charlottesville, Broede Carmody, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 17, 2017.
In terms of the reaction by denizens of the local far right to the murderous adventures of their American kameraden, their glee-filled commentary is available on Facebook, in the comment threads on Andrew Bolt’s ‘blog’ and in all the usual places. Two notable examples (both since DELed by their authors) are the reactions of former ‘United Patriots Front’ leaders Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson:
Ho hum. The pair, along with Chris Shortis, are due back in court in September to face charges of serious religious vilification. Oh, and speaking of patriotik volk making appearances in court, Phill Galea had another a few weeks ago, and will be back again in November:
Delays in case for accused Vic terrorist
Amber Wilson (AAP)
August 10, 2017A pre-trial court hearing for an anti-Islam extremist accused of plotting bomb attacks in Melbourne has been delayed while senior legal counsel is sourced.
Phillip Galea, 32, is accused of making preparations for terrorist attacks against properties occupied by Melbourne anarchist groups between November 2015 and August 2016.
Police allege Galea was preparing to target various locations inhabited by the Melbourne Anarchist Club and Melbourne Resistance Centre.
He ordered potassium nitrate for smoke bombs, aligned himself with right-wing and neo-Nazi groups and researched how to make improvised explosive devices, ballistic armour and firearms, prosecutors said.
Police arson and explosive experts raided Galea’s home in November 2015, allegedly seizing five cattle prods, 362.1 grams of mercury and computer equipment, the court has been told.
The case had been set down for a two-day committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, but on Thursday the court was told the matter would not go ahead while Victoria Legal Aid secured a senior counsel to act for Galea.
There was no application for bail and Galea was remanded in custody until his matter is listed again on November 13.
Otherwise:
• Michael Brull examines what happened when local boofhead (and tireless self-promoter) Avi Yemini tried to team up with fascists to organise a protest in Sydney in A Synagogue Beat-Up, Nazis In Bondi And The Strange Ambivalence From The Jewish Leadership (New Matilda, August 14, 2017);
• Among the mountains of dross in the state/corporate media re ‘antifa’, this article by Mark Bray stands out as one of the most useful: Who are the antifa?, The Washington Post, August 16, 2017;
• Some local nazis have jumped on board the hatewagon in opposition to same-sex marriage (Neo-Nazis Are On The Frontline Of The Campaign Against Marriage Equality, Osman Faruqi, Junkee, August 22, 2017). Note that, according to the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the nazi-produced and distributed ‘Stop the Fags’ posters are a legitimate part of the public debate on the question of marriage reform (#TrueStory);
• I’ve read but not finished reviewing Angela Nagle’s Kill All Normies (Zer0 Books, 2017) but following Charlottesville, Nagle has penned ‘Goodbye, Pepe’ for The Baffler (August 15, 2017), stating that:
But I believe now that Charlottesville marks the end of a significant phase of the alt-right. Their seemingly rapid growth was fueled—or at least bulked up—by an online culture of shared hatred for the cultural left. This collective reflex acquired an ironic, countercultural edge among a growing corps of transgressive shitposters and anti-PC trolls—and was duly amplified by a media infatuation with everything subcultural and extremely-online.
Does it bother you that the capitalist class is behind you to a man? https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/8/17/16162226/corporations-replacing-churches-americas-conscience
How come the New York Times and corporate America are with you behind the barricades? https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/business/moral-voice-ceos.html
Almost like you don’t know WTF is really going on.
Go ahead and don’t publish my previous comments. It’s enough to know that you know you’re a worthless scab, and only fear your handful of readers catching on.
Freddie: “Does it bother you that the capitalist class is behind you to a man?”
Yes, it is slightly disturbing. I explain it by seeing that corporations are susceptible to anything that damages their brand. This means that any especially unpopular group or cause will be shunned by the major corporations. Of course, I fully expect that these corporations will come down heavily on the Anarchist movement at some stage, if & when we get our act together and start to have a social impact. There’s a big difference between the Anarchists who contribute to this site and the mushy liberals that the major corporations love so much.
“I explain it by seeing that corporations are susceptible to any thing that damages heir brand.”
So why do the same internet companies deal with paedophiles and ISIS but not The Daily Stormer?
Fail.
And where is the pressure coming from? The corporate media and and political class, of course!
Fail again.
See, your ideology is just not based on reality. It’s a Pepsi commercial.
@Fred(die):
The Vox article documents some of the reaction on the part of a clutch of CEOs to the events in Charlottesville, viz: the resignation of several members of Drumpf’s ‘Manufacturing Jobs Initiative’ and ‘Strategy and Policy Forum’; the decision by some tech companies (GoDaddy, Google et. al.) to no longer offer support to a neo-Nazi website (The Daily Stormer), effectively consigning it — for the time being at least — to the dark web; Airbnb’s decision not to provide services to neo-Nazis and White supremacists gathering in CVille and; GoFundMe’s decision to close a fundraising account for alleged CVille killer, James Alex Fields Jnr. The author also provides the reader with some general reflections on consumerism, ethics, and corporate culture. (The NYT article covers much the same territory.)
The political maneuverings of some American CEOs, and their decision to denounce neo-Nazis and neo-Nazi murderers, has precious little to do with my blog or politics.
Fred: “So why do the same internet companies deal with paedophiles and ISIS but not The Daily Stormer?”
Paedophiles hide away on the Internet. They don’t advertise themselves. The Internet companies therefore don’t know who they are and neither do the general public. I’m sure that, if someone starts up a (say) WordPress blog depicting the nasty stuff we see referred to in court reports, there would be a swift response. Somebody would spot it, the story would go viral & the blog would be pulled before you could say Child Protection Unit.
Daesh doesn’t try so hard to hide, but instead concentrates on keeping mobile. Their Twitter accounts are constantly being opened & closed down.
Fred again: “And where is the pressure coming from? The corporate media and and political class, of course!”
There is a complex relationship between major corporations, the corporate media and the general public. This makes corporations making consumer goods very vulnerable to appearing “bad”. A lot of small-l liberal organisations try to take advantage of this to advance their agenda. The political Left rarely gets into this, as our project involves building a real world movement rather than an ephemeral Internet controversy. In addition, the things we care *most* about are ones where we wouldn’t have the leverage the small-l liberals do. We know we’re a small minority.
The 4th Reich is Merkel and [Macron] (the Hansel and Gretel of the EU). Google the 1st & 2nd Reich if you do not understand why. If you ever wish to have a discussion it won’t be at a wanky Fitzroy or Docklands coffee shop, you’ll have to hop in your prius and head a little further away from town, come visit God’s Own country, yes ‘Straylia still exists – and most Aussies have had it up to here with your oh-so-arrogant faux intellectual globalist pandering. Hitler built his machine by using useful idiots like you. The minorities you defend are endangering our freedom and way of life. “Shock throughout the West at the sight of 1000 Nazis?” : in a country where freedom of speech and freedom of expression mean you are free to wear a pink tutu and a communist Viet Cong beret while you drink beer at a pies match wearing lipstick and eye shadow and [yell] abuse at white maggots (umpires) so long as you don’t call Adam Goodes an ape, well, I guess the bodycount of your favourite dictatorship can be ignored just so long as you pick the socialist huh?
You are not adding a different perspective, you have no interest in objective journalism, you are toeing the line of the pink Left, [and] you can probably expect a career as an intermittent “journalist” with Fake News with Fairfax or the ABC – just a heads up though every kid coming through our (re) education system has an identical worldview to yourself, so that pool of “talent” is a swamp – you had better have a pretty face and be willing to bend over for the soap to make it into the green guide – oh, and a word to the wise: drop the “anarchist” moniker – people are aware of Somalia’s actual decline from an Islamist totalitarian terrorist training camp to anarchist malnutrition and disease hotspot. Even a bad government is better than no government. Enjoy the rubbish in your inner city paradise mate.
The 4th Reich is Merkel and Marcon (the Hansel and Gretel of the EU). Google the 1st & 2nd Reich if you do not understand why.
Hmmm. That’s a bit cryptic. Merkel is German Chancellor; Macron is French President; the German Reichs apply to Germany, not France. Presumably you mean to infer that Merkel and Macron jointly rule Germany? Or perhaps Europe? Either way, your statement doesn’t make much sense.
If you ever wish to have a discussion it won’t be at a wanky Fitzroy or Docklands coffee shop, you’ll have to hop in your Prius and head a little further away from town, come visit God’s Own country, yes ‘Straylia still exists – and most Aussies have had it up to here with your oh-so-arrogant faux intellectual globalist pandering. Hitler built his machine by using useful idiots like you. The minorities you defend are endangering our freedom and way of life. “Shock throughout the West at the sight of 1000 Nazis?” : in a country where freedom of speech and freedom of expression mean you are free to wear a pink tutu and a communist Viet Cong beret while you drink beer at a pies match wearing lipstick and eye shadow and [yell] abuse at white maggots (umpires) so long as you don’t call Adam Goodes an ape, well, I guess the bodycount of your favourite dictatorship can be ignored just so long as you pick the socialist huh?
Heh — nonsense then non sequiturs? I very much doubt ‘most Aussies’ have heard of my blog, let alone have strong opinions about it. You also appear to be confusing ‘Straylia with the United States. Finally: what is my favourite dictatorship?
You are not adding a different perspective, you have no interest in objective journalism, you are toeing the line of the pink Left, [and] you can probably expect a career as an intermittent “journalist” with Fake News with Fairfax or the ABC – just a heads up though every kid coming through our (re) education system has an identical worldview to yourself, so that pool of “talent” is a swamp – you had better have a pretty face and be willing to bend over for the soap to make it into the green guide – oh, and a word to the wise: drop the “anarchist” moniker – people are aware of Somalia’s actual decline from an Islamist totalitarian terrorist training camp to anarchist malnutrition and disease hotspot. Even a bad government is better than no government. Enjoy the rubbish in your inner city paradise mate.
If the above post contains inaccuracies, you’ve not identified them, nor anywhere else on the blog for that matter. As for the rest, it may be entertaining for you to hold a conversation with yourself in this fashion, but it doesn’t constitute a coherent argument.