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From Embers talks with members of the Halifax Anarchist Bookfair collective about organizing large events during the pandemic.
This episode features an interview with two members of the Halifax Anarchist Bookfair collective. We talked about how and why to organize an anarchist gathering during the pandemic, anarchy in Halifax, and why we need anarchist bookfairs in 2021.
photo: Mark König via Unsplash
Seattle Solidarity Network (SeaSol) reports on a recent campaign against a manager of an apartment complex.
Kai (real name redacted) and her kid were happy living at the Helene Apartments in Greenlake, until the new manager, Arnold, arrived. At first he was friendly. Then he was too friendly. After his unwelcome advances were rejected, he started acting hostile. But things only got really bad after Arnold locked the fire exits, and then Kai forgot her keys and became trapped with her daughter in the parking garage.
Someone outside eventually heard their calls for help, and firefighters rescued them, citing Arnold for having illegally locked the fire exits. Furious at Kai, Arnold yelled abuse at her in front of her daughter, who from that day on became scared whenever she saw him in the halls. Arnold developed a deep, all-consuming hatred for Kai and her daughter. His obsessive desire to punish them, combined with the petty authority of being the landlord’s sole representative in the building, made life increasingly hellish for the young family.
Arnold made up pretexts to try to evict them. When the first eviction attempt failed, quashed by the City of Seattle due to the obviously bogus nature of the supposed “lease violations”, he did not give up. He tried again. And again. Eight times Kai had to deal with his attempts to evict them on false pretenses, eventually getting each of the evictions thrown out. But that wasn’t all: when Kai’s daughter made a jack-o-lantern at a Halloween event in the building, Arnold smashed it, then laughed about it to her face. When she planted a small garden, he tore it up. He stalked Kai via the security cameras he controlled, monitoring her movements and then taunting her about knowing where she had been and what she had been doing.
Unfortunately for Arnold, Kai was not a helpless victim. First she reported him to the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, which started an investigation, but ultimately did nothing. Then she joined SeaSol. We agreed to fight alongside her against the landlord, with one simple demand: Arnold must be removed from the Helene Apartments.
We normally bring a crowd of supporters into the boss or landlord’s office to stand with the worker or tenant as they deliver the demands. However, mid-pandemic, with people not yet vaccinated, we had to find another way to show community support for Kai. So instead, 80 SeaSol members and supporters submitted selfies with their own home-made “Stop Harassing Kai” signs, and we sent them all to the owners of the Helene Apartments, together with the demand letter calling for Arnold’s removal from the building. We soon received a response from Arnold’s boss, Chris: he wanted to “address our concerns”, but Arnold wasn’t going anywhere.
With the issue unresolved, we started gradually escalating the campaign. First we sent postcards to all tenants at the Helene Apartments, letting them know about the dispute and encouraging them to enforce their rights as tenants, especially given the Covid-19 eviction moratorium. We then started putting up posters around the building, warning potential renters what they’d be getting into if they signed a lease with Arnold. Arnold, of course, continually ripped these down, so we continually put them up again. After a while, we started putting up warning posters around the owners’ other buildings as well. We also created a website about the landlords, hosted at our very own domain name, “slumlordwarning.com”.
When none of this was enough to get rid of the abusive manager, we started a calling campaign targeting the two owners’ cell phones. Rather than do the traditional big one-day phone blast, we decided to drag it out and have a handful of people call each week, so that instead of one overwhelming day of calls that would soon be over, the calls just kept coming and coming, week after week, month after month. One owner’s voicemail was soon disabled, but the other owner used his cell as the main number for his real estate appraisal business, so he didn’t have the option of just shutting it down or ignoring it.
Next, we started going after the owner’s real estate appraisal business. The company made bids for contracts with local governments and public agencies, so we started sending emails and letters to city council members, county commissioners, and agency heads, asking them not to do business with this abusive landlord. Each week we sent another batch of these, bcc’ing the landlord on the emails. One of the agencies was Sound Transit, which had the landlord on their contractor list. When Sound Transit ignored our messages, we held a noise picket at their headquarters, then included a photo of that action in the letters that we continued sending to more and more agencies and municipalities each week.
At this point, the landlords made a more serious attempt to get us off their backs. They still weren’t going to remove Arnold, but if Kai agreed to move out instead, they would offer her up to $12,000 dollars in rental assistance. We tried to see if they would go higher, but they wouldn’t. $12k was a tempting offer for a low-income single mother, but ultimately Kai decided, with SeaSol’s full support, that it wasn’t good enough. She had not gone into this seeking money, that was not what we had demanded, and she should not have to move.
The actions continued. We made a flyer with a photo of Arnold and started distributing it in the area around the Helene Apartments, canvassing neighborhood people and business to let them know about the scumbag manager in their midst. Arnold retaliated by moving into the apartment directly above Kai and then stomping loudly in the middle of the night to prevent her and her daughter from sleeping.
We found out that Arnold, in addition to being a wannabe DJ, was also a wannabe dance instructor. A local dance studio had him scheduled to lead an event at Alki Beach. We contacted the studio and asked them to cease working with Arnold. We started preparing to show up to the Alki event.
We also finally started escalating more personally against the owners and the head of the management company, distributing letters to all houses on the blocks where they lived, as well as posting them on telephone poles. The letters said that one of their neighbors was an abusive landlord, and although we didn’t yet name who it was, we promised to visit soon in person to address the issue fully. We began getting ready to canvas the neighbors. Next on the list after that: street pickets in front of their houses.
Before going ahead with all this, we received a new message from Arnold’s boss. They had had enough. Arnold was on his way out.
We were a bit concerned that this message might just be a trick to stall our actions, but a couple weeks later we had the proof we needed: Arnold was gone, and the Helene Apartments had a new manager. Finally, Kai and her daughter could feel safe in their home.
To everyone who took part, thank you. This wasn’t an easy fight or a quick one, but it was worth doing.
I hate to do this too often because I like to keep a regular output and stay in touch with what’s going on, but I need to take a few days off, maybe a week, to sort out some personal stuff. I’m feeling energetically overwhelmed right now and putting out articles is just too much for me. I deeply appreciate you all and I’ll see you real soon.
CJ
A thoughtful and critical reflection on the recent mobilization against the Proud Boys in so-called Portland, Oregon and thoughts on how to move forward better next time. Originally posted to Rose City Counter-Info.
There were two reportbacks on the August 22nd conflict with Proud Boys. The first one was basic info, parts were left out according to some. The second was reportback was awful and several old school anti-fascists like me didn’t want what was being said to represent us or the movement we have devoted years of our life to building. I felt it was necessary to provide a 3rd reportback, different from the first 2, which focuses mostly on strategy and tactics. This day is over. Let’s not keep getting into a never-ending debate on what we should have or shouldn’t have done. Instead, let us review what happened that day so that in the future, we cand produce different outcomes when similar situations might arise.
In the spirit of “We go where they go,” I thought going down to Parkrose was the right idea. I still do to some extent, but I realize the plan was poorly executed. People often criticize the act of attending actions that aren’t in downtown Portland, citing issues of unfamiliar terrain, communities sympathetic to chuds, and transportation. These are problems we must address. It is a strategic error to leave a lot of territory for fascist groups to freely organize and build their base in. That makes matters even worse for marginalized groups in those already hostile areas. That reluctance to counter any actions outside of downtown Portland will lead us into a never-ending cycle, where they will be back downtown when they’ve built up their ranks.
In the 90s and early 00s, many ARA groups successfully countered Neo-Nazi rallies in small towns all over places like Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Most of that movement’s organizing was done in small towns away from base cities like Chicago, Columbus, and Philadelphia. The actions were planned better and without the help of smart phones. It can still be done successfully today.
Proud Boys leader Tiny Toese is actually crying tonight that the police didn’t protect them from antifa after they caused mayhem in Portland. From @alsoconnor pic.twitter.com/2luZAvU01O
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 23, 2021
When folx found out the Proud Boys were setting up a stage in the Kmart parking lot it became evident they weren’t going to be downtown. The decision to go down was made rather hastily. One group told us they were going down and there were other crews with them. There was no estimate given for what we had for numbers. We had a poor estimate of the chud numbers at best, by looking at Twitter videos on the crowd.
I regret not taking the time to insist we talk to more groups about heading down. Instead, we succumbed to the pressure of getting there in a hasty manor because we were worried people would go on ahead of us and get hurt. In hindsight, we should have gotten a decent eye on the chuds, said gotten a count, and said “We’ll see who wants to go, and call it off if we can’t get similar numbers or better.” There was discussion in my AG about possibly standing across the street with signs if we couldn’t get the numbers.
I also regret not taking the time to do personal recon of the scenario first; to see how many potential combatants and what kind of gear/weapons they had. Recon is a MUST. More scouting of the area was necessary to find better locations to meet up or maybe approach the parking lot from, and to know possible escape routes.
We were still at the Parkrose High parking lot, waiting for more folx to show when the rest of the group abruptly decided to head down, saying something about there was already people down there. This was when they Proud boys were attacking the medic van. From what I understand, the medic van was there because the Proud Boys had previously attacked and threatened other people. Proud Boys had been attacking people even before we got there, which reinforced our decision to be there. Although premature action was consistently the error of the day, in some cases it’s hard to wait when people are under attack. Shortly after we saw smoke and clouds of spray going off and our group did a mad dash across four lanes of traffic on 122nd st to catch up with the rest of the bloc.
Parkrose high school was a bad meetup spot. It was wide open, and a block or two straight down a narrow sidewalk along 122nd St. We had no cover, and no place to fan out to. Going up and down that sidewalk in a tight cluster made us easy targets for paintballs and bear spray. Only the people near the front could see well enough to throw things at the chuds. Although the chuds had to chase us uphill, they were facing traffic and could spread out into the street more easily, allowing them to use their full numbers.
What works in our favor downtown is having cover and access/evac routes. There are a million streets and parking garages you can duck into when you must disperse and de-bloc. Last year August 22, 2020, the terrain worked for us because we were able to use the full park to our advantage. People would throw things and hide behind a tree or a statue when the paintballs started flying. This was working against us last Sunday.
The chuds mainly relied on paintball guns against us to back us up. In their front line they had drawn bats and knives, plus one handgun. One paintball doesn’t hurt that much, but many paintballs make it difficult to advance. The few people at the front were taking most of the fire. Safety goggles AND helmets were key to keeping us from getting hurt. Remember, ALWAYS bring Personal Protective Equipment to these things. The folx with the knives and bats were also a reason to back up. We have trained for disarming people with bats, but when there is several of them standing next to each other, you are at risk of being blind-sided when you are in range, with both hands on one person’s bat. The added pressure of paintballs makes it more difficult as one could imagine. The ability of paintball guns to hold ammo and fire rapidly is a big bonus to whoever has them in this situation.
EXCLUSIVE from LCRW: I interview the person the Proud Boys tried to drag out of the van last Sunday & two others at Parkrose they menaced & @ACatWithNews recounts the shooting downtown. https://t.co/TXK033SBO6
— LEFT COAST RIGHT WATCH (@LCRWnews) August 27, 2021
Had we taken the time to rally more numbers from downtown, some anti-fascists who had brought paintball guns of their own might have been with us to make things go better. The paint sprayers we had worked well. It was a great tactic, but we couldn’t carry enough of them. Throwing seltzers helped, but just couldn’t keep up with the paintball guns. Finally, this was one of the times I’ve seen bear spray used correctly. It was evenly sprayed side to side to create a cloud between us and the chuds as we retreated, making it harder for them to advance. Some of them went through the cloud, but many dropped off.
Other options might have been to enter from the Sandy side of the lot, or to stage a counter-rally on the island across 122nd where it intersects with Sandy. 122nd would be a huge barrier to cross, but it would have been a defensible position if we just wanted to hold that spot and show up for a counter-rally. It’s possible they might not have even tried to cross 122nd st if that were the case.
If we want to go where they go but lack numbers, there’s always the option of having a visible picket line with signs to drum up support. This would have been a good idea since many of the Parkrose residents had complaints about the Proud Boys. There were already residents holding a sign picket in front of the Parking lot. Allegedly, a nearby restaurant made complaints about them, and they had been kicked out of Argay park before this. Also, this working-class neighborhood is more diverse and multi-cultural than most of Portland. There are many rainbow flags and BLM signs in the area. It’s not hard to drum up local support. It’s possible we should consider some of these traditional protest tactics rather than black bloc every time. A Diversity of Tactics has always been our mantra, as much as “we go where they go,” and “we fight to win.”
Finally, at the intersection of 122nd and Shaver st, folx in the back ran across 122nd st to go back to the Parkrose High parking lot. This was a bad decision, obviously made in panic. If you are retreating, you must never lead fascists back to your cars, or homes. It was suggested that folx could have gone the other way on Shaver and just lead chuds on a goose chase. Shaver goes on for a while next to a big field. I can’t picture that the chuds, as drunk as they were, with their poor cardio, fresh from a skirmish, walking up hill, and breathing bear spray could have continued that for long. There were far fewer of them that made it to the intersection. Remember, walk don’t run. Running does nothing but create panic and tire you out.
At the last part of the day, as the Proud Boys advanced through the parking lot, John Turano aka “Based Spartan” was doing his usual thing where he was yelling like a maniac and wearing his LARP costume. He started wildly spraying a can of bear mace in an arc in front of him like he’s Rambo with a machine gun. Then he tried to come at us through the cloud he just made because the spray got into his face. That was the funniest thing I saw all day along with Tiny getting hosed by paint and crying later.
It was then that we noticed the person being attacked in the truck and started shouting “Regroup! There’s a guy in the truck! We gotta go back for him!!” The small, defeated group courageously regrouped and started pushing forward to confront again for the third time, but we were driven back with paintball fire. I was initially very disappointed with this. One of the videos from inside the parking lot shows Proud Boys leaving the guy in the truck and shouting “ANTIFA! ANTIFA!” to turn their direction towards us. This created a window for him to escape. I looked back after there was some confusion about who was in the truck, and no one was there. We saw him come over to us shortly after this.
All attempts must be made to rescue our comrades when they are in danger. Even a small attempt, one that you think is completely futile, can make a difference. “Never leave a comrade behind” should be added to the mantras we remember for actions.
The Proudboys then turned to attack the press who were filming the whole thing, then went back to the Kmart parking lot. Videos show they were worried about another group coming in to make another assault, so they packed up and left quickly.
Proud Boys’ tried to bill their rally today as centered around love. Then they fired their guns at antifascists in the streets.
And that came after destroying a handicap accessible van. https://t.co/t44mabNMYO
— The People’s Media NYC (@peoplesmedianyc) August 23, 2021
Later on in the day we returned to the fountain. I won’t get into the details, but people were acting irrational and rambunctious. Folx were looking for a fight and creating a hostile atmosphere. After the 3rd time people ran down the street due to a false alarm about chuds, I made the comment to my friend “Most of these people would have been better off spending this energy in Parkrose. Too bad they weren’t there.”
Yes, it was a clusterfuck. There were bad decisions that were made. People got hurt, cars were damaged, and I feel like the bloc in Parkrose day made a lot of people look bad. There is something to be said for “falling forward” instead of “falling back.” We must not look at ourselves as failures. We must learn from our mistakes and take the positives. We must look at the whole picture and not let our efforts be in vain.
I think we came out ahead at the end of the day, because antifascists maintained the original spot, and the Proud Boys cut their rally short. Even if the battle in Parkrose was lost, the Proud Boys only had a minor victory, that came at a large cost. Occasionally you have to take the L. If we lose, it must come at a greater price to the enemy. This is classic war strategy. The Proud Boys are spread throughout Northern Cali, Oregon, and Washington. They probably have only about 50-60 people through the PNW. The organization has been on the decline. They cannot win a war of attrition or settle for Pyrrhic victories against us. We have better numbers, more resources, and more momentum. I’m not saying we should take this lightly, but we are enough ahead of them that we can eat this loss.
For our folx that weren’t there, those that want to offer criticisms need to learn to do so in a constructive manner. People at the event put a lot on the line. They were brave and had good intentions. While there were many valid criticisms, there are also many on Twitter who jump to criticize the folx that were involved, swarming like a pack of hyenas to devour a wounded gazelle. There were many invalid criticisms, where the intent was to guilt, shame, and insult those who were involved. This happens frequently, and every time I’m disgusted by this behavior. The people who were involved don’t need this. They have already faced the consequences of their own actions. They do not need others to add insults to their injuries. Let people learn from their failures.
The Proud Boys gangland styled beatings are soon going to lead to dead bodies – and the police will stand by + allow it to happen. If we want to avoid a death count, then people in mass numbers have to turn out – in the hundreds + thousands – and shut them down repeatedly.
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) August 14, 2021
Public shaming is not the way we want to go about this. And if you don’t fight fascists, don’t tell other people how to do it. Fighting is stressful, it’s a lot to deal with. If it were easy, more people would do it. We have too many people who like to talk big but not do the hard part. Let’s keep ourselves and our friends in check with this. Let’s practice giving each other the benefit of the doubt. Let’s practice pulling our friends aside and privately saying things like “Is there a better way you could get that point across?” “That’s kinda mean,” and “Don’t be a jerk.”
As always, people should practice running on a regular basis to exercise their cardio for these situations. Good cardio will help you outlast your opponents. Strength training helps, and martial arts with a LIVE sparring component are the best ones to take. Folx have suggested MMA in the style of “sprawl and brawl” fighters like Chuck Liddell. While you can go to the ground and grapple, the emphasis should be on striking and stand-up wrestling (defending the take down, standing throws, clinch, etc). Knowing how to get up off the ground is also crucial. Train regularly. We all need to protect each other.
After the fact, it meant a lot when a comrade said, “I was getting a little nervous in front of them and I felt a sense of comfort in that chaos when I saw my crew was standing right next to me.” Regardless of how things went, I am proud of my comrades for standing by me and doing all we could to ensure we safely got out of a bad situation. I am proud of antifascists anytime they stand up to fascism. We stood up, and we’ll be standing up again the next time the fascists have a rally.
Welcome fellow antifascists!
We’re back again with another action packed column. We bring you antifascist campaign reports from up and down the west coast and beyond, a roundup of news, analysis, and also a look at how the anti-vaxx and anti-mask movement is accelerating into violence. Plus, new doxxes, a call to action in Eugene, Oregon, and so much more!
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in!
Hundreds of Antifacsists Hold Downtown Portland, Confront and Push Out Proud Boy Demo & Far-Right Gunman
Hundreds of antifascists mobilized in Portland, Oregon last weekend against a far-Right rally that attracted Proud Boys and other neo-fascist gangs. At the last minute, the fash moved the event several miles from the downtown core to the parking lot of an abandoned KMart in the working-class Parkrose district.
The Proud Boys just gassed themselves. In an abandoned KMart parking lot. pic.twitter.com/4GXXAzliOG
— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) August 22, 2021
Left Coast Right Watch reported:
The rally was organized initially by Audra Price, a local neoNazi who was a leader in a group called ‘COPS NW.’ She called the rally “United We Win” and gave the time and place as 2pm at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
“The cleansing will begin Aug 22. Time to finish what was started so long ago. Inside of every libtard in Portland there is a Patriot begging to get out,” David Willis, a local street brawler who claims to be a former East Side White Pride member replied to Price’s Facebook post.
“to [sic] bad self sefense is illegal for Patriots. Bullets are better than paint balls,” Matthew Wall replied below Willis’s comment. Paintball guns and regular guns have become regular fixtures at these events.
Like Patriot Prayer, ‘COPS NW’ is a loose collection of Pacific Northwest fascists who throw hate rallies and target marginalized people for violence and harassment. Price’s current boyfriend is neo-Nazi Eric Oelkers, who stans Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph. Another COPS NW member, Tim Ryerson, was arrested on pedophilia charges after violating a five year old.
Pretty quickly, antifascists recognized this would be a major incursion into the city and talks about mobilizing a counter-protest began. As it became clear that antifascists would show up in numbers, the fascists began backpedaling and rebranding their event. They replaced the menacing monotone grey and red “United We Win” flyer with faux-hippie imagery and renamed the event “Summer of Love.”
[Haley] Adams and Audra Price had been feuding before the start of the rally and people speculated that Price and the street brawlers loyal to her might still show up downtown while Adams was off with a small group elsewhere doing some pathetic flag-wave. The consensus among anti-racist counter-protestors before the fascists announced their new location was to stay put at the Waterfront Park as originally planned.
From the antifascist demonstration in Portland, Oregon. No sign of Proud Boys. pic.twitter.com/ErohsUdWII
— Shane Burley (@shane_burley1) August 22, 2021
Despite a predictable boomer energy attempt by Ted “I Need a Drink” Wheeler to encourage people to stay in their homes and attempts by police to scare people off the streets by announcing ahead of time they would do nothing in the face of violence from the far-Right, hundreds of antifascists still converged in the downtown for a mass rally. While the mass rally was setting up barricades in the downtown in case fascists made an attempt to crash the party, one group decided to march on the area where the Proud Boys were located, reportedly after hearing reports of people being harassed and accosted by the Proud Boys at or outside their rally.
From Left Coast Right Watch:
“On the day of the Proud Boys rally, there was a Quinceñera taking place a block away at Rossi Farms and Muslim families gathering for an event at the Rusellville Grange Hall a block in another direction. The chosen location for this PB event felt like a slap in the face to our entire community and, honestly, not coincidental,” Parkrose Mom told me. “When I decided to show up at the event, it was to stand not only in opposition to the Proud Boys, but also in solidarity with Parkrose families,” she added.
[She went on to state:] “Around 3:30 things started heating up. Some journalists came over to where we were and started asking us questions about what brought us out that day. At the same time, the PB crew started surrounding a Jeep that was parked at the edge of the lot. There was a local reverend in the car who was observing and occasionally recording himself talking about what was happening at the event. More folks started to surround his car, getting closer, calling him a faggot.”
“Right after that, I think some of those PBs recognized some of the journalists that were up talking to us and they came up and surrounded us, some of them shoving their own cameras and mics in our faces, trying to bait us into arguments about antifa. A truck pulled in and blocked one of the lanes of NE 122nd (a pretty busy 4 lane street) and asked if we were ok. From there more folks spilled out of the parking lot and into the road. I felt very unsafe, so I squeezed out of the group and just started walking home (getting taunted along the way the PB lining the street calling out my sweatshirt). I went across the street, cut through Parkrose High school and took off my sweatshirt/mask/glasses so I wouldn’t be as noticeable. I just walked home as fast as I could. I didn’t observe anything after this point, but from what I understand the altercations started very shortly after this.”
What followed was a running street battle, with antifascists attempting to push the Proud Boys off the streets and Proud Boys responding by destroying several vehicles belonging to counter-protesters and savagely attacking several people. Eventually the clashes ended, and the Proud Boys loaded into trucks and drunkenly drove away to Vancouver, Washington.
"It's been a year of, thousands of hate crime messages, that I received. It's been a year of, them calling in bomb threats to my apartment. I've been put in the hospital over 7 times by Proud Boys. I've been maced. I've been attacked. I've gotten the shit beaten out of me." https://t.co/MPY9g10m8O
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) August 22, 2021
As Shane Burley reported in TruthOut:
For the first part of the antifascist counter-demonstration, there was a carnivalesque feeling of jubilation. Free pizza was distributed by mutual aid groups. Interfaith Clergy Resistance, wearing their recognizable purple vests, provided a progressive religious presence. The Proud Boys held their speeches across town at an event hosted by Proud Boys PDX and featured members from across Oregon, California, New York and Boston. They had armed teams patrolling their area, harassing the few journalists and demonstrators who showed up to their location.
“[Today] was 100% a victory. The community came together and showed up for each other and their neighbors. The far right did their math, saw the widespread opposition in Portland, and decided they would rather go stand in an abandoned K-mart parking lot, miles away,” Larry told Truthout. “Portland kept them out of downtown and kept each other safe.”
Later in the day, as antifascists were attempting to push out one counter-protester from the downtown, he responded by opening fire on the antifascist crowd; who then in turn opened fire back, although no one was injured. The man was then arrested by police.
As Left Coast Right Watch reported:
The gunfight started apparently after a man called Dennis G. Anderson got in a verbal altercation with some protesters. Some on the ground said he’d shouted an anti-black slur at a group of protesters. He was arraigned on unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. He plead not guilty on Monday after paying $750 in bail.
My report back and analysis from militant tifas on Sunday . Lol
🎨 pic.twitter.com/1msVHD88kr— No$hu (@Noshu4me) August 25, 2021
Both the Daily Kos , Idavox and Rose City Counter-Info have several reports up, which we encourage people to read. While we leave it to those who were on the ground to make critiques, what can be said is the facts: hundreds of antifascists and anti-racists held several blocks in Downtown Portland and their larger numbers forced the far-Right to fall back to a new location. While the later clashes were bloody and costly, they also ultimately forced the MAGA supporters to leave.
As the person driving the van which was toppled by the Proud Boys later told Left Coast Right Watch:
I felt that the move to Parkrose was not planned or carried out well and was not a good move the way it was handled. I didn’t endorse the move, but as I was fairly certain there were no support vehicles going I also felt like it was important that I go to fill that role.
I think we had won a victory chasing the fash out of downtown simply by having our event. I think they looked like clowns having their shitshow circus in an abandoned parking lot. I think they would have likely gotten more belligerent and foolish as the day went out and would have left that parking lot on their own where we could have resisted them more effectively.
That said, I am so proud of my comrades for standing against fascists, regardless of my opinion on the strategy, and I’m more grateful than I know how to express for those who helped me and got me to safety. But I think there are lessons we need to learn from Sunday.
Media coverage has predictably focused on the fact that the police took a hands off approach, but this has been their MO for years. As Pop Mob pointed out, the difference this time was simply that no antifascists were hurt by the police directly.
EXCLUSIVE from LCRW: I interview the person the Proud Boys tried to drag out of the van last Sunday & two others at Parkrose they menaced & @ACatWithNews recounts the shooting downtown. https://t.co/TXK033SBO6
— LEFT COAST RIGHT WATCH (@LCRWnews) August 27, 2021
This seems to be a strategy by the police both to use the far-Right to attack the antifascists but also to make the public “want” the police again. Antifascists and anarchists should think hard about how to maneuver and act within this reality, so that our actions against the far-Right do not end up solidifying support for the State which is using them as deputized vigilantes.
Incredible first night of the Antifascist Film Festival. Thanks to our presenters and everyone who came through to build antifascist culture & radical community with us. More tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/sbxDxxKnQg
— Cine Móvil NYC (@cinemovilnyc) August 21, 2021
On August 20th – 22nd, there was an antifascist film festival held in New York which was a great success. Be sure to check out our interview with Daryl Lamont Jenkins on This Is America about the event and other antifascist happenings.
Far-Right Church With Ties to Proud Boys a No-Show in Salem, Oregon
SHOUTS OUT CENTRAL OR!
Yesterday, the Far-right group, "The Church At Planned Parenthood" tried and failed to hold a rally in Bend.
They bailed on their own event when faced with a counterprotest hosted by @copeacekeepers! pic.twitter.com/ucRdYl7H76
— Corvallis Against Fascism (@CVAgainstFash) August 29, 2021
Antifascists in Central Oregon report:
[T]he Far-right group, “The Church At Planned Parenthood” tried and failed to hold a rally in Bend. They bailed on their own event when faced with a counter-protest.
Something tells us that Tony Moon may have some difficulty getting to the Santa Monica rally today. pic.twitter.com/835Cmm8rVL
— SoCal Antifa (@SocalAntifa) August 29, 2021
According to posts on Twitter, the car and sidewalk in front of the home of Tony Moon, aka “Rooftop Korean,” was recently vandalized. Moon has been a mainstay at recent far-Right rallies in the Southern California area and also took part in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6th. In July and August Moon was caught on camera taking part in various brutal assaults of antifascists and journalists. On August 26th, Moon also attempted to intimidate a journalist by showing up at their home, but left after being confronted by neighbors.
Tony Moon, aka "Rooftop Korean", the serial woman-abuser and Capitol rioter, had the driveway of his San Gabriel home decorated last night [📸 sourced from IG] pic.twitter.com/rSb7YsyCLi
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) August 29, 2021
From an anonymous submission. Antifascists pushed out Proud Boys from the park in #Modesto on Saturday, seems their banner didn't make it out. pic.twitter.com/yVsfy104zb
— OFF THE 99 (@Off_The_99) August 30, 2021
Over 100 people rallied in a park in Modesto, California against the third annual, “Straight Pride” protest, organized by a coalition of Christian white nationalists, Proud Boys and other far-Right formations. According to one report, two Proud Boys came into the park where the counter-rally was being held and put up a banner of their own, only to be surrounded by black bloc and ultimately pushed out of the area after their banner was taken.
This is Proud Boy and ex-Sacramento GOP Central Comittee member Jeffrey Perrine. He managed to get himself arrested (again) on charges of failure to disperse and resisting arrest. https://t.co/A1P7nZBqAc pic.twitter.com/6VqYgpP2ly
— Borwin (@Borwin10) August 29, 2021
After the pro-LGBTQ rally was over, a smaller group of counter-protesters attempted to offer support to a half dozen people holding pro-LGBTQ signs, about a mile away, standing across the street from the Planned Parenthood. When the other counter-protesters showed up, they were attacked by Proud Boys almost immanently; causing riot police to shut down the event, arresting two Proud Boys in the process. Among those arrested was Jeffery Perrine, famous for being kicked out of the local GOP for calling for the murder of migrants.
Over 100 rallied against the far-Right in #Modesto today. Proud Boys tried to set up with banner in the park, but were ultimately pushed out. Smaller group of protesters attempted to offer aid to youth opposing 'Straight Pride' rally + were attacked. A statement from organizers. pic.twitter.com/Zl4OMuugxi
— OFF THE 99 (@Off_The_99) August 29, 2021
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the head of Georgia’s public health system, says nurses and healthcare workers have recently faced threats from anti-vaxxers at events in the state. “It shouldn’t be happening to those nurses who are trying to help people stay safe.” pic.twitter.com/oELrxagA9M
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) August 30, 2021
Far-Right rhetoric around overthrowing local schools boards and “civil war” has gained traction in growing anti-vax and anti-mask circles across the US. In Los Angeles, California, anti-vaxxers visited the home of the LA City Council President after calling for “Civil war!,” at a recent rally. In Pennsylvania, a Republican nominee Steve Lynch, called for:
Forget going into these school boards with freaking data. You go in to these school boards to remove them. I’m going in with 20 strong men and I’m gonna give them an option – they can leave or they can be removed. Men, where are you? Men. Wake up, smell the coffee. Let’s go. Make men great again. Make men men again. Men, men. Let’s go, men, I need you. I need you in the coming weeks because when we walk into those school boards, we’re gonna have everything we need to do to go in there with those 9-0 school boards that voted to put these masks back on the children with no scientific – it’s done.
In Northern California, a man punched a teacher at an elementary school over masks, in Texas a teacher’s mask was ripped off their face, and in Florida, a 50 year-old man was arrested for child abuse, after pushing a student and twisting her arm during an anti-mask protest as students at the school chanted, “Wear a mask! Wear a mask!”
PA GOP Gov candidate Steve Lynch today: “Forget going into these school boards with freaking data. You go in to these school boards to remove them. I’m going in with 20 strong men and I’m gonna give them an option – they can leave or they can be removed.” pic.twitter.com/A0M6SsOldI
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 30, 2021
As the Associated Press wrote:
School board members, county commissioners, doctors and local leaders are regularly confronted at meetings and in public with angry taunts that compare them to the Taliban, Nazis, Marxists and the leaders of Japanese internment camps.
Across the country, anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns, and educators, medical professionals and public figures have been stunned at the level at which they have been vilified for even stating their opinion. And they have been terrified over how far protesters will go in confronting leaders outside their homes and in their workplaces.
Since Hawaii announced a mandate earlier this month that state and county workers would have to show proof of vaccination or face weekly tests, 50 to 100 unmasked vaccine opponents have gathered almost nightly outside the downtown Honolulu condominium building where Lt. Gov. Josh Green lives with his wife and two children, ages 14 and 10.
Some yell into bullhorns and shine strobe lights into apartment units, Green said. Flyers with his photo and the words “Jew” and “fraud” have been plastered around the neighborhood. Green, who is Jewish, has been tearing them down and turning them over to the state attorney general’s office.
In Kansas, commissioners in Douglas County in the Lawrence area were confronted with an angry, mostly unmasked crowd Wednesday before they mandated indoor public masks for 2- to- 12-year-olds who are too young to be vaccinated. During four hours of public comment, opponents invoked the Holocaust, the Taliban and Japanese internment camps.
Like previous waves of manufactured outrage which have been fueled by corporate giants like Fox and online disinformation campaigns, the current wave of anti-mask and anti-vaxx anger is aimed broadly at liberal elites and centered in white victimization that sees the wearing of masks or vaccine mandates the same as mass genocide, forced displacement, or mass incarceration.
It’s a mistake for people to just write these people off as kooks, there’s millions of people in the country that think just like this guy, we are in very unstable times. https://t.co/0bGDnDOqgl
— . (@egoldmanrevolt) August 30, 2021
It seeks to both blame the pandemic on “immigrants” and the Other, while questioning “science” and liberal orthodoxy, claiming that extra-judicial violence is needed to return society to its supposed traditional glory. This fascist streak is growing, uniting both the MAGA base and an undercurrent of far-Right groups. At the same time, the capitalist class is only happy to sit back and let these currents grow, as they only help to push students back to school and workers back to work.
Trump supporter arrested in DC for threatening to blow up bomb pushed Tucker Carlson like delusions about immigrants + "athletes." “They keep allowing illegal Mexicans in here…illegal immigrants from Afghanistan. You don’t have free health care for us." https://t.co/tuCTnFQByK
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) August 20, 2021
On August 19th, a Trump supporter, Floyd Ray Roseberry, parked his truck in front of the Library of Congress in DC, told police that he had a bomb in his vehicle and began to live-stream, claiming that other “patriots” were also going to be taking action alongside him. Roseberry was quickly arrested, but not before launching into a massive rant on Facebook live. Roseberry expressed anti-immigrant sentiments and claimed that refugees from Afghanistan were getting “free health-care,” while other people were not.
From Heavy:
In one of his live stream videos, Roseberry said, “the South is coming for you.” He is a Trump voter, who voted for the first time in his life for the former president, his wife told NBC Washington’s Tom Lynch.
“They keep allowing these illegal Mexicans in here,” he said in one video. “All these illegal immigrants from Afghanistan. You don’t have free health care for us. You’re f***ing giving it to them. Joe Biden, the South is fed up. And it isn’t because we don’t love everybody. My heart goes out to everybody even animals. When I run over a rabbit, I have to go back and throw it out of the road to make sure it doesn’t get run over again. I deer hunt…I’ve always been taught. You don’t kill nothing you don’t eat.” He lamented a lack of health insurance. He said superstar athletes could get healthcare, but he couldn’t get shots for his back.
⚠️ALERT⚠️
Jew-Hating Rape Apologist and Georgia State Senator Listed to Speak at “Christian Veterans United” Gathering, September 10-11GA State Senator @BruceThompsonGA is listed to speak alongside notorious women- & Jew-hater Roosh Valizadeh.https://t.co/SKhjgF5SUN (CW: rape) pic.twitter.com/yCzbacwqv2
— Atlanta Antifascists (@afainatl) August 26, 2021
Atlanta Antifascists report:
Daryush “Roosh” Valizadeh, a notorious far-Right antisemite, misogynist, and rape apologist, is a featured speaker at the upcoming “Faith and Freedom Men’s Conference” organized by Christian Veterans United. The conference is scheduled to take place on September 10th and 11th, in or near metro Atlanta. Two venues, Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Buckhead and the First Baptist Church in Woodstock, have so far canceled use of their spaces after learning of the event’s true nature. Organizers are vowing to go ahead with the event but have not publicly announced their new venue.
As well as Valizadeh, the Christian Veterans United website lists Jesse Lee Peterson, a rightwing commentator who bemoans women’s suffrage, and Bruce Thompson, Georgia State Senator representing District 14, as event speakers. By appearing alongside Valizadeh, perhaps the world’s most notorious women-hating propagandist, State Senator Thompson would normalize Jew-hatred and violence against women.
For more information including action items, go here.
New one from us (by Liam) – a dip into the world of the Gastonia Watchmen, a right-wing, pro-cop group serving barbecue to the blue:https://t.co/8zXgCE3vUE
— Dirty South Right Watch (@DSRWnews) August 10, 2021
Dirty South Right Watch has uncovered a group of violent vigilante’s based out of Gastonia, North Carolina. They call themselves The Watchmen and are described as “pro-police, auxiliary-fantasy group.” The group has two chapters, one in New York and the other in North Carolina and are led by a man named David Horton who lives in Gastonia.
The group formed in the summer of 2020 in response to the George Floyd uprising and has organized and documented events from “Back the Blue” rallies, fallen officer memorials, protests against the teaching of critical race theory, antimask rallies and more. They organize across multiple platforms including Youtube and Mewe. The Mewe chat hosts everything from conspiracy theories, hostility toward CRT, and QAnon propaganda as well as deeply hateful transphobic and anti-queer content. Head over to the blog for details about individual members, more on their events, and examples of the content they share and consume.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio sentenced to 5 months in jail for burning Black Lives Matter banner, weapons charge.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 23, 2021
A New York man who supported the far-right Proud Boys group pleaded guilty on Monday to threatening to kill Raphael Warnock, a newly elected senator from Georgia, before and during the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
The man, Eduard Florea, 41, of Queens, pleaded guilty to posting violent threats against Mr. Warnock, who had just won a runoff election in Georgia for the Senate and was later sworn in on Jan. 20. “Warnock is going to have a hard time casting votes for communist policies when he’s swinging with the fish,” Mr. Florea posted online on Jan. 5, using an expletive before fish.
Mr. Florea also pleaded guilty in Federal District Court in Brooklyn to a weapons offense after federal agents discovered a vast arsenal in his New York City home in January, including more than 1,000 rounds of rifle ammunition that he unlawfully possessed because of a prior felony conviction, prosecutors said in a news release.
Meanwhile, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 5 months in jail for setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from a historically Black church in Washington DC last December.
After a few days of road-testing scattered messages, major players in the GOP and conservative media have coalesced around a unified message to Afghans seeking refuge in the United States: Stay the hell out of my country.@swin24, @arawnsley and me: https://t.co/Vi5QeM9oxV
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) August 18, 2021
In the wake of the departure of US troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent takeover of the Taliban, the GOP and MAGA supporters are leaning hard into their Islamophobia by taking a firm stance against a perceived flood of Afghan refugees. Right-wing media outlets Fox News and Newsmax have provided platforms for right-wing supporters to project their hatred of Afghan refugees who may seek refuge here in the so-called United States.
The Daily Beast reports that Newsmax host and former Trump 2020 adviser Steve Cortes tweeted, “Not one Afghan should be coming to America. They should stay in [the] region. We have bases in Iraq and supposed allies in the Gulf — time for UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, [and] Israel to all step up.”
From The Daily Beast:
In Congress, House Republicans like Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) called reports of Afghans heading to the U.S. as “disturbing” and warned against “releasing tens of 1000’s of Afghans into our communities.” Montana’s Republican congressman Matt Rosendale warned that the Taliban’s takeover in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal was “not an excuse to flood our country with refugees from Afghanistan.” Mary Miller, a freshman congresswoman from Illinois, let her priorities be known on Twitter. “Refugees must be vetted. Keep America safe!”
Other’s coded their bigotry and disdain for immigrants under the guise of suggesting Afghan immigrants would be happier seeking refuge in places geographically closer to Afghanistan. One such suggestion came from Richard Spencer’s former college buddy and ex-Trump policy advisor Stephen Miller, who tweeted, “Humane refugee policy emphasizes relocation as close to home as possible, maximizing finite resources and enabling possible return when conditions allow.” The Daily Beast spoke with refugee advocates who pointed out that the proposal that countries close to Afghanistan should take on the responsibility of the current refugee crisis completely ignores the destabilization of the entire region that the United States should be accountable for.
New — A group of neo-Nazis, including some former Idaho residents, are facing new federal charges.
They allegedly planed to carry out attacks on energy grid infrastructure in Idaho and the Northwest. https://t.co/4cRPN98zBX
— Jacob Scholl (@Jacob_Scholl) August 20, 2021
Four neo-Nazis who met on the defunct web forum Iron March have been formally charged with conspiracy to damage a power grid according to Newsweek. As we’ve previously reported, Paul James Kryscuk, Liam Collins, Jordan Duncan, and Joseph Maurino, met on the Iron March forum where they fantasized and planned in great detail, to blow up a power grid. Duncan and Collins are former Marines (active at the time) who stole military gear as well as access to military libraries in order to formulate their plan. They used the stolen military resources to familiarize themselves with firearms, explosives and nerve toxins.
The men discussed and directed the others to each purchase 50 lbs of tannerite, an explosive they’d then use to create thermite. Additionally, Kryscuk was also manufacturing “ghost guns” and silencers which had no serial numbers and were virtually untraceable. Newsweek reports:
Collins, Duncan, Kryscuk and Maurino could each face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the charges announced Friday. Kryscuk and Collins could each face another 20 years if convicted of their previous charges, while Duncan could face an additional five years.
Check out the article for the full story.
A powerful anti-abortion group has already set up a website that encourages people to become "pro-life whistleblowers"—that is, to anonymously snitch on over abortions. I wrote about the website a few weeks ago: https://t.co/VXGnqr5DLw
— Carter Sherman (@carter_sherman) August 30, 2021
A website launched last month by right-wing Christian anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life, is urging it’s supporters to snitch on abortion providers, those seeking or obtaining abortions and their supporters. The website’s launch comes on the heels of new Texas legislation that effectively bans abortions in the state after six weeks, including in cases of rape and incest. Vice reports:
Under the new law, not only could abortion providers face ruinous lawsuits, but so could individuals who help pay for abortions or even drive patients to the clinic. More specifically, anyone who’s found to have “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion” against the Texas law could be liable, per the legislation. Abortions are permitted, however, in the event of a medical emergency.
Texas Right to Life has been on the front lines of anti-abortion activism in recent years. In addition to the website, they have also run Christian training camps for young anti-abortion activists. Check out the Vice article for more information on the legislation.
1. I'm happier than a tick on a fat dog to introduce you to Kenneth Mitchell Newberry aka Kenny Newberry aka Kenward Jenkins of Doerun, GA. He is or was a member of Identity Dixie's "Knights of the Silvern Circle" leadership group and ran their Georgia chapter. pic.twitter.com/807W6TSQeV
— Dixie Tears Streaming Service (@ShermanMarching) August 6, 2021
Sherman Marching comes to us this week with information about another neo-Confederate member of Identity Dixie. Kenneth Newberry of Doerun, GA. He is a part of Georgia chapter’s leadership, the, “Silvern Circle.” Kenneth has documented history of attending fascist events and posting neo-Nazi content online. He works at CNSNext, an internet provider in Georgia. Contact details for them are in the linked thread.
This is Joseph aka Joey aka “Psycho” Maness.
Joey is about to find out that his “White Privilege” Card has been declined.
— Camas Defense Alliance (@CamDefAlliance) August 6, 2021
Joseph Maness is a Proud Boy hacker hailing from Greensboro, NC. He was exposed by Camas Defense Alliance for posting in Proud Boy chats and making public claims of illegal hacking. He is the proprietor of Triad Computer Works in Greensboro. Consider leaving his company a review to let potential customers know about his sketchy activity.
1/ Meet Kabeia Rineaki aka Brock Allen Sutton from Logan, Utah.Brock is a member of the racist, misogynistic, hate-fueled #DezNat group, who thinks “Journalists ought to be held accountable” “with a rope”.https://t.co/Mo5lDDUfLThttps://t.co/vMafGJHgZZ pic.twitter.com/kk6LClF2lW
— 👀 🅺Ⓐ🆁🅼Ⓐ || Ⓐrchivist 🏴 (@KarmaOneSixOne) August 10, 2021
Karma161 exposed Kabeia Rineaki aka Brock Allen Sutton from Logan, UT as a member for the Deznat movement. The Deznat is a radical far-Right sect of Mormonism that advocates for total theocracy in the region they call, “Deseret.” Rineaki has an extensive history of posting homophobic and anti-Semetic content online and coordinating with others in the DezNat movement. A list of accounts to report can be found in the link.
Meet Nathan 21 (4K) and Madeline 23 (acinidepepe) Jones of Roswell, NM. This brother and sister duo are among the worst racist, antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic DezNat-associated bigots we've come across.
Welcome to hell, Nate and Maddy!@Ch_JesusChrist pic.twitter.com/foOSKRHeFm
— DezNat Exposed – Deseret Anti-Fascist Action (@ExposeDezNat) August 16, 2021
More Deseret dorks have been outed by Expose DezNat on Twitter. Nathan and Madeline Jones of Roswell, NM are neo-Nazis involved with the Deseret Nationalist movement. The pair both praise Hitler and use overt Nazi iconography in online propagandizing. There are numerous calls to action at the bottom of the linked thread. Please consider taking some time to do them.
EXPOSED: Neo-Nazi forum user KanadianKommando is armoured corporal William Condie, currently with a regiment in Hull, QC. The Iron March user called himself an "Ethno Nationalist" and said his perfect nation is "like Nazi Germany… but with less jews." 🧵https://t.co/bKGEm4yy7e
— Canadian Anti-Hate Network (@antihateca) August 10, 2021
In news that should surprise absolutely no one, another Nazi has been found operating in the Canadian Military. William Condie aka KanadianKommando was a poster on the IronMarch forums, the website that spawned Atomwaffen and other neo-Nazi terror groups. After being exposed, Condie has publicly recounted his racist views, but the history of Nazis organizing within the Canadian Armed Forces remains deeply concerning.
Welcome! ✨⚔️✨ Today we wanted to introduce you to one of the core anti-mask organizers here in Miami and expose her connections to the far-right. Meet Amanda Gelpi who goes by “Gelpi De Luz” on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/rw9RfWv3Q5
— Miami Against Fascism (@MIAagainstFash) August 17, 2021
Amanda Gelphi is an anti-mask organizer who has gained a small degree of prominence in Miami for harassing school boards and other public institutions. Miami Against Fascism has exposed her in a secret collaboration with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio. She has recently started hosting a podcast secretly directed by Tarrio, and has made posts advocating for the group.
The far-Right, “Church at Planned Parenthood” is planning a rally on September 4th at Planned Parenthood in Eugene, Oregon. Currently there is a call to mobilize against the rally at 1pm at 793 Danebo Ave.
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— PopMob (Popular Mobilization) (@PopMobPDX) February 23, 2021
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The US has officially announced the completion of its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, minus of course the CIA ops which will continue in that country and the bombs that will likely continue to rain down in the name of fighting terrorism.
There are a lot of warmongers rending their garments over the termination of a decades-long military occupation which accomplished nothing besides making war profiteers wealthy and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Almost as ridiculous are the countless pundits and politicians hailing this as some kind of major accomplishment that Americans should be proud of.
Pride, praise and celebration are not the appropriate emotional response to the day. The appropriate response to a decades-overdue withdrawal from a war that should never have happened in the first place is rage. Unmitigated rage at an unforgivable atrocity which amassed a mountain of corpses for no legitimate reason, from which the region will probably not recover in our lifetime. Unmitigated rage at those responsible for starting and maintaining this horror all this time.
This is not something that Biden should be applauded for. Nobody deserves praise or credit for ending a twenty-year disaster, especially one they helped start. Nobody applauds the mass shooter for finally setting down the rifle.
Every single allied soldier who died in Afghanistan died in vain. They died fighting not for national security, freedom, or democracy, but for war industry profit margins and for the idiotic geostrategic agendas of globe-dominating imperialists. This is also the reason every Afghan soldier and Afghan civilian was killed during that time.
They all died in vain. We shouldn’t concoct sugary fairy tales about this, we should try to prevent it from happening again.
Who knows where Afghanistan would be if the US and its allies had stayed out of the nation two decades ago? Who knows where they’d have been had the US not begun arming the mujahideen against the Soviet Union four decades ago? We will never know what could have been for those people. The opportunity to find out was taken away from them. Stolen forever.
And of course no lessons were learned from this by anyone who will be making decisions about the actions that will be taken by the most powerful military force in history. America’s bloated military budget will continue to swell, and its arsenal and that of its allies will pivot toward new enemies.
The only sane response to all this is rage, and disgust. And a firm commitment to trying to end this madness.
_____________________
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In the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal influential promoters of western militarism have been absolutely fuming about the popular idea of ending the forever wars, and their tantrums are not even trying to disguise it as something else. They’re literally using that phrase, “ending the forever wars”, and then saying it’s a bad thing.
I mean, what a bizarre hill to die on. War is the very worst thing in the world, and forever is the very worst amount of time they could go on for, yet they’re openly condemning the “doctrine of ending the forever wars”. How warped does your sense of reality have to be to even think this is a view anyone who isn’t paid by defense contractors could possibly be sympathetic to?
Yet they are indeed trying. Citing the chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal as though every single day of the twenty-year occupation has not been far worse, career-long warmongers are trying to spin “ending the forever wars” as a disdainful slogan that everyone should reject.
Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain who led the UK into Afghanistan, criticized Biden's withdrawal, calling it a hasty move made “in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars.’” https://t.co/jJbWliMJc9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 22, 2021
As we discussed previously, The Hague fugitive Tony Blair recently made headlines with a lengthy statement bloviating about the concept of ending forever wars with the revulsion you’d normally reserve for people advocating the elimination of age of consent laws or legalizing recreational panda punching.
“We didn’t need to do it. We chose to do it,” Blair wrote of the withdrawal. “We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars’, as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even ten years ago, and in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.”
As Blair well knows, the only reason no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months was because the Trump administration had cut a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 on condition of withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pretending the lack of deaths among occupying forces was due to the occupation being easy and that it was in any way sustainable minus a credible promise of withdrawal is disgusting. And not that Blair cares but it’s not like the occupation hasn’t been slaughtering mountains of civilians during those eighteen months.
Paul Wolfowitz, chief advocate of the Iraq War, being given major op-ed space to argue the US should've never withdrawn from Afghanistan — while also lecturing Biden on "credibility" — proves that in US media, there's no official wrongdoing that you can't be rehabilitated from pic.twitter.com/0TZ5dWRCPv
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 28, 2021
Then there’s Iraq war architect Paul Wolfowitz, who’s been on a media tour throughout the withdrawal because obviously everyone wants to hear the opinions of Bush administration war criminals about whether it’s okay to end the Bush administration’s criminal wars. His latest contribution is a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “The ‘Forever War’ Hasn’t Ended” in which he argues the concept of ending forever wars is both stupid and fallacious.
“President Biden, like his two immediate predecessors, seems to think you can end ‘forever wars’ simply by leaving them,” Wolfowitz writes. “But Thursday’s unprovoked attack, on people who were fleeing and those who were helping them, demonstrates the truth of the soldier’s adage that ‘the enemy always gets a vote.’”
“Choosing to avoid ‘forever war’ by abandoning our Afghan allies was both costly and dishonorable,” says Wolfowitz. “Exactly as Churchill said to Neville Chamberlain after the betrayal of Czechoslovakia at Munich: ‘You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.'”
God what a wanker.
In many respects, #Afghanistan represents the 1st real implementation of the "ending forever wars" doctrine.
The results so far?
– Crumbling of a democratic government;
– #Taliban rule;
– #AlQaeda ecstatic;
– Emergency mass evacuation;
– Unprecedented transatlantic divisions. pic.twitter.com/NdAJPgafhP— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) August 26, 2021
Then there’s UAE-funded war propagandist Charles Lister hilariously arguing that the withdrawal shows a failure of the “ending forever wars doctrine” on the basis that it caused the “crumbling of a democratic government” and made “Al Qaeda ecstatic”. Hilarious because only by the most determined mental gymnastics was the corrupt US puppet regime in Afghanistan “democratic”, and because Lister has been an outspoken advocate of Al Qaeda in Syria.
There’s also the insufferably hawkish Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who has received campaign donations from Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, appearing on MSNBC and writing a Foreign Policy op-ed explicitly in opposition to the notion of ending endless wars.
“On both sides of the political spectrum, we’ve heard the ‘endless wars’ rallying cry used to argue against America’s presence in the Middle East,” Kinzinger writes for Foreign Policy. “We’ve heard the many fatigued Americans who complain about ‘forever wars.’ Some are upset by the money spent, and others want our troops home, or both. Those who have lamented for years that our mission in Afghanistan was a disaster from the start are stepping up in droves to say they were right and that we should have left years ago—or never engaged at all. I respectfully and vehemently disagree with all of it.”
Kinzinger told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that “the kind of Rand Paul ‘endless war’ crowd that have been stoking this fire of endless war and man we’re all tired” is like “when your grandma tells you how tired you are and you eventually feel tired.” He then advocated for re-invading Afghanistan to take back the abandoned Bagram airfield.
Kinzinger: The endless war just got fired up again pic.twitter.com/cQllKJxR0W
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 26, 2021
In a recent National Review article titled “The ‘Forever War’ Fallacy“, MSNBC contributor Noah Rothman rages against the notion of ending perpetual military slaughter.
“In Afghanistan, the demagogues who wanted to see an end to America’s ‘forever wars,’ regardless of the consequences, got their wish. It has been a disaster arguably without parallel,” writes Rothman, who has apparently never heard of the disaster that was the entire Afghanistan occupation.
“The U.S. maintains deployments in and around the Middle East that fluctuate between 45,000 and 65,000 troops. Would advocates of retrenchment sacrifice that mission — and the Middle Eastern governments that rely on it to prevent non-state actors and Iranian proxies from destabilizing those regimes?” Rothman asks. “What about Africa, where between 6,000 and 7,000 American troops are advising local forces fighting Islamist militant groups?”
Uh, yeah actually, getting rid of those would also be great. The less expansive you can make the most destructive institution on earth, the better.
The alternative to withdrawal from Afghanistan was not “endless occupation” but open-ended presence. Occupation is imposed, presence invited. Unless you think we are occupying Japan, Germany, & South Korea. And yes, withdrawal was the problem. https://t.co/FceI02wWNF
— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) August 27, 2021
Perhaps the funniest case was Richard Haass, president of the wildly influential war propaganda firm Council on Foreign Relations, arguing on Twitter for a rebranding of “endless occupation” to “open-ended presence”.
“The alternative to withdrawal from Afghanistan was not ‘endless occupation’ but open-ended presence,” Haass said. “Occupation is imposed, presence invited. Unless you think we are occupying Japan, Germany, and South Korea. And yes, withdrawal was the problem.”
I mean, where to even start with that one? The hilarious notion that simply rebranding an endless occupation which has killed hundreds of thousands of people with a different label makes it better? The idea that the consent of a puppet government installed by regime change invasion means the military presence was “invited”? The claim that an occupation of nonstop bombing and killing is comparable to US military presence in Japan, Germany and South Korea? The claim that there’s any legitimate reason for the US military to be in Japan, Germany and South Korea either? The suggestion that everyone in Japan, Germany and South Korea wants the US military there?
Moron.
If you think the Afghanistan withdrawal is going badly wait til you hear about literally every single day before the Afghanistan withdrawal for 20 years.
— Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) August 29, 2021
The fact that these people are thought leaders of policy-shaping influence and not fringe pariahs of society shows that our world is being steered by idiots and sociopaths. They’re standing there right in front of us and wagging their fingers at us for opposing something as straightforwardly and self-evidently bad as endless war. ENDLESS WAR.
They should be mocked and laughed at for this. We will know our world is becoming sane when such creatures are regarded with scorn and ridicule instead of being taken seriously by the largest platforms in our society. Never stop making fun of these freaks.
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