I just don't think it's important at all. Is there something you can call these people that will make them go home? No. Is there something you can chant on a demo that will derail the moral panic being driven by media and politicians? No. So what are we even talking about here?
Tactics that might make some less committed "protesters" think "what am I actually doing here?", as compared to tactics that are likely to make them think "the Reds hate us, we must be doing something right!". I think that's all it's about - nothing about Being Nice To Fascists or whatever.
I also think "how do we demoralise and otherwise peel off people from the edges of the anti-migrant coalition?" is quite ann important tactical Q.
Look man if someone is out there yelling at migrants they are *already* part of a radicalised fringe minority. The actual number of people out here at these things is tiny, it's just that each one has been assigned a personal telegraph columnist to big them up.
I am *beyond* sick and tired of being told that we have to focus our resources on not pissing off seventy-nine bald cunts just in case one of them miraculously converts to socialism after ten years of concentrated outreach. It's a shit use of time and energy.
The point of calling people Fascists *was* to demoralise less committed sympathisers etc etc - that's how it was (and is) sold, "ordinary people get sucked in because they don't know who the organisers are" etc etc. It worked at one time. The conditions to make it work don't exist any more.
If it was just about saying what you see and not worrying about who you offend, "racist c**ts" would probably work better than "Fascists"; "fat nonces" would be better still.
He appears to endorse the latter approach, so this really seems to be about policing language used.
Yeah and if you personally don't want to yell "Nazi scum" at someone outside a hotel ok, I won't make you. It doesn't matter. The whole thing is laughably irrelevant when every single one of these people will get a Sunday supplement pullout and a guest slot on the recipes blog.
Highlighted here is a guy with a history of public order offences and a woman with a life-size cardboard Farage organising a vigilante group.
Of course the bloke's an army vet and ex-cop. The amount of racist cunts in those ranks can't be understated. The women in these hate rallies won't say a word about the wrong un men they protest alongside. Wonder why.
Just perfectly ordinary members of Combat 18.
Well see I think there's use in calling fascism fascism on account of what it is. Weird this is controversial?
I'm muting this thread. Consider yourself victorious over whatever the hell it is you're arguing with, because it's not me.
The point of calling things by their proper name is that it's correct and you cannot solve a problem you are too scared to name. You cannot tactically triangulate yourself through the minefield of "literally everything you say will be used against you because the fascists own all the microphones."
Again, you're talking about (and against) a whole bunch of stuff, most of which has got literally nothing to do with a blog post by a socialist which is about good and bad ways for leftists to organise physical resistance to a racist mob.
You've read Umberto Eco's Ur Fascism. Does this moment seem to be meeting the criteria?
It won't work and then the next thing won't work and the next thing won't work and idk maybe stop spending your entire life on a tactical semantic retreat from a right wing propaganda machine that can get a decades worth of "they're cancelling Christmas" headlines from one council memo.