{"id":154,"date":"2016-10-29T00:01:03","date_gmt":"2016-10-29T00:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/?p=154"},"modified":"2016-10-29T02:09:54","modified_gmt":"2016-10-29T02:09:54","slug":"building-an-anti-fascist-culture-post-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"Building an Anti-Fascist Culture Post Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

This text was written by some people involved in the Anti Raids Network \u2013 it doesn\u2019t represent the position of the whole network.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A vast amount has already been said about \u2018Brexit\u2019 and the general \u00a0climate of nationalism and xenophobia in which the vote took place. \u00a0We want to concentrate on where we can go from here. Between rising \u00a0fascism on the one hand, and despair on the other, we think \u00a0it\u2019s essential we build a culture of anti-fascism based on solidarity and autonomy. Solidarity here means taking action to \u00a0support each other against those who seek to impose their \u00a0authoritarian and racist ideal of a uniform society. Autonomy means unlearning our habit of looking to leaders for solutions, and taking the initiative to organise for ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

For our anti-fascism to be meaningful and effective, we feel that it \u00a0should follow a few basic principles:<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be decentralised & grassroots<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Rather than searching for the next political party\/saviour \u00a0figure\/controlling coalition to dictate our direction and tactics, \u00a0now really is the time for each of us who identify with anti-fascist \u00a0position have the courage and commitment to take the initiative. \u00a0Seek out and get involved in local groups, or better still, start your own*. Our groups and actions should multiply, not \u00a0massify, and with this carry the crucial idea that anyone can be part of this struggle.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should target all forms of nationalism & xenophobia \u2013 from the \u00a0street to the state<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

We need to think creatively about how to effectively counter \u00a0nationalist groups taking to the streets, but it is critical that we do not neglect the \u2018respectable\u2019 xenophobia of the suit-wearing demagogues in power and those who carry out their commands. Both these groups reinforce one another, with politicians normalising such practices as deadly border controls and the daily round-up of migrants from our neighbourhoods, while street groups and keyboard warriors garner citizen-support for these right wing agendas and demand that they be taken to more extreme levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be braver<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Too often, we respond to the latest oppressive state action or \u00a0policy by seeking the validation of our friends and comfortable \u00a0social media \u2018scene\u2019, rather than taking action. Instead of seeking \u00a0solace from Twitter, \u00a0why not go out and put up some posters? We \u00a0also need to challenge ourselves to get out of our comfort zones, \u00a0and not leave risky actions to some mythical \u2018others\u2019, who have no responsibilities or cause to fear repression. Of course, there are \u00a0some who face more severe reprisals due to issues such as their \u00a0immigration status, race or class \u2013 but anti-fascism wouldn\u2019t be called a struggle if it didn\u2019t carry any risk. When the time comes \u00a0to hold the line, we need to be there for each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"antifa_inline\"<\/p>\n

It should be creative<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

At the same time, conflict cannot be sustained without a broader culture to nourish it. This struggle is not simply about the \u00a0defeat of an authoritarian ideology; we also have to show an \u00a0alternative form of power \u2013 the power of solidarity and real community. Our culture should carry the seeds of a new society, \u00a0another way of life, and not be purely orientated towards what we \u00a0oppose.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be multiform<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

\u2026postering, organising cultural events, blocking immigration vans, \u00a0leafletting, graffiti, running DIY martial arts clubs, neutralising nazis on the streets, sabotaging deportation attempts, giving \u00a0workshops and skillshares, supporting resistance in detention, \u00a0running regular stalls, making anti-fascist art and music, \u00a0mobilising against evictions, taking direct action against the peddlers of nationalism and bigotry\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/i> building an anti-fascist culture takes these forms and many more. We should recognise the value of all these actions and encourage & support different \u00a0people\u2019s contributions according to their interest and skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are just a few possible guidelines for what we hope will be a \u00a0fiery, emancipatory, and truly grassroots resistance that can be our \u00a0only response to the shackles of nationalism, borders, and state control.<\/span><\/p>\n

*If you would like to act against immigration raids in London, check out our <\/span><\/i>statement of principles<\/span><\/i><\/a> and feel free to visit your nearest anti raids stall (times correct at the time of writing):<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Deptford market, 12-2pm on Saturdays: deptford-antiraids [at] riseup.net<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Rye Lane, Peckham, 12-2pm on Saturdays: antiraids [at] riseup.net<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Whitechapel Market, 2-4pm on Saturdays: \u00a0<\/i><\/b>whitechapelantiraids [at] riseup.net<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 
\n\"Creative<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This text was written by some people involved in the Anti Raids Network \u2013 it doesn\u2019t represent the position of the whole network. A vast amount has already been said about \u2018Brexit\u2019 and the general \u00a0climate of nationalism and xenophobia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[36,35,22],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-organising","tag-anti-fascism","tag-anti-raids","tag-base-1"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Antifa_Featured-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p83Cfy-2u","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basepublication.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}