Anti-fascism must be community-led

Laws, bans and politicians have done nothing to stem the rise of organized white supremacy in Australia, he writes Tom Tanuki.

Moments like now require me to repeat myself in the simplest terms I can, and so I will. None of the solutions to the rise of organized white supremacy in Australia, in the form of new laws, bans and policing measures introduced by politicians at the behest of themselves, lobbyists and the media, have done anything to stop it. None. He just either did nothing or actively helped them.

Regular readers will know that I’m just rehashing the same argument I make on a regular basis, so they’ll know that I’m a bit cynical about it. And so am I. Whenever Australian Nazis reappear in public to sweep a month of breathtaking newspaper headlines, I joke with my friends this way:

What? A Nazi gathered in a hat? You want people of color to be hanged?

Quick, ban hats!

A Nazi in a Helly Hansen jacket attacked many women and children?

Ban the sale of Helly Hansen! Hurry!

Did a Nazi screw up before threatening to rape and kill a female politician?

We must ban and arrest all scum!

I guess it’s a joke about the ridiculousness of politicians’ recent abuse of Australia’s legal framework in a panicked and futile attempt to stamp out fringe politics altogether.

The first time someone said this to me, Prime Minister Chris Minns After their demonstration outside the NSW Parliament sanctioned by NSW Police I was now calling for Nazi expressions to be banned I initially thought they were joking. With my joke, however.

But no. Of course it was real.

After being banned siege heilsNazi symbols, protests near synagogues, and more – all of which actually accelerated the rise of the NSN in a multitude of ways – now we are making knee-jerk threats to ban what they say.

And after NSW Police let them do the show in the first place! I should add that Occam’s Razor’s answer to the ‘mystery’ of why the NSN was allowed to meet outside Parliament is extremely clear: they were allowed to meet because they were allowed to meet. There were no gaps, typos or misunderstandings. They let them continue.

And then the white supremacists did exactly what the NSW Police wanted them to do; They didn’t break the windows, were polite to them and sent the appropriate form. Besides the obligatory reputation issues to keep up with in the media, I doubt the cops are turning a blind eye. As in Melbourne, where the main concern of the Victorian police force, who accompanied the march of white supremacists in Australia for the second time, was how polite and stone-free they were.

They are not interested in the cold concepts of “social harmony” touted by the politicians and lobbyists who regularly demand all these laws. They are not there to help society adapt. They’re there to police.

So when I say that the justice system and the police force have done absolutely nothing to keep this group going for the last 5 years, I don’t think that’s an aberration or a mistake. I believe these are not tools for doing anything about organized white supremacy in the first place.

Laws against siege heilsWith their overwhelming ridiculousness, they helped normalize neo-Nazis to ordinary people, and their lawsuits earned them plenty of additional promotion. And now all they do is use different hand gestures.

So did laws against Nazi symbols. There is also a regular crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists who use the symbol to comment on Israeli fascism, for example.

Police scrutiny of neo-Nazis has undoubtedly increased, but they have also played an active role in screening for neo-Nazi incidents and helping them to occur unimpeded, interfering with and threatening community-led actions aimed at interfering with NSN activities. It would be easier for the cops if the Nazis could organize their events. Less broken glass.

I’ve been saying this for years, but it’s reassuring to see the mainstream media now seeking comment from other pundits who have made similar comments: there is no legislation for organized whites superiority. Thank you not only to Greg Barton but also to ABC for telling ABC this. Pablo Vinales for caring to include this kind of comment.

Communities must lead the fight against organized white supremacy. By collecting personal information on their own or in collaboration with the media, the general public has done more damage to the NSN than the police have ever done. Mass movements of the population prevent the rise of street-level far-right formations more than an army of mounted police could. I have been saying this for five years, since the beginning of the NSN, and I will say it for another five: Anti-fascism must be community-led and cannot be led by cops and laws.

Tom Tanuki is an IA columnist, author, satirist and anti-fascist activist whose weekly videos commenting on Australia’s political wing are published on: YouTube. You can follow him on Twitter/X @tom_tanuki.

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