See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya

[cosmolinguist]

D and I went into town this afternoon to help counter a fascist demo.

There were maybe a dozen white guys huddled around a PA speaker playing some kind of 80s-sounding metal which presumably had bigoted lyrics but we couldn't hear them so it just sounded like Iron Maiden or something. They didn't chant or hand anything out, we didn't even see stickers on nearby lampposts.

Meanwhile there was a counterprotest of maybe 100. Samba drums, swoppie placards, Palestinian flags, impassioned speeches.

Mostly life went on. It was the first sunny Saturday of the spring so town was crowded. Kids played, dogs were good, people ate food and went shopping and met up with hugs and smiles. No one seemed threatened or intimidated by the fash.

They thrive on attention so ignoring them and not letting them disrupt normal life is part of the goal too. They had to just stand around in their little huddle looking like dickheads. And even then, a group of girls who just happened to be sitting nearby started chanting pro-Palestinian things, just to wind them up.

We ate our lunch nearby and watched them wander off as the sunny afternoon clouded over.

One guy walked past us in the direction of the loud colorful counterprotest, holding a camera so obvious that even me, a blind guy, could tell he was going to film them. As we were leaving he walked back past us, complaining to his companion that there was "No leadership apparently." Funny to see them struggle to understand that not everything is a hierarchy, when they think it should be because they can't understand that life can exist outside a power imbalance.

Comments

[otter]

Please tell me what Swoppie means. Best I could find is some sort of stuffed animal.

I'm glad you are able to go to protests like that. Those naziboys sound so pathetic. And yet, the danger is real.

[barakta]

I assume swoppie is some kind of 'swap' placards around or collection of placards for people to have and leave when they go. If not, then I've misunderstood it too without even noticing.

Looking swap/swop up there seems to be UK/US different spellings and possibly one of those ap in bit of grammar and op in another? *runs away from the silly language*

[shewhostaples]

SWP = Socialist Workers Party. They're an ubiquitous presence at any vaguely lefty protest, and their placards are very distinctive. I think they bring extra and hand them out to people who want to hold placards but haven't brought them - this is a bit of a dodgy practice to inflate their apparent numbers, I suspect. (They have something of a reputation for misogyny, but this isn't immediately apparent, so you may well see someone holding a SWP placard who'd be horrified to know what else they stand for.)

[cosmolinguist]

Yes, this! Thank you so much for the explanation I was too tired to provide.

[barakta]

Ah, never heard of Swoppie for SWP. I'm clearly out of touch :-/... I haven't been fit enough for in person protesting for over a decade and it shows...

That's a very polite description of the fuckers (SWP)... I've got time for folk I know who do SWP stuff, but as an organisation they're problematic.

[otter]

Thank you. Making note to not hold one of their placards if ever I'm in the UK

[cosmolinguist]

I mean I've done it, they tend to have their logo at the top of the poster so some people take them and then tear the top off so the invariably-laudable-and-vague message (like "Fight racism!" or whatever) can still be expressed and also one's dislike of the SWP can be expressed too. :) I've been to demos with lots of raggedy-edge placards like that and that's how I know I am really among my people.

[otter]

That's great!

[mst3kforall]

> Funny to see them struggle to understand that not everything is a hierarchy, when they think it should be because they can't understand that life can exist outside a power imbalance.

This is very insightful (and scary) and explains a lot of the (otherwise?-)inexplicable.

[cosmolinguist]

Thanks... I see it as an extension of the "every accusation is a confession" theme that's so useful with such people: they expect everyone to behave the way that they (wish to) behave, and it helps me a lot to think about it in those terms.

[mst3kforall]

Scary but true:-(

[spiralsheep]

Hi stranger, thank you for going out and representing.

[cosmolinguist]

It's very easy to be a drop in the ocean when there's only this one little turd around. :)

[silveradept]

Well done, good for the community to show the fash they're not welcome, and also, they will be defeated by community joy.