Photos from Antifa Demonstration in Wellington

Interesting commentary on the demo over at Capitalism Bad:

"I didn't attend Saturday's anti-fascist demonstration. I'm sick of them, sick of the macho atmosphere, and sick of activists who seem to get their kicks by playing cops and robbers with fascist groups, as if it's the most important work in the world."
http://capitalismbad.blogspot.com/2006/10/free-speech.html

Nobody has said anti-fascist work was the most important thing going on in the world! As far as I can tell anti-fa activists put in a lot of work just like everyone else has to when they have limited time and resources.That they may get excited with their success seems fair pay of for the effort. There appear to be just as many female participants on the demos too.

I definately agree that they need to be shut down, but when we all go down there masked up and angry it lets them think that we're taking them as a serious theat. I don't think that we want to give them that much respect.
Bring out the Clown Army and the Faeries against Fascism - it shows what a joke this group really is.
jogrl.

my comments are directed to a few different people/postings:

gender and masking:
this is one thing i really love about masking up - it can be quite had to guess if the body inside is male or female. so people tend to assume its mostly male. (a wrong assumption in my experience!)

of course - you can also do this with a masked fairy/princess/elf block :) and this would be far more disturbing to the fascists, as they really can't can't handle it when people are not playing the gender roles they want them to.

the other reason i think this is a good tactic is it is a very visible way of seperating yourself from the fascists,(ie, one group of people in black against another can just make it look like one big group) does not appear 'macho' but you can still be physically blocking etc

the problem is police actually - if everyone is wearing hoodies, caps, sunglasses, masks, you are effectively camoflaged within that group. it is harder for police to single one person out and arrest them/beat them up.
this wouldn't work for faeries the same unless you were swapping bits of clothing throughout the demo.

i guess the key is your imagination - anyone for a V for Vendetta block for instance?

as for the threat of Redwatch, i think theres one person featured on the site who has been seriously threatened (repeatedly)- nic miller is totally obbessed with him.
other than that i think the true purpose of the site is a masturbatory one. its quite annoying to have your picture up there (and mine is ) , but thats the reaction he wants. and i'm really not in to stroking his ego

my last point:
fascists in NZ are not just 'bogans waving flags'. they have *murdered* people in recent years, and beaten up plenty of others.
i see no problem whatsoever in knowing the names of them....

CapitalismBad ist ganz toll! As an anti-capitalist,class-struggle, feminist website i think its really great - well written, thoughtful, not afraid of saying what she thinks....
I disagree with the author on some points (the anti-fa march for instance) but so what? We don't have to agree on everything do we? That would make us totalitarian no? And super boring.

There are many other great left blogs.

And anyway, who are you to be wanting to be giving out badges to activist superheroes?

The fash with the mohawk is brendon rimmer from taupo. He ain't no punk.