Fascism

The saying goes, edgelords gotta edge. That would apply here except there is nothing edgy about 614 Magazine. The publications actual non-advertising content (which is thin) has never been very interesting. It's like the New Yorker for frat boys with a second grade reading level. The rest of their content is bar ads and stories about bars sprinkled with a mumbled review of whatever Dave Mathews Band knockoff is on it's latest “world” tour... of the arena district. When I worked at the Columbus Free Press it was referred to as “Eat here you drunk yuppie fuck monthly.” around the office.

Yesterday was a big day for Nazis all over the country. Donald Trump morning tweeted that Anti-Fascists are terrorist (see below). This was followed by a march by the Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer and the openly nazi American Guard in Portland Oregon with sticks, hammers and massive police protection. Meanwhile in Central Ohio two different Nazi groups showed the flag brazenly, openly and literally.

Ample footage exists and is in circulation of Portland Police assisting the fascist group Patriot Prayer in attacking counter-demonstrators on August 4th.

Saturday night in Portland, the fascist group Patriot Prayer, along with the usual Proud Boy hangers on and other associated groups held a rally demanding the removal of Mayor Wheeler for failing to suppress anti-police brutality protestors. They came dressed in T-shirts covered in slogans proclaiming violence and even public executions as well as the standard khakis and yellow on black polo shirts. The group then marched with police escort to a vigil being held protesting the death of Patrick Kimmons on September 30th, and immediately attacked to prevent a flag from being burned.

Is was a late night on October 12th, when the band of fascists left the Republican Club on New York's Upper East Side. They had been listening to Proud Boys and Vice Magazine Founder Gavin McGinness give a speech. His speech celebrated the anniversary of the televised assassination of Inejiro Asanuma, head of the Japanese Socialist Party, by a young nationalist with a sword. McGinness thinks televised assassinations are a good thing and he brought a sword to illustrate his point.

It was billed nationally as a “March against far left violence.” It was an attempt to distance activity from last weekend's “Unite the Right 2” rallies in Charlottesville Virginia and Washington and likely also a way to cozy up to a recent congressional initiative to outright suppress anti-fascist protestors. It drew small handfuls of assorted right wing activists to Boston, Spokane, and San Jose. There were more serious mobilization efforts that drew over 100 armed fascists to Seattle and over two dozen to Austin Texas.

I've lived in Berkeley. I know the complicated tapestry of policing in the North Oakland Berkeley area. I've seen them maliciously wound friends. I've buried a friend and roommate they killed. The racism runs deep and blue there. Context is needed to view the events of August 5th in Berkeley because no social space is neutral and nothing happens in a vacuum.

Yesterday, August 4th, for the second time in under 40 days, Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys marched against immigration and support of President Donald Trump. For the second time, police launched an unprovoked attack against antifascist protestors without warning but with their full arsenal of crowd control weapons. Tune 30th march by the same group attempted to use police escort to reach and attack an anti-ice encampment.

The recent electoral success of the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) has put them in the crosshairs of both the right and the center. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has called their recent gains, including the primary upset one of her key safe house seat bootlickers "not to be viewed as something that stands for anything else.” Meanwhile the group suffered two attacks on it's open meetings and a third attack on a protest on July 27th.

The media eye has zeroed in on Jeff Sessions saying “lock her up” at the recent Turning Point USA high school leadership conference on July 24th. These optics focus the narrative on the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's leadership, and thus national electoral personality politics, rather than the fascist base building that is the real Turning Point USA. That base building is sponsored by the Devos family, and fascist is not a hyperbolic misnomer, but a key ingredient.