Some notes from #Alexanderplatz, just before another anti-lockdown demo in #Berlin begins. I hope I’m wrong, but it feels a bit like the beginning of our own <gilets jaunes> experience. THREAD 1/n 
2/ For the past few weeks, hundreds of people have gathered around Rosa Luxemburg Platz, a historically left-wing site in Berlin, to protest the lockdown. They began with a wide range of protesters but have become more right-wing, more anti-vaxxer, more conspiracy theorist.
3/ They flood the streets of our neighbourhood, a normally quiet patch between Alexanderplatz and Torstrasse. They don’t wear masks or distance. This is a lefty area, a mix of social housing, posh flats, and random people who moved here when rents were still cheap (like us).
4/ Last week there were more than 1000 people. They mingled and chanted for hours and eventually wandered over to Alexanderplatz, starting some scuffles. Dozens of people were arrested. There was a heavy police presence but the demo went on all afternoon and into evening.
5/ I don’t know why the #Berlin protests are getting bigger when the lockdown is actually being lifted, but I think that’s a pretty good sign this isn’t mostly about the lockdown.
6/ Yesterday I had a walk and looked around the streets. It was disheartening. The first thing I saw was the defacement of a Racism is No Alternative poster. It now says Racism is an Alternative. #Berlin #RosaLuxemburgPlatz
7/ Nearly all of the anti-racism posters in the area had been defaced or torn off. Again, this is a normally very left-leaning area, in the centre of #Berlin.
8/ This week, antifa and left-wing activists put up posters in the area against the demos. These have also been defaced.
9/ On the other hand, here is an anti-demo poster signed by actual residents, with their addresses (I have blurred out their details). It reads: Querfront is no alternative, but the beginning of barbarism! Never again fascism! Never again war!
10/ ‘Querfront’ is, broadly speaking, a ‘cross-front’, usually referring to an alliance between far-right and far-left. The term originated during the Weimar Republic but it’s taking on new meanings today. (I will do a separate thread about this.)
11/ Local shops are not happy about the demos. Here is a typical sign: We are not your backdrop (or scenery). The Volksbühne, the legendary theatre in the heart of Rosa Luxemburg Platz, has been covering its façade and distinctive statuary with black cloths on Saturdays.
12/ So we will see what today brings. Will the police be more heavy-handed? Will there be a big counter-demo? As someone whose research focuses heavily on extremist ideologies and political violence, to have this playing out on my doorstep is rather interesting.
13/ Non-expert prediction: unless the police clamp down the demos will continue/grow because A) the grievances are anti-system not policy-specific B) they have latched onto a specific site/time C) the current situation provides a coherent platform that's been missing for ages &…
14/ Extremist ideologies thrive when fear/uncertainty rife, but not so rife that people can't or won't leave their homes. Why is this happening in #Berlin? There's a lot of fear, but neither the virus nor the lockdown has been severe here. Leaving a perfect space for agitation.
15/ Today feels a little like a turning point in #Berlin. If low numbers, I think things will fizzle out. If another big crowd shows up, then I think this will go on for a long time. I’ll let the Volksbühne have the last word: / ENDS
