Thread by @magpiekilljoy

hitting nazis with heavy objects works. I've talked to antifascists in multiple countries about how the growth of fascism was stopped through militant street resistance.

https://twitter.com/IwriteOK/status/1819886016913887617

fascism is a populist movement, and street violence is an important component to its growth. but nazis make poor underdogs... the average fascist wants to be a fascist when he feels like he is winning. He wants to feel strong with his strong buddies.

the antifascist, on the other hand, paradoxically, is effective even when outnumbered, because by showing that resistance is possible, more people are emboldened. Because fascists are a minority, and only win when they go unconfronted.

I remember talking with an antifascist from the 1980s resistance to fascism (an effective movement that stopped a growing fascist subculture). He told me about one time he jumped three nazis, by himself. He was hospitalized. That attitude still drove the nazis out of his town.

Every time fascists try to develop a street presence, they need to be physically beaten back. I used to buy the mainstream narrative that "fighting them gives them what they want and helps them recruit" but then I spent years talking to antifascist veterans and it's just not true

it's hard, and it's scary. I did not come up as a street fighter, I came up as a weird femme goth nerd. Most street-level fascists are huge jacked dudes.

Which makes it all the more beautiful (and demoralizing to the fascists) when diverse crowds beat the shit out of them.

or even just hold their ground... the fascists need to win by a large margin, they need to be Big Strong Manly White Men.

All we need to do is say "they shall not pass" and mean it.

(we've covered this at least twice on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff... check out the Battle of Cable Street, when two marginalized immigrant groups in London came together physically stopped a growing fascist subculture in 1936

and also we covered Anti-Racist Action, the multiracial groups of midwest punks who stopped the rise of far right organizing in the 1980s

so you should check those out if you're curious