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The issue of using physical force to intimidate fascists and deter them from organizing has come up on this list in the past. One week ago Richard Spencer spoke at Michigan State University. A few hundred antifascist counter protesters including myself gathered outside the venue in an attempt to block Spencer and attendees from entering the building. About 150 tickets were sold, and only a couple dozen Spencer fans made it into the venue. Many turned away after seeing our numbers. Some, including a contingent of about 30 featuring Matt Heimbach and his Neo-Nazi Traditional Workers Party, were turned away only after physical confrontation. Many of those who did make it into the venue had to be escorted one at a time by six or so cops through our crowds. This was undoubtedly an unpleasant experience for them. Some were bloodied and some had horse shit thrown on them. Since then, Spencer announced via a youtube video that he would no longer be making planned public speaking appearances <https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/12/alt-right-leader-richard-spencer-says-his-rallies-arent-fun-anymore/416579002/> . It's important to note that a diversity of tactics besides physical intimidation were employed both on the day of his appearance and the days leading up to it. Notably, the locations and businesses where the fascists hoped to meet and socialize were made public, and businesses cancelled their reservations. <https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/03/04/we-found-out-where-the-alt-right-is-holding-its-secret-conference-in-metro-detroit> My point here though is that physical confrontation--and yes, punching nazis in the face--played a central role in deplatforming and driving the figurehead of the Alt-right out of public spaces. Spencer and the TWP have represented the core of this explicitly fascist movement, and I expect that the young white men who it has been attracting will be looking elsewhere going forward to seek refuge from their economic and cultural atomization. There's more violent options including Atomwaffen and alternatively the "alt-light" featuring voices like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson. Many of us had been spending considerable amounts of time over the past months organizing teach-ins and doing other work centered around Spencer's visit to MSU and also a planned visit to the University of Michigan. Now that he's no longer making public appearances, these lefties are now freed up and can hopefully focus on less "defensive" measures. Myself and other locals are emboldened. Are we wrong to feel this way? _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
